Westbound Boarder

There is good reason that the Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, CO boasts, “Not Exactly Roughing It” as their slogan. From a quaint and exciting village, to world renowned skiing/snowboarding, Beaver Creek offers something for everyone, which is why Andrea , Rochelle and I had such an awesome time during our latest visit to the Rockies. We ventured to Denver, drove out to Avon and were able to shred Vail, Beaver Creek and we even made our way over to Breckenridge.  So I am just going to cut to the chase here and start out by telling you all how great the shredding is at Beaver Creek (then I’ll tell you how to get there, where to stay and what the must do’s are in the Beaver Creek Village).

We all make our way to the Rocky Mountains for one reason and one reason only. To shred like we never have before! And at Beaver Creek you will have no problem doing so. Let me disclaim my Beaver Creek experience here by letting you all know that the snow conditions we experienced were rare and less than desirable. No new snow in the previous week and a measly base of 30-40 inches didn’t give us the best surface conditions (which is an understatement).  However we were just stoked to experience the new mountains and weren’t too concerned.

If I could describe Beaver Creek in one word it would be STEEP! When we arrived to the base of the hill we hoped on the Chair Six, the Centennial Express, and we were on our way. We were all instantly impressed by the grade of the runs. Everywhere we looked we saw steep, steep trails and we could not wait to get our day started.

We spent the first half of our day on lifts 9, 10 and 11 where we were on a mission to find whatever soft packed snow we could, as it was a rarity this trip. Despite the poor snow conditions, we were able to do just that on the tree runs off of Lift 11, which was a blast. The bowls were steep, the trees had some powder stashes and to top it off, it was empty so we had the mountain all to ourselves! Our next stop on this side of the mountain was the Birds of Prey lift, which is a must see if you are visiting Beaver Creek. The run is ridiculously STEEP and in 1999 it was home to the World Alpine Ski Championships (do you finally believe that this resort is steep?!) We cruised over to this run and were in awe of what we were looking down at (and how we were at the edge of the world about to fall off!!) We could not believe it when we heard that this race course is actually doused with water before races to make it slicker and icier so racers can achieve maximum speed. Talk about a death trap. Either way, a must see and a must ride when touring Beaver Creek. We had a great, albeit out of control, run down this race course, and I highly recommend it  J.

After a couple of hours of searching for the powder, and finding the steepest runs on the hill, we decided it was time to find and conquer the terrain parks. We found the smaller terrain park, Park 101, underneath Chair 8, Cinch Express, and we had a great time goofing off there. With wide based box rails and smaller jumps (perfect for practicing your latest feat on, whether it be straight airs, 1′s or 3′s…), these jumps were great for hucking as the lips were small, which means you were never falling very far if you didn’t land! We also made it over to Lumber Yard and the Zoom Room, both which offered diverse and interesting features (tires, tree logs etc…) and was a lot of fun. Insider Tip: Looking for something else out of a terrain park? Well, with Beaver Creek’s 5 terrain parks (including the pipe), you are bound to find what you are looking for.  Take a look at the Beaver Creek Extreme Terrain interactive website where the Beaver Creek Progressive park system is detailed so you can map your route before you ride so you can really get yourself comfortable and pumped up for your day!

We took a lunch at the top of Chair Six and were loving life. We easily found a few lounge chairs and ate our lunch as we basked in the sun. I highly recommend a mid-afternoon break as you take in the view.

There was the entire Rose Bowl side of the mountain that we didn’t have time to ride, however, what we did see of Beaver Creek was very impressive. I look forward to going back again when there is more snow as the steepness of the resort would be absolutely epic on a powder day (which typically, the area is well-known for!!) Insider Tip: To top off a perfect day at Beaver Creek, try to make it down to the Base of Chair 6, Centennial Chair lift, by 3pm for free, hot and fresh chocolate chip cookies!

Our Beaver Creek adventure did not end on the slopes – we received a private tour of the village (from our best friend and Avon, CO local) and he suggested a few hot spots as far as the night life in Beaver Creek is concerned. After a long day riding he suggested a few chill destinations that we really enjoyed. The Coyote Café and the Dusty Boot are two hotspots that are snowboarder friendly too. At the Café enjoy a large and strong margarita or pick up a dollar PBR at the Dusty Boot (if you time their specials right). Either way, you can’t go wrong, as smack in the middle of these bars is Blue Moose Pizza Restaurant (which is a popular destination in the Vail Village as well).

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So now that you know where to ride and dine, I am going to back up now. If you are not staying in the Beaver Creek village you can get there a number of ways. (1) Hope on the local city bus (ECO Transit) from wherever you are staying along I-70 (near Vail and Beaver Creek) it is an easy $4 bucks each way and it stops right in front of the Beaver Creek parking lot for easy access to their free shuttle.  (2) Depending on where you are staying there is a Beaver Creek complimentary door-to-door shuttle – call village transportation at 970.949.1938 to see if they service your hotel. (3) Pay for parking in the lot at the base of Beaver Creek and take the free shuttle all the way to the top.

With so many close resorts in the Vail Village vicinity, if you are planning a trip to Beaver Creek, I would check the conditions first.  With fresh powder, this resort would be magnificent!  However, if the resort hasn’t seen snow in a few days/weeks, I would opt for another resort in the area, such as Vail or Breck, which both contain better terrain to ride on days where the snow is not there.