With the 2011-2012 winter season on the horizon, Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort is making steady progress on the $30 million in capital improvement projects currently underway at the resort – one of the largest capital investments at any resort in the U.S. this year. On-mountain projects will be completed for this year’s ski season, currently scheduled to begin November 18, 2011.

New projects to be completed for this season include the installation of a new high-speed chairlift and two new intermediate ski trails on The Backside of the mountain, construction of a new 500-seat on-mountain restaurant, and the construction of a new 22’ halfpipe that will be designed by Shaun White, who now calls Northstar® Resort his home mountain and primary training resort.

Promised Land Express

With a vertical rise of 1,440’, the new detachable express quad chairlift, dubbed “Promised Land Express,” will be installed this summer on “The Backside” of the mountain, providing access to expanded gladed terrain and new ski trails. The new lift will double the resort’s lift capacity on The Backside, a very popular area of the mountain known for its long, uninterrupted advanced trails and gladed tree skiing.

Two new intermediate trails will be served by the lift, and new snowmaking is being installed on both Drifter, an existing ski trail that also provides access to The Backside, and one of the new trails, allowing the resort to continue to offer some of the best early season skiing and riding conditions around the lake.

Zephyr Lodge

In addition to the lift, a new on-mountain restaurant is under construction that will offer 500 indoor seats as well as 200 outdoor deck seats. Centrally located on the mountain near the top of the Tahoe Zephyr Express lift, the new restaurant, the “Zephyr Lodge,” is being built in Tahoe great lodge style with an open floor plan, large timbers and a huge window wall offering spectacular views of the Pacific Crest. Guests will be able to enjoy a variety of menu options including a Napa salad bar, gourmet pizza and specialty soups and sandwiches. The restaurant can be accessed by skiing or riding off of the Tahoe Zephyr Express, Backside Express, Promised Land Express or Comstock Express lifts.

New 22 Foot Halfpipe to be Designed by Shaun White

As a result of the recent partnership with two time Olympic gold medalist, Shaun White, Northstar Resort will work closely with White to design a new 22 foot halfpipe that will be open during the 2011-2012 winter season for skiers and riders to enjoy. Northstar Resort will also serve as White’s primary training resort.

Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort’s 2011-2012 winter season is scheduled to run from November 18, 2011 to April 15, 2012, weather and conditions permitting. Season passes are now on sale, starting at just $379 for the Tahoe Value Pass, which provides seven day per week access to Heavenly Mountain Resort and six day per week access to Northstar Resort. Some restrictions apply. Other pass options are available, including the Epic Pass, priced at just $649. The Epic Pass offers unrestricted access all season long to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, and both Heavenly and Northstar Resort in Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada. For more information, visit www.epicpass.com.

For the most up-to-date photos of the capital projects underway at Northstar Resort, visit www.northstarattahoe.com

If you trust anyone’s opinion on the best resorts in the world to “grab some air” and “shred some powder,” it should be two-time Olympic gold medalist, professional snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White.

Shaun will represent all six of Vail Resorts’ world-class mountain resorts (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, and Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe in Tahoe) but he can only call one resort his home mountain and primary training resort, and that he chose to be Northstar-at-Tahoe.

As in any home, when you move in you add a special touch to truly call it yours. What is Shaun adding to his new home? He’s designing his own 22-foot half-pipe to share with aspiring snowboarders.

“With Northstar as my home mountain, I now have the ideal place to train and continue to grow as an athlete and I am looking forward to all the possibilities this partnership brings,” said White.

As part of the launch of the new relationship, Vail Resorts will donate $5 for each Epic Season Pass sold to White’s chosen charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition, White will be designing a limited edition Epic Season Pass, which will be available to Epic Season Pass holders this fall through a Facebook promotion.

SHAUN WHITE
White has dominated the sport of snowboarding for the past decade. He won his first Olympic gold medal in the Half-pipe event at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, with a record 46.8 points and then went on to win it again in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, improving his own record with 48.4 points in his final run. White is the first and only snowboarder to win four consecutive gold medals in the Winter X Games Half-pipe competition. Combining his success in skateboarding, White is the first athlete to compete and medal in two different sports in both the Summer and Winter X Games in 2003 and again in 2011. He also is the first and only athlete to win gold medals in both the Summer (2006 and 2008) and Winter Dew Cup events (2009). White was recently honored with the 2011 ESPY for “Male Action Sports Athlete” for the fourth consecutive year.
For more information, visit www.northstarattahoe.com/shaunwhite.