I want to tell you more about our month of skiing and eating in Colorado this week. Last week, Diana wrote about our two weeks in Frisco and Breckenridge. This week, I share our experiences in Beaver Creek and Vail, where we spent the other two weeks of our month-long ski time in Colorado.
The Grand Plan
Last fall, we learned that our closest skiing buddies would be spending a week in Beaver Creek at the end of February, and they invited us to join them. All six of us met in the Apres Ski Club in San Jose a long time ago. The three couples were married within six months of each other, and we continued to ski together in Lake Tahoe after we all got kicked out of the club, which was a singles club at the time.
Through it all, though, we had never skied as a group in Colorado. One of the guys, Joe, had never skied in Colorado at all, despite being born there. So we were looking forward to sharing our favorite spots at Beaver Creek and Vail.
Things Go Awry
Our friends were staying together and checked into the Sheraton Mountain Vista timeshare on a Saturday. Being a little late to the party, I was only able to secure a reasonably priced reservation starting the next day, Sunday. We figured 4-5 days skiing together would be enough.
Our eager pals set out to get some runs in on Sunday while we were driving over from Frisco, which was about an hour away. While on the road, we got a text that Joe had taken a serious tumble on one of the bump runs at Beaver and had been taken by ambulance to a hospital in Vail. It turned out he had a broken collarbone and a couple of cracked ribs in multiple places. Mega bummer.
Surgery happened that night, but he wasn’t released for a couple more days. Things are going better now, but I know the ride to the airport and the flight back were pretty hard. Joe should be fine for next season, and we are hoping he can arrange to join us in Colorado next year, so we can get back to sharing more pleasant experiences.
Nice Weather, Too Nice
Our week in Beaver and a subsequent week in Vail had mostly clear weather and no fresh snow. The temperatures climbed above freezing for several days, so we mostly spent our time on groomed runs, looking for spots that were not icy or slushy. We cruised all over the mountains looking for variety, with a limited amount of success.
Being the furthest from Denver, Beaver Creek wasn’t especially crowded mid-week, and the lift lines were not bad. The same couldn’t be said for Vail, which could have some significant wait times around the hill. Things got even worse during our final week at Vail when one of the main lifts broke down. Vail Corporation couldn’t get the parts to fix it, and it remained out of service for about two weeks. Everyone had to use the other lifts to get up the hill, so there were a couple of bottlenecks to be managed. But it all worked out in the end.
Sledding Snafu
Our friends had decided to book dog sledding in advance for their non-ski day activity. Diana and I did this many years ago (she actually had a broken arm from falling at Keystone the day prior), and while we enjoyed it, the experience was quite costly, so we decided to pass.
I mention this because the sledding company was only willing to cancel the day for our friend Joe in the hospital, not for his wife, Jane. She would have to go sledding or pay the cost of her booking. We all thought that was pretty mean-spirited. The company even needed a doctor’s note to release the booking for Joe. I bring this up as a reminder to be mindful of the terms when booking excursions.
Vail Company Lift Tickets
A word about the ever-rising costs of lift tickets. First, I should say Diana and I are somewhat immune to the cost of lift tickets. We purchased an Epic Local Pass from Vail Resorts for about $750 for the season. It’s one level down from the full no-restrictions Epic Pass, but since we don’t plan to ski over Christmas any longer, we don’t need it. Since we skied around 20 days each, even if only for a short time per day, our $38 daily rate is more than palatable.
It’s the occasional and holiday skier who takes it in the shorts. The walk-up daily rate at Vail during Presidents Week this year was over $300! Holy Cow! Vail is really saying either you plan ahead (really before the season starts) or you’re gonna fork it over. We’ll keep at it as long as we ski enough days for the season pass to make sense. But I wonder how the next generation will afford to take up this pastime.
New Skis
Diana mentioned last week that we both got new skis. There’s a little more to my experience I’d like to share. Although I was able to find a demo shop in Breckenridge where I could try three pairs of skis on the same day. When I decided what I wanted, the shop didn’t have any of the new skis they could sell me. They had no such pair in any of their 20+ outlets in multiple states.
