Monday, December 03, 2007

Peek'n Peak Chautauqua County

Christmas Light Display Highlights Opening Weekend At Peek'n Peak
By Robert Rizzuto rrizzuto@post-journal.com

 Light Up Your Night

Peek'n Peak's ''Trail of Lights'' can be seen any day between 6 and 9 p.m. until Dec. 23. A 20-minute ride on a ski lift to view the display costs $5. P-J photo by Robert Rizzuto
12/1/2007 - FINDLEY LAKE — Peek'n Peak will officially begin its 44th season today with eight trails, two lifts and a packed-powder surface base, and of course, the colorful and unique spectacle known as the ''Trail of Lights.''

The ski slope-long animated light montage is definitely not your average display of Christmas decorations, and is the first of its kind in North America.

Standing at the bottom of the Finsbury Field ski slope next to Pizzaiolos Italian Restaurant, Christmas music fills the air. The whole hill is visible for free from the bottom, but a $5 ticket buys a ride the lift up the decorated mountain-side and back down again, experiencing the display from above as was intended through its design.

The scale of the display is best grasped through experience, but in short; it's massive.

Santa makes several appearances along the lit-up trail with his reindeer running down the hill while elves play catch and package gifts. A moose skis by below as you stare off into the nutcracker castle near the mountain top. A collage of traditional Christmas toys comes to life as the jack-in-the-box springs from its colorful base.

''The Trail of Lights gives non-skiers another reason to think of The Peek in the winter,'' said Chip Day, Peek'n Peak vice president of brand management. ''The 20-minute ride will leave riders with an everlasting memory of Peek'n Peak.''

''The ''Trail of Lights'' was a massive project,'' Day said. ''It consists of more than 80 animated LED displays and 100,000 bulbs, all of which had to be hand-screwed into the units.''

''It took a crew of about 12 people working straight for a week,'' Day added. ''It was definitely a labor of love.''

The ''Trail of Lights'' isn't the sole source of holiday spirit at Peek'n Peak. Almost the entire resort is decked out with lights in addition to a number of homes on the adjacent Canterbury Drive displaying a variety of lit-up holiday scenes. At the Inn, the Peek'n Peak crew has also finished setting up and decorating the massive 24-foot Christmas tree.

The Trail of Lights can be seen any day of the week between 6 and 9 p.m. until December 23. Day advises that people dress appropriately for the weather and wear sturdy footwear.

For people planning on riding the trails in the days to come, Day said they plan on making snow for the next 10 nights as the weather forecast predicts conditions will be ideal. He added that additional slopes will be open as weather permits and a $5 discount on lift tickets will be in effect until that happens.

For more information including pictures of the trail and live, streaming video of the slopes, visit The Peek's Web site at www.pknpk.com.
 
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
 

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