September 27, 2005, From World Snow News--In a new brochure, Vail Ski Area in Colorado is claiming that it contains more pisted runs than any other ski area in the world. It is currently unclear whether the claim refers to the length of piste, the area of piste or possibly to the amount of terrain groomed each night.

Whistler Blackcomb in Canada has a larger ski area and dozens of European ski regions appear to have more ski pistes than Vail, but comparison is difficult as Europe's areas measure ski runs by their length, North American by area.

Vail Resort is entering "phase two of its grooming initiative" which means it will manicure thirty percent more terrain each night. It is adding nine new grooming machines for this winter in order to achieve this ambitious target. On average the resort will groom 1,300 to 1,600 acres oper night--a larger area than most U.S. ski resorts offer in total. \