With resort snow depths reaching up to ten feet due to record-breaking snowfall in late December and early January, Vail Resorts officials have announced that the winter ski season will be extended by two weeks at its Heavenly Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe, California, until May 1, 2005.

“We are extending the ski season into May at Heavenly, thanks in part to huge snowfall in late December and early January that dropped more than 18 feet on Heavenly Mountain. More than thirteen feet of snow fell in January, nearly five feet more than the resort’s 10-year average for the entire month. Heavenly and our resorts in Colorado have great ski conditions this season, while several other resorts around the continent have not been so fortunate,” said Adam Aron, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.

After receiving all of the record-setting snowfall in January and another four inches of powder in the past 48 hours, Heavenly resort officials decided to extend the area’s ski and snowboard season by two weeks, moving the season closing date from April 17 to May 1, 2005.

Settled snow depths on Heavenly Mountain currently range from eight to 10 feet, with mid-winter surface conditions of machine-groomed packed powder and skier-packed powder. All of the mountain’s 4,800 acres are open, including the resort’s world-famous off-piste and tree skiing.

www.skiheavenly.com