Free Nights in Vail!

Vail is in the midst of an epic snow season. As of February 13, the mountain has received 322 inches of snow. According to Chris Jarnot, Chief Operating Officer for Vail Mountain the conditions are among the best he has seen in his 25 years working at the resort.

With the season ending late this year (Vail Mountain closes on Easter Sunday, April 24th, 2011) there is plenty of time to get yourself here to enjoy these conditions and the world class resort atmosphere of Vail.

Peak Properties is pleased to revive a pre-ski-season special to help you do just that.  Book at least 4 nights any time during the rest of this ski season and receive an additional night free.  Take up this offer and you will have access to discounted lift ticket packages as well as to Peak's concierge services to assist you with restaurant reservations, ground transportation, non-ski activity bookings, ski and snowboard rental equipment, grocery shopping, and just about anything else you need to make your trip to Vail easy and memorable.

Peak's inventory of rental properties includes condominiums in the exclusive Vail Mountain View Residences on Gore Creek, as well as in the newly completed Ritz Carlton Residences in Lionshead.  Need a home instead of a condo?  Peak has those too!

Photos and descriptions of Peak's inventory of rental properties can be found at http://www.peakpropertiesvail.com/.  Or visit Peak's channel on PropertyTube to view video of many of the rental properties in the inventory.

To discuss availability and your specific needs, call Peak on 866-SKI-VAIL (754-8245), or send an email to info@peakpropertiesvail.com

FIS World Cup Alpine Ski Racing Season is Underway

If you are an alpine skier and a fan of World Cup racing it has been exciting to be here lately.  For the past week the US SKi Team has been training in Vail on the race courses at Golden Peak created thanks to a multi-million dollar investment by Vail Resorts and Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.

Bode Miller, Lindsay Vonn, Sarah Schleper, and nearly 50 other athletes have been in town creating a pre-ski season buzz that culminated in the "unvailing" of this year's US Ski Team in Lionshead last night.  It was a loud and ehtusiastic crowd that saved its wildest cheers for the introductions of Miller and Ted Ligety on the men's team, and true local Schleper as well as long-adopted local Vonn of the women's team.


The 2010/2011 US Men's Alpine Ski Team

In addition to Vonn and Schleper, Glenwood Springs, CO native Alice McKennis was also named to the Women's A Team, and Vail Valley locals Hunter Schleper and Abby Ghent were named to the Men's and Women's Development teams respectively.


Local heroine Sarah Schleper greets the crowd in Vail Square


After the success of the US team at the Vancouver Olympics, we are all really excited to see what this season has in store.  We get a close up look at the Men's team in a few weeks as the World Cup makes its annual stop in Beaver Creek for the Birds of Prey Downhill and a series of other races from December 3rd through December 5th.  It is always thrilling to watch these racers, so if you have never seen a World Cup race in person you should make a point of coming out this year - you'll just be another year older next year if you wait!

In the meantime, you can keep tabs on the team this year thanks to Universal Sports TV and http://www.universalsports.com/. Click here for their broadcasting schedule.

See you on the hill!

(photos in this post taken by Kristin Anderson, kanderson@vaildaily.com)

Vail Resorts Does it Again

Vail Resorts has just recently announced the addition of Northstar-at-Tahoe to its portfolio of ski areas.  This marks a further foray into the Lake Tahoe ski biz for the company as it already owns and operates Heavenly, which straddles the California-Nevada Border.

For the avid skier, what really matters here is that Northstar now joins the list of ski areas accessible via the Epic Pass, the three year-old brain child of Vail Resorts which has democratized ski area access in the Central Colorado Rockies.  In addition to Northstar, an Epic Pass holder has unlimited access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, Heavenly and, in a sidebar to the Northstar deal, Sierra-at-Tahoe.

The Epic Pass is on sale through tomorrow, November 7, 2010, at the low price of $629 and represents the single most amazing value, in my humble opinion, for the North American resort skier.  And now, for anyone addicted to social media, Vail has added a component to the Epic Pass that allows you to track and post your play on the mountain and to connect with friends on the hill at the same time to meet for lunch or to share a great run. Check out Epic Mix for more info.

Locals here in the Vail Valley have mixed emotions about Vail Resorts.  Some recognize the circumstances that have forced the ski industry in the US to go corporate and consolidate over the last 15 years, while others lament the loss of the feel that Vail and Beaver Creek had in the 80's and early 90's where it seemed the old Vail Associates was at least as concerned with having fun as it was with trying to make running ski areas turn a profit.

Regardless of your opinion on this divide, in my 12 years of living here the one thing I believe cannot be disputed is that the company ploughs a great deal of money every year into upgrading the on mountain experience, and into opportunities such as Heavenly and now Northstar to expand recreational opportunities for its client base.

