Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts, addresses hundreds of people in the Capitol Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Jan. 24, 2018 in Denver. Katz is credited with reimagining the mountain resort experience around the world by carefully curating a unique leadership culture within Vail Resorts, focusing on the personal development of the company’s 30,000 employees and leveraging that development to drive innovation both within the company and in the industry as a whole.

Helen H. Richardson | The Denver Post |

Vail Resorts’ industry-shifting Epic Pass turns 10 this month and, as part of a series of upcoming deals to celebrate the anniversary, the resort operator is offering $99 passes to all active and retired military and expects to funnel $1.5 million in donations to veteran organizations.

As Vail Resorts chief Rob Katz and his team pondered the last decade of growth, they thought about the founders of Vail Mountain, 10th Mountain Division veteran Pete Seibert and Army engineer Earl Eaton who returned from World War II to establish what would become one of the world’s most recognized ski areas.

“Pete and Earl were about making the mountains more accessible. That was one of their primary drivers. For us, the Epic Pass is about making the mountains more accessible and we feel the right way to pull this all together was to make the mountains more accessible to the military,” Katz said. “It’s the right thing to do to make sure we honor our beginnings.”

The $99 2018-19 Military Epic Pass is for active and retired members of the U.S., Canadian and Australian military and their dependents. The Military Epic Pass for all other U.S., Canadian and Australian veterans and their dependents will be priced at $499 for adults and $269 for children.

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When Seibert and Eaton made their fateful seven-hour climb in March 1957, they birthed a plan to build a sprawling ski area across the wide-open, wildfire-cleared bowls that today anchor Vail Mountain. They corralled investors, bought property and opened in 1962.

Read the full story, Vail Resorts launches 10th anniversary celebration of Epic Pass with $99 deal for active, retired military and families from The Denver Post.