U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                     FORM 3

            INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

    Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
       Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or
               Section 30(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1.   Name and Address of Reporting Person*

     Mandel                          James                S.
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   (Last)                            (First)              (Middle)

     P.O. Box 303
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                                    (Street)

     Edwards,                         CO                   81632
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   (City)                            (State)                (Zip)

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2.   Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)

     03/29/99
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3.   IRS Identification Number of Reporting Person, if an Entity (Voluntary)


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4.   Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol

     Vail Resorts, Inc. ("MTN")
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5.   Relationship of Reporting Person to Issuer
     (Check all applicable)

     [_]  Director                             [_]  10% Owner
     [X]  Officer (give title below)           [_]  Other (specify below)

     Senior Vice President of Vail Resorts Development Company
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6.   If Amendment, Date of Original (Month/Day/Year)


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7.   Individual or Joint/Group Filing  (Check applicable line)

     [X]  Form Filed by One Reporting Person

     [_]  Form Filed by More than One Reporting Person

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             Table I -- Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
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                                                                 3. Ownership Form:
                                      2. Amount of Securities       Direct (D) or
1. Title of Security                     Beneficially Owned         Indirect (I)       4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
   (Instr. 4)                            (Instr. 4)                 (Instr. 5)            (Instr. 4)
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   Common Stock                          1,000                       I(1)                 By Spouse - IRA Account
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*    If the Form is filed by more than one  Reporting  Person,  see  Instruction
     5(b)(v).

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially
          owned directly or indirectly.


(1)  The  filing of this  Statement  shall not be deemed an  admission  that the
     Reporting Person, for the purposes of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange
     Act of 1934,  as amended,  is a beneficial  owner of, or has any  pecuniary
     interest in, these shares of Common Stock.


                                                                          (Over)
(Form 3-07/99)

FORM 3 (continued) Table II -- Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) ================================================================================ 5. Owner- 3. Title and Amount of Securities ship Underlying Derivative Security Form of 2. Date Exercisable (Instr. 4) Derivative and Expiration Date --------------------------------- 4. Conver- Security: (Month/Day/Year) Amount sion or Direct 6. Nature of ---------------------- or Exercise (D) or Indirect Date Expira- Number Price of Indirect Beneficial 1. Title of Derivative Exer- tion of Derivative (I) Ownership Security (Instr. 4) cisable Date Title Shares Security (Instr. 5) (Instr. 5) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 3/31/96 10/1/02 Common Stock 15,324 $10 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 3/31/97 10/1/02 Common Stock 35,992 $10 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 3/31/98 10/1/02 Common Stock 35,992 $10 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 3/31/99 10/1/02 Common Stock 35,992 $10 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 6/9/98 6/9/08 Common Stock 6,667 $24 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 6/9/99 6/9/08 Common Stock 6,667 $24 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 6/9/00 6/9/08 Common Stock 6,666 $24 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 11/17/99 11/17/08 Common Stock 7,000 $25 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 11/17/00 11/17/08 Common Stock 7,000 $25 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 11/17/01 11/17/08 Common Stock 7,000 $25 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 9/14/00 9/14/09 Common Stock 4,000 $19.0625 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 9/14/01 9/14/09 Common Stock 4,000 $19.0625 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Option to Purchase 9/14/02 9/14/09 Common Stock 4,000 $19.0625 D - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ==================================================================================================================================== Explanation of Responses: /s/ James S. Mandel 10/8/99 - --------------------------------------------- ----------------------- **Signature of Reporting Person Date ** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a). Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space provided is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure. Page 2