At Vail Mountain this season, a new high speed quad will open that replaces the legendary triple Chair 5 coming out of Sun Down Bowl.  This link, http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid38497924001?bctid=620249486001, provides some outstanding footage of the work to install the new chair.

So get those skis and boards tuned up, grab an Epic Pass (quick!), and get busy planning this winter's trip.  April will be here before you know it and you don't want to look back and think of what you should have or could have been doing to play on the snow!

Some Great Reasons to Visit Vail or Beaver Creek this Ski Season



I have had the pleasure of living in between the two world class resorts of Vail and Beaver Creek in the north central mountains of Colorado for the last 12 years.  I arrived as an enthusiastic but decidedly mediocre skier and have watched as my now 8 and 10 year old children have learned how to be much more accomplished snow riders than I am.  Their skill is a testament in part to the outstanding ski instruction that can be found here. 

While these two ski areas are separated by a very short distance, they are unique experiences.  Vail is, well, Vail.  At 5,289 skiable acres it is the largest ski area in the contiguous 48 states.  Known for its incomparable Back Bowls, containing over 3,000 of those skiable acres, the area has 3 terrain parks, numerous on-mountain dining options, and the Adventure Ridge area for tubing, ski biking, and other great activities.  It is all supported by more than 350 inches of average annual snowfall in a season that runs from mid-November until late April.

Though Beaver Creek is smaller (1815 skiable acres), it truly is Vail's much more refined sibling.  This is a family resort that competes for skier visits more with Deer Valley than with any of the other Colorado areas. It boasts 4 terrain parks and is known for the extensive amount of grooming it performs every day.  Lest all that grooming make you think this is a ski area for softies, take the Talons Challenge in February and try to knock down 24K of vertical on the bumps of Grouse Mountain, or explore the Stone Creek chutes just east of Rose Bowl or Royal Elk Glade off the top of Grouse Mountain on a powder day or Challeneg yourself to complete the FIS men's world cup Birds of Prey run.  No doubt you will come away with great respect for the Beav!

Both mountains share a lift ticket, but the real deal is to get yourself an Epic Pass which provides unlimited skiing (with no blackout dates) for the whole season at Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, and Heavenly (Tahoe)!

Fine dining is the Vail Valley's second favorite sport, or so it would seem based on the number of outstanding chefs producing a wide variety of cuisine here.  In Vail Village, Larkspur, Terra Bistro, La Tour, Sweet Basil, La Bottega and Russell's are among my favorites.  And local chef and resturanteur Kelly Liken (of the eponymous restaurant at the entrance to Vail) is fresh from recently competing on Top Chef.

Vendettas and Pazzo's sling some great pizzas in Vail for those looking for casual fare.  The Tap Room serves great burgers (and draft beer!) while Los Amigos is available to satisfy a craving for Mexican.

The talent in Vail is matched in Beaver Creek in such places as the Grouse Mountain Grill, Beano's Cabin, Toscanini, Splendido, and Wolfgang Puck's Spago in the Ritz Carlton Hotel Bachelor Gulch.

The Blue Moose dishes up some great pizza in the plaza of Beaver Creek, but my favorite casual place to eat in the Beav is the Dusty Boot.  The Southwest Burger rocks Jalapeno Jack cheese, jalapeno slices and pork green chili on top.  Nothing that a nice cold beer won't help wash down!

The food fest continues up and down the valley, but two places worth mentioning are Avondale in the new Westin Riverfront in Avon, and of course the world famous Saloon in Minturn. For the past two years my family has had Easter brunch at Avondale and it is nothing short of exquisite, as it should be to pair with its outstanding views up the draw to Beaver Creek.

The Saloon in Minturn is a must if you are here on a family trip.  But make sure you go early as they don't take reservations and especially on the evening of a pwder day in Vail.  The Saloon has the good fortune of being just steps away from the bottom of the off piste run known as the Minturn Mile.  The bar at the Saloon fills up with riders eager to slake their thirst with a few margaritas once they have finished the Mile and the entry way can often look like a ski swap for all the equipment stacked up there.  The Saloon offers a mix of Mexican, barbecue, and game dishes served up in a dining room that defines "atmosphere".

Outside of skiing and eating, there are numerous other activities to keep those who do not ski (or just want a day off) busy.  Vail and Beaver Creek are loaded with shops ranging from local boutiques to outlets for the likes of North Face and Patagonia.

In Vail you can go bowling or go to the movies. Nordic skiing and snowshoeing can be found along the Vail golf course or up in McCoy Park.  Snowmobiling tours can be found and you can even go dogsledding if you wish.

As the winter season gets underway I will revisit some of the places and activities described above and post a more detailed look at many of them, complete with photos and videos.  In the meantime, get yourself ready to come out here and enjoy our little corner of paradise!