Snow’s so fine it’s like flying: Welcome to Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado
SUPER slopes, great food and cookies with a smile will have you returning to the mountain.
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MY nose is cold, my face is red and my toes are numb.
Snow had been falling throughout the morning at Vail ski resort in Colorado, and the temperature was below zero.
So walking into the on-mountain lodge The Tenth, warmed by a large fireplace, and stepping out of my ski boots into a pair of soft slippers is pure joy.
Before we know it we are seated at a table perusing a menu of hearty mountain meals, which included elk bolognese, buffalo meat loaf and chicken and peasant pot pie with winter root vegetables.
Then there are the desserts designed by Australian pastry chef Mel Hoster, my favourite of which is the “king” sundae.
Inspired by Elvis, it consists of peanut butter ice cream, deep fried banana with cinnamon sugar, bacon peanut brittle and strawberry sauce with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
For someone more used to hot dogs and burgers at crowded bistros in Australian ski resorts, dining at US resorts is a bit of a revelation.
The Tenth is named after the 10th Mountain Division, whose members founded the resort after World War II. The resort is now the largest single ski resort in the US and attracts people from around the globe.
Just below where we stay at Solaris Residences in Vail Village is Matsuhisa restaurant, founded by celebrity chef Nobu who is known for his fusion offerings of Japanese dishes with South American ingredients.
We decide to order up big and share the dishes, feasting on a range of sushi, sashimi and wagyu beef. But if we’d wanted we could have just stayed in and ordered room service.
A short walk down the road you can grab a stone-fired pizza at La Bottega Italian restaurant.
Although its nosheries are a huge bonus, it’s the skiing that attracts most people. It longest run, Riva’s, goes for 6km and unlike most resorts Vail has several faces, so no matter what the weather condition is you can find somewhere good to ski.
But it is its seven back bowls that really set it apart.
“The back bowls make Vail a pretty unique ski resort,” my Swedish ski instructor Jonas says. “I don’t think I’d be working here if it didn’t have them.”
Jonas has lived in Vail for 18 years and says he loves the variety of skiing it offers, as well as its size. The climate is also significantly better than Sweden.
“The quality of the snow is the big difference – we’re so far away from the sea that the snow is very dry,” he says.
“We get champagne powder you don’t get in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland or Austria. If you’re addicted to powder this is a good place. When you get into a snow cycle you can be skiing powder 10 days in a row.
“It’s a great sensation. It’s the closest you can get to flying.”
Vail celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with the addition of a new gondola with heated seats and Wi-Fi that gets skiers and boarders out of the village and on to the slopes faster. Another new offering is Vail’s EpicMix app, in which you can see the number of vertical feet you have skied, the chairlifts you have ridden and photos taken by on-mountain photographers and share them on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
You can also earn pins for achieving various feats on and around the mountain.
There’s the “Deja vu” pin, earned for skiing the same lift five times in a row, the “Resolved” pin for skiing on New Year’s Day and the “Everest” pin, received for skiing 8848m – the height of Mt Everest.
The app is an extension of the EpicPass, which allows skiers to check out other resorts owned by Vail Resorts on the one season pass, including Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar in California, The Canyons in Utah and nearby Breckenridge and Beaver Creek, also in Colorado.
I thought Vail was luxurious until I visited Beaver Creek, a 15-minute drive away.
With a tag line “Not exactly roughing it”, the boutique, gated resort has outdoor escalators leading from the slopes down to shops and restaurants and men in chef’s hats stand at the base handing chocolate chip cookies as you step off the slopes at 3pm daily.
Beaver Creek is more family oriented so there is less nightlife, and most of the accommodation is ski-in, ski-out. We stay at The Osprey, where the Strawberry Park chairlift is just outside.
Guests at Beaver Creek take more ski lessons on average than those at other resorts and most prefer to stay on groomed runs, so adventurous skiers have more chance of finding untracked snow off-piste.
My instructor Palo, originally from Slovakia, says it has lots of easy green runs at the top of the mountain, so beginners can see more of the resort.
After a morning exploring we stop at a log cabin called Mamies for a hot mulled wine.
That night we take a sleigh ride – albeit one pulled by a snow cat – to Beano’s Cabin, named after a Polish immigrant Frank Bienkowski who came to the area in 1919 to farm lettuce.
Beano’s is the epitome of what I love about Beaver Creek. The log cabin has a large stone fireplace, a guy singing Johnny Cash songs, rocking chairs, cowhide seat coverings, antique skis, wooden sleds and bear skins hanging on the wall, chandeliers made out of antlers, and elk and venison on the menu.
During the ride home our sleigh host Sabrina, whose family comes from Cuba, points out the stars in the sky above us and explains the constellations.
But my favourite place in Beaver Creek is the Ritz Carlton, thanks to its soaring ceilings, huge log pillars and deer and buffalo heads on the walls.
Outside, a guy with a guitar and a guy with a ukulele are playing bluegrass tunes on the sunny terrace.
If I ever make it back, I know where I’m staying.
The writer was a guest of Vail Resorts.
GO2 - VAIL AND BEAVER CREEK
Getting there
- Qantas flies from Sydney to Dallas, with American Airlines connections for a flight to Eagle/Vail Airport.
- United Airlines flies to Denver in Colorado via San Francisco or Los Angeles.
- Qantas, Virgin Australia and Delta fly to the US with connections to Denver through codeshare partners.
- Colorado Mountain Express operates a shuttle service between Denver Airport and Vail resorts.
Staying there
Travelplan can organise packages to Vail and Beaver Creek.
Ph 1300 754 754
Skiing there
Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass allows you to ski or ride at 11 US resorts on the one pass all season, including Vail and Beaver Creek in Colorado, Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in California and Canyons in Utah.
See epicpass.com.au
“Like” Escape.com.au on Facebook
Follow @Escape_team on Twitter
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