LUDLOW, Vermont — Okemo Mountain Resort is making on-mountain improvements and introducing new ways to save on skiing and riding for the winter of 2009/2010.

New this year, the Sunday One-Day Season Pass is a great “starter” pass for weekend day trippers and is priced right at an early-bird rate of $299 for adults ($359 after Oct. 12). This direct-to-lift season pass has four blackout dates, but is valid all other Sundays throughout the season.

Partial-day lift tickets are another great way to save. In addition to its popular half-day lift ticket offer, Okemo is introducing a partial-day lift ticket that starts at 2 p.m. Perfect for eager overnight guests who arrive prior to check-in, this lift ticket option is just $30 for adults, $26 for Young Adults and Seniors, and $20 for Juniors and Super Seniors. This discount ticket deal is available every day with no restrictions and can be purchased at any Okemo Ski + Ride School desk location.

Okemo will be fortifying its online lift ticket deals this winter and adding more print-at-home coupon options. Facebook friends and Twitter followers will be the first to know about special deals offered throughout the season. In addition, savings updates and unique offers will be sent to those who subscribe to mobile phone text alerts at Okemo.com.

Also new this winter, Okemo will be making improvements to grooming, snowmaking and the Ross Powers Superpipe.

Okemo continues its commitment to grooming this winter with the addition of a second Prinoth BR500 grooming machine. Okemo’s first BR500 is affectionately referred to as “The Beast” by Resort operations staff. The 500-horsepower dual turbocharged behemoth is about eight feet wider and ten feet longer than the next largest model, the BR350. The Beast sports a 24-foot-wide tiller and a 20-foot-wide blade. With engineered efficiencies, additional width and an ability to travel at the same speed uphill and downhill, the newest machine in Okemo’s grooming fleet will help reinforce the resort’s reputation for superior surface conditions.

Okemo is adding 30 new HKD Ranger snow guns to its arsenal and reconfiguring its entire HKD tower gun snowmaking system with a focus on enhanced resurfacing response time. Although skiers and riders will take little notice, these behind-the-scenes operational improvements will be realized in greater productivity and energy efficiency.

The Ross Powers Superpipe will be getting a makeover for the 2009/2010 season. At Powers’ recommendation, the longest superpipe in the East will increase its vertical pitch by 12 feet. That means that the steepness of Okemo’s superpipe will become 16 degrees ??“ allowing the resort to attract high-caliber pipe events and top athletes. Snowboarders and twin-tippers will enjoy the 450-foot long Ross Powers Superpipe with decks spaced 50 feet apart and walls measuring 18 feet high. Okemo is traditionally one of the first eastern areas to open its superpipe each season – a testament to the resort’s commitment to terrain variety and renowned snowmaking and grooming proficiency.

Okemo’s Superpipe is named to honor the resort’s Snowboard Ambassador and Olympic Gold Medalist Ross Powers. A living legend in the world of parks and pipes, Powers is the holder of numerous halfpipe titles that include a gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The Ross Powers Superpipe is located in the Dew Zone. It is maintained regularly with a laser-guided Zaugg Pipe Monster and the pipe is serviced by its own lift ??“ The Pull surface lift.

Okemo operations crews have also been busy during the summer months with trail maintenance. New growth on trail edges has been noticeably trimmed back to make trails feel more open. Some highly traveled routes like Mountain Road have been widened in places to accommodate the increase in their popularity.

For more information, please call (802) 228-1600, or visit www.okemo.com.