Westbound Boarder

2010 has come and (almost) gone (Happy New Year’s Eve!) and looking back on the ups and downs, there is one Shredolution that Danielle and I set out to accomplish last year and far surpassed – visit at least 2 new snowboard resorts in 2010.  In 2010 alone, we visited more than 25 resorts between the two of us, so we sat down to rank our favorites.  It was a rather difficult thing to do, considering we liked each and every resort for very different reasons, but after debating for a few hours, we finally narrowed down our favorites in order of ranking.  Our list is below!

1. Vail: The best thing about Vail is that it literally has everything. How is that possible? This resort is MASSIVE (well over 5,000 ski-able acres!!!). They have a great ski/snowboard school, tons of groomers, over 30 lifts granting access to bowls, chutes, back-country, tree runs and more. They even have multiple terrain parks for each and every skill level with almost too many features to hit. It is all of this versatility that makes Vail our number one resort to visit, as there is something for everyone!  Insider Tip: One thing is also for sure, if you can handle the double blacks, head directly back to Blue Sky Basin. Be sure to give yourself time to get back there as it is quite the treck, but is is soooooo worth it. (Learn More)
2. Mammoth: It is big, versatile and has something for everyone. (Learn more)
3. Heavenly: If your idea of a fun day riding is shredding groomers until you can’t shred no more or hanging at the local dive bar after a long day of riding, then Heavenly is most certainly not the resort for you.  If you have always longed for Vegas to build a mountain-themed casino, on the other hand, then Heavenly may be just your style.  Heavenly is a super fun resort, but only if you take the time to travel off the beaten path.  While the groomers and parks are nothing to brag about, Heavenly has some of the best tree runs around; a perfect place to ride if you love shredding neverending pow and exploring interesting places.  But let’s not forget the nightlife – unlike most mountain resorts, Heavenly is one of the few that sits right on a landmine of Vegas-style Casinos.  It’s the perfect resort to take a trip to if not everyone in your group has their sights set on riding.
4. Cerro Cathedral: After a long, snowy winter riding, what more could you ask for?  More snowboarding, of course!  Cerro Cathedral, located in Bariloche, Argentina, is the place to go if you want to experience both killer