Vail Resorts is extending the ultimate challenge: be one of the first to ski all 26 mountains — spread out across 4 countries — offered via The Epic Pass, and you’ll earn yourself an Epic Pass for life. Starting November 1, 2013, riders can sign up to take on The Epic Race— a season-long competition to veritably ski the world. The first 10 people to complete the race will receive an Epic Pass for life.

The boldest can register to ‘ski the world’ here; Each racer will need to ski or ride all 26 resorts on the Epic Pass (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Eldora in Colorado; Canyons in Park City, Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood at Lake Tahoe; Afton Alps, Minnesota; Mt. Brighton, Michigan; Verbier, Switzerland; Arlberg, Austria – St. Anton, Lech, Zürs, St. Christoph and Stuben; and Les 3 Vallées, France – Courchevel, La Tania, Méribel, Brides-les-Bains, Les Menuires, Saint Martin de Belleville, Val Thorens and Orelle) and document their journey in order to win.

“When we launched the Epic Pass with six resorts in 2008, I said our guests wouldn’t be able to out-ski or ride this pass,” said Rob Katz chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. “Five years later, after adding three more countries and 20 additional resorts, we’re throwing down the gauntlet. If you can be one of the first to ski the world, you’ll ski for life.”

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Oct. 2, 2013 – This season Vail Resorts announced that the Epic Pass now includes 26 mountains in four countries. And now Vail Resorts is calling all globetrotting, Epic Pass-holding, die-hard skiers and snowboarders for The Epic Race – a 2013-2014 season-long competition to visit all 26 resorts spread across four countries that make up the Epic Pass. The first 10 people to complete the race will receive an Epic Pass for life.

Starting Nov. 1, guests can register to Ski the World by visiting www.snow.com/epic-pass/info/epic-race.aspx. Each racer will need to ski or ride all 26 resorts on the Epic Pass (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Eldora in Colorado; Canyons in Park City, Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood at Lake Tahoe; Afton Alps, Minnesota; Mt. Brighton, Michigan; Verbier, Switzerland; Arlberg, Austria – St. Anton, Lech, Zürs, St. Christoph and Stuben; and Les 3 Vallées, France – Courchevel, La Tania, Méribel, Brides-les-Bains, Les Menuires, Saint Martin de Belleville, Val Thorens and Orelle). Epic Racers will be asked to document and share their experience at each resort they visit to be eligible to win. All the content from the Epic Racers will be available at www.snow.com/epic-pass/info/epic-race.aspx.

“If there was any doubt that the Epic Pass is by far and away the snowsports industry’s best and most comprehensive pass, the experiences these contestants share should put the question to rest,” said Katz. “What other pass allows you to enjoy the steep and deep of the Sierra Nevada, the amazing powder of the Wasatch, the majesty of the Rockies, the urban hills in Michigan and Minnesota, the interconnectivity of the French Alps and the world’s largest linked ski area, the unmatched off-piste skiing and riding of the Swiss Alps, and the birthplace of modern Alpine skiing technique in the Tyrolean Alps?”

Epic Racers will be responsible for their own expenses in undertaking the Epic Race and no racer will be permitted to ski or ride more than one resort per day in the U.S. and two resorts per day in Europe to ensure they capture and enjoy the full experience of each mountain. Race winners receiving an Epic Pass for life will be able to ski or ride only the resorts accessible via the Epic Pass in that given year. All rules and guidelines will be posted on www.snow.com/epic-pass/info/epic-race.aspx on Nov. 1 and included in the registration materials provided to guests.

The Epic Pass features unlimited, unrestricted skiing and riding at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Eldora in Colorado; Canyons in Park City, Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood at Lake Tahoe; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan. Furthermore, Epic Pass holders have the opportunity to extend their skiing and riding adventures from the U.S. to Europe with five free days at the renowned mountain resorts of Verbier, Switzerland, five free days at Arlberg, Austria and five free days at Les 3 Vallées, France. Vail Resorts is offering the industry’s best-selling season pass at $709 for adults and $369 for children (ages 5-12), but these prices are only guaranteed through Oct. 13, 2013. For more information about the 2013-2014 season pass line-up or to purchase a pass online, visit www.epicpass.com.

“The Epic Pass is more attractive than ever, not just because of the access it provides to 26 mountains in four countries, but also because of the unprecedented on-mountain improvements of $130-140 million across our resorts for the upcoming season,” said Kirsten Lynch, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Vail Resorts. “Not since the opening of Blue Sky Basin at Vail have we seen such a significant terrain expansion at a Colorado ski resort as with the addition of Peak 6 at Breckenridge. We’re also adding a new high-speed six-person lift in Mid-Vail to get guests into the Back Bowls faster and opening a new on-mountain restaurant at the base of Beaver Creek’s famed Birds of Prey race course. And then there’s the fourth generation of EpicMix – Epic Academy – which offers a unique way to earn and share your accomplishments in our world-class ski and ride schools.”