Ontario’s Blue Mountain Resort opened The Orchard for skiing for the first time on December 24, 2013.
Skiers and snowboarders now have access to the new trails spread out over 64 acres of terrain at the resort’s south end, all of which are serviced by Blue’s fifth, high-speed, six-person chair lift, The Orchard Express.
The Orchard represents a $7.5M investment and is the largest, on-hill development undertaken by Blue Mountain in the last 30 years. While The Orchard trails have been cut since 1987, they remained undeveloped for skiing and snowboarding until recently. A major part of the terrain expansion included chairlift construction, the addition of night lighting to all six runs and snowmaking infrastructure added to three of the six trails.
The Ultimate Orchard Experience Contest
To celebrate the open, Blue Mountain also plans to make one lucky skier or boarder’s dreams come true with a money can’t buy experience in The Orchard. “The Ultimate Orchard Experience” turns Blue’s newest terrain into one contest winner’s personal winter wonderland with 60 minutes of private access to the trails prior to Resort open for the winner and four friends. The group will also receive their choice of skis or snowboards, as well as respective boots and bindings, overnight accommodations at Blue Mountain, and exclusive access to The Orchard’s snowmaking and grooming operations.
“We wanted to amplify The Orchard experience for one lucky winner and their friends in a way that not only reflects the excitement we’ve seen from our guests, but also pays tribute to Blue Mountain’s terrain expansion in a similarly unique and celebratory way,” stated Paul Pinchbeck, Director, Marketing.
Running from December 20 to January 10, weekly videos will be released at BlueMountain.ca/Orchard. To win, entrants must correctly answer trivia questions embedded in each video. If entrants answer each question correctly, their name will be submitted into a random draw for the Grand Prize. The contest culminates in a Grand Opening Ceremony forecasted to take place at the base of The Orchard on January 17, 2014.
For more information, see www.bluemountain.ca
Photo courtesy of www.bluemountain.ca
SnowOnline Editor: Lori Knowles