Diana is pretty good about shopping for skis, so she was able to find a pair in another part of Colorado at a reasonable price and got them shipped to Vail. I then took the skis back to the demo shop and had them mount bindings because they credited part of my demo fee to the binding purchase.
I thought everything was set until I went to actually ski on my new skis. The conditions that day were a bit icy with a hard corduroy texture to the runs. Much to my surprise, my skis were very grabby. They simply did not want to turn. Since this isn’t my first pair of new skis, I knew the shop had not detuned (i.e. dulled) the edges. New skis have such hard edges that they need to be dulled slightly, or this grabby aspect can make them unsafe.
So, I dropped into a local outlet for the shop. They said their ski tech wouldn’t be in for another hour, or I could go to another outlet. That sucked. I wanted to ski, not schlep all over town because they didn’t detune the ski. Then an employee stepped up and said all I really needed to do was run my pole over the edge a few times. Really? I was hesitant. He then offered to take a try himself, which I accepted. Sure enough, the skis were still a little grabby, but not nearly as much. After another day or two of skiing, the edges wore down enough for me to really enjoy the skis. Still, not what I expected with a brand-new pair.
Vail and Beaver Creek Lodging
In case you are thinking about heading over to try Vail and Beaver Creek (and you bought tickets early enough to afford them), I recommend the Sheraton Mountain Vista in Avon if you’ll be there a week. The 1-bedroom units come with a full kitchen for breakfast, snacks, or even just cooking in. A free shuttle comes just outside to take you quickly over to a gondola to get on the hill at Beaver. The hot tub and covered parking are nice bonuses, too. You can read here about how to rent a timeshare like I did for this trip.
Our place in Vail, Eagle Point, was a different story. Originally conceived as an apartment complex, the building at Vail was converted into timeshares several years ago. The whole experience was less appealing. Functionally, it was not much different than the Sheraton, but the building was much older and really felt that way. Nothing wrong with it, per se, just not that enticing.
Hockey Hoopla
Given that we spend a lot of time in the mountains off the slopes, I’m always looking for something unique in the area to pass the time. Every time for the past few years we went to ski Vail, we passed a banner advertising the local club hockey team, the Vail Yeti. But this was the first time we managed to get over to see a match.
What a hoot. The tickets were about $15, and the tiny arena in the Vail Village was packed with locals, tourists, and Vail liftees (mostly from Argentina and Chile). It was standing room only. The team was comprised of guys from 20-50, some of whom were local business owners. It was a lot of fun to watch the game and the crowd. Even better, the Vail Yeti beat the Austin Rustlers handily. Games are Friday and Saturday nights, if you find yourself in town then.
Vail, Avon, and Beaver Creek Food
We grabbed dinner that first night at Northside Kitchen in Avon, below Beaver Creek. It’s been a fairly reliable choice over the years, and this time was no exception, even though my tasty cassoulet was no match for the dishes I had in Toulouse last summer.
Our first grub in Vail the next night was a bit unexpected. We wound up at an Indian joint next to the Vail hospital, so Jane could join us while visiting with Joe. The food wasn’t bad, and Joe was happy to see us after dinner, too.
Grouse Mountain Grill in Beaver Creek has always been one of our top spots in the area. As part of The Pines Hotel, a Rockresort, one could expect a high level of quality and service, and they delivered. Similarly, we enjoyed lunch at The Fireside Grill in the Osprey Hotel, another Rockresort. This grill has a casual lunch menu that delivers better food at a comparable price to the main Beaver Creek on-mountain lunch places. Access and service are much better here, too.
In Vail, we found a new nice spot at Up The Creek, located in the village on Gore Creek. It was a picturesque setting, and Diana especially enjoyed some Rombauer Chardonnay, a.k.a. Cougar Bait.
Nearby, our last dinner in town was at the Alpenrose. Diana enjoyed a Pear William schnapps and a big pretzel, while I had soup and then gnawed on a pork shank with spaetzl. Yum.
What would you do on off days when skiing?
