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February 04, 2013 7:57 AM ShareThis | Print Story | E-Mail Story R. SCOTT RAPPOLD
THE GAZETTE Vail — it’s hard to think of a place in Colorado as inexorably linked to skiing.
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Aspen? Maybe, but that was a mining town long before skiing arrived. Same with Breckenridge and Telluride.
enlarge Photographer Built in an empty valley in the early 1960s, Vail is a town conceived by Carol Lawrence/The Gazette 1/7/04 With a skiers for skiers, which has grown to become the largest ski area in total of 5,289 skiable acres, Vail is the largest ski area in Colorado. At the the state, a vacation destination for powder lovers from around the Lionshead base area you can ride up to the world. Eagle's Nest on the Eagle Bahn Gondola But there’s a lot more going on in Vail than skiing. Vail is where two that can hold up to twelve passengers. The worlds meet. It’s right along a major interstate, yet only a short drive base area offers, shops, cafes, bars as well as lodging. T h e mountain is host to from two of Colorado’s greatest wilderness areas. The highway international tourists who come from all over noise is an ever-present din in town, yet ride a couple of chairlifts , to quote another skier who was in the and you’re in a quiet winter wonderland. Open space stretches in gondola, "to ski the biggest and the best." every direction, yet parking is so tight people pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a spot. From ski season to camping season, here is your guide to visiting Vail.
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The Back Bowls. If you’re skiing Vail, that’s all you need to know. Left bare by a long-ago wildfire, the backside of Vail made founder Pete Seibert’s jaw drop when he first saw it. The seemingly endless open ski terrain is below timberline, so not subject to brutal winds, and in a good snow year the powder is bottomless.
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Families with young kids and beginners should stick to the front-side groomers, but the bowls can be enjoyed by even intermediate-level skiers, as can Blue Sky Basin, which is so remote it’s seven miles and multiple lift rides back to civilization. But skiing the biggest ski area comes with a big price. Awindow lift ticket could cost a staggering $119. Add $20 to park in the city parking garages and a king’s ransom if you eat in an on-mountain restaurant, and a day of skiing can get very expensive.
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And we haven’t even gotten to the lodging. Prepare to spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a night to stay in Vail proper in peak season. Skiers on a budget should look farther west to Avon or east to Frisco, or visit Vail in spring for late-season deals. Snowmobiling Just east of town is one of the greatest expanses of wide-open snowmobiling terrain in Colorado. Park at the top of Vail Pass along Interstate 70. Pay a $6 per-person fee and get on your snowmobile to enjoy 80 miles of groomed trails and 200 powder fields for you riding pleasure. If you don’t own one, you can rent a snowmobile or book a guided tour at several businesses in town. Drive to the top of the Continental Divide and, on a clear day, all of Colorado seems to spread out in front of you in pearly white splendor. For extra fun, bring your skis and another snowmobile and get backcountry powder laps all day.
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