Vail Makes Chicago and Milwaukee Epic with Wilmot Mountain Addition

Vail Resorts, Inc. has expanded its collection of ski areas by acquiring Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin. Less than a one-hour’s drive from Chicago and Milwaukee, Wilmot Mountain has long been a popular ski area in the Midwest, and lives true to its brand, a great mountain to begin an epic lifelong love of skiing.

Wilmot Mountain skier

Chicago is now Epic

True to Vail Resorts form, the company has already begun to enhance the on-mountain and base area experiences at Wilmot, to the tune of $13M in capital investments. These improvements will include an updated terrain parks, enhanced ski and ride instruction, more dining and entertainment in the base area, along with social media integration and bigger racing events. Improvements in snowmaking and parking expansion are already in the works and will be ready when Wilmot opens for the season.

Rob Katz, chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts, stated in a recent press release that Vail plans to use “best-in-class technology to create more sophisticated channels of communication with everyone who skis at Wilmot. We also plan to bring the same state-of-the-art lifts, snowmaking, lodges, racing, terrain parks, coaching and technology to the guest experience at Wilmot Mountain, much like we have done at Mt. Brighton and Afton Alps, all while honoring the important legacy of the ski area.”

Vail will include Wilmot Mountain in its Epic Pass starting in the 2016-2017 ski season, connecting Wilmot to Vail’s 12 other mountain resorts in CO, UT, CA, MI, MN and Australia! Sales have already begun on many varieties of the Epic Pass with flexibility built in for the Wilmot skiers that plan to continue skiing in the West this season. Visit Vail’s Epic Pass website for updates on prices and availability.

Keeping the legacy

Founded in 1938 by Walter Stopa and managed by the Stopa family for the past 75 years, Wilmot Mountain is a popular destination among the 800,000 or so skiers and riders that live in and around Chicago and Milwaukee. Located on the southern part of Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine, the mountain currently offers 25 trails, four terrain parks, a ski and snowboard school, a ski racing program and a 23-lane tubing hill.

Taylor Ogilvie, a Chicago native, was appointed the general manager of Wilmot Mountain. Ogilvie began his career as a ski instructor in Vail, CO and has worked his way up. He has most recently overseen a $10M development project as general manager of Mt. Brighton in Michigan, another Vail Resort.

Vail’s expansion is fantastic news for avid Midwestern skiers and riders who want to introduce their friends and family to the sport and hone skills. Vail doesn’t do things just a little bit – big things are happening at Wilmot Mountain next season!

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