The information gathered by the EpicMix system can be tied into a Facebook or Twitter account to be shared with friends and family. By signing into ones EpicMix account, it will not only tell you runs you have taken and days on the mountain, but also vertical feet skied and other statistics. Pins will be given out for skiing certain lifts a number of times as well. The EpicMix account can be set up to continuously update with new information or manually update every time you log in.

The plan will be evaluated based on environmental impacts, projected usage and technological developments. If any of those areas make it look like the project won’t work, it won’t be considered. There is already a budget shortfall of nearly $380 million just for the road maintenance. CDOT has been working with several groups to raise the money for the project. Those groups include communities along I70, environmental groups, ski resorts, and federal agencies.

The first step is going to be adding bus bays along the Frontage Road on the north side of the existing Lionshead Parking Structure. A building will go up which will include a waiting area and restrooms. There will also be improvements made to the intersection at East Lionshead Circle and the South Frontage Road, including a new passenger drop-off area on the bottom level of the parking structure off East Lionshead Circle.

There will once again be free live music. Under a Blood Red Sky, a U2 cover band, will play Thursday night, and Julian Marley & Uprising Band will play on Saturday night. Both shows start at 7PM and will be held at Checkpoint Charlie in Vail Village.

Things should get exciting with 24 disciplines and $100,000 in prize money to be won. Whatever your favorite event or activity, be sure to come enjoy the games.

The current plan includes 360 one and two bedroom apartments, a five story parking garage, and a 5,000 square-foot clubhouse and fitness center. The construction is expected to take 17-18 months to complete. The developer, Vail Timber Ridge LLC of Texas, will be long-term leasing the property from the Town of Vail and has the option to build on the western half of the property in the future.

Vail Resorts currently leases most of the 198 Timber Ridge units for it’s employees. If left standing an estimated $2.5 million of improvments would be necessary on the 29 year old structure in the next seven years.

Some benefits of this project would include generating construction jobs and creating much needed affordable homes. The project would include several parks and beaches along the river. In fact, the current plans have 60% of the development set aside for open space. U.S. Highway 6 would need to be realigned closer to I70 to accommodate the current plans, not a small hurdle. There will also be concern about how close the development is to the river and just how dense the riverfront area is.

It most likely will take 5 years or more before the first stage is completed. So far the initial plans have been submitted to Eagle County for review. Public input will also be taken into consideration.

Construction fees collected, which include building permits, inspection fees,  and building materials tax, are up about $78,000. over the first quarter of last year. Inspections are expected to climb this year as well due to the completion of Solaris, the Ritz-Carlton, and the Four Seasons. The new projects expected to start this summer include First Chair, a 144 bed employee housing unit being put up by Vail Resorts, the West Vail fire station, Lionshead transit center, and Timber Ridge which includes 352 employee housing units.