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With less than two months until embarking on their 50th anniversary season, Afton Alps Ski Area is announcing the new Preferred Program giving loyal skiers and snowboarders 10 percent off the window price of the first lift ticket they purchase this season, and $10 off every lift ticket they purchase after that. By the second visit, Preferred Program members would pay just $22 for an adult full-day or evening weekday ticket, saving 38 percent off the window rate.

“When you consider our season pass program, and now the Preferred Program, and we’re pouring $10 million into re-imagining the guest experience, it’s pretty clear that we’re setting new standards for skiing and riding in the Midwest,” said Joe Yasis, general manager of Afton Alps. “Afton Alps is truly where Epic begins.”
There is no charge to join the Preferred Program and registration is fast and simple. The benefits include: discounts on daily lift tickets, optional direct-to-lift access (after linking a credit card to the account), special member offers and monthly prize give-aways. This is how the program impacts the various tickets:

1st Visit Preferred Program Pricing (10% off window rates):

Adult 1st Visit:
$32 Monday – Friday (All day or 3 p.m. – Close)
$45 Sat./Sun. (All Day)
$35 Sat./Sun. (3 p.m. – Close)
Kids/Seniors 1st Visit
$27 Monday – Friday (All day or 3 p.m. – Close)
$35 Sat./Sun. (All Day)
$29 Sat./Sun. (3 p.m. – Close)
 
Return Visit Preferred Program Pricing:

Adult 2nd+ Visit ($10 off 1st visit rates):
$22 Monday – Friday (All day or 3 p.m. – Close)
$35 Sat./Sun. (All Day)
$25 Sat./Sun. (3 p.m. – Close)
Kids/Seniors 2nd+ Visit ($5 off 1st visit rates):
$22 Monday – Friday (All day or 3 p.m. – Close)
$30 Sat./Sun. (All Day)
$24 Sat./Sun. (3 p.m. – Close)
 
Rates are subject to change. Program visits are specific per person, cannot be combined.
 
This summer Afton Alps is completely overhauling and expanding its snowmaking to provide the region’s highest-quality snow surface, greater base depth and an expanded season due to the ability to make snow twice as fast with existing water resources. The guest services facility at Afton will be completely renovated to include a new ski school center, ticketing and pass sales office and a customer service center. Snow Park Technologies will help create one of the region’s most innovative terrain parks including cutting edge new features and designs, as well as a new village area overlooking all the action. Afton Alps will also install Vail Resorts’ acclaimed EpicMix RFID technology, allowing skiers and snowboarders to earn digital pins, track vertical feet, race against Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn and share their accomplishments socially through Facebook and Twitter with family and friends.

The value proposition for Afton Alps’ guests is unmatched. In addition to the ski area improvements and added attention to guest service, guests have the opportunity to purchase Vail Resorts season passes that allow them to ski as much as they want in their own backyard and out West, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Eldora in Colorado, Canyons Resort in Utah, and Heavenly, Northstar California and Kirkwood at Lake Tahoe. Vail Resorts’ season passes offer guests the flexibility to choose which pass is right for them based on how much and where they plan to ski and ride. For more information on all Vail Resorts season pass products, visit www.epicpass.com.

About Afton Alps
For 50 years, Afton Alps has delighted the Twin Cities’ families as one of the Midwest’s premier winter destinations. Nestled in the scenic St. Croix River Valley just outside Minneapolis and St. Paul, this sprawling resort is pouring $10 million into re-imagining the guest experience with renovated base area facilities, a powerful state-of-the-art snowmaking system and one of the region’s most innovative terrain parks. With nearly 300 skiable acres, 50 trails, 18 lifts and four terrain parks, there is enough terrain to challenge experts to beginners, day or night. Accessible, affordable and fun, this big-time resort with a small-town feel has converted thousands of first-timers into lifelong skiers and riders, and now with the opportunity to take that passion to Vail Resorts’ iconic western mountains, Afton Alps is truly the place Where Epic Begins.
 
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Canyons in Park City, Utah; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan; and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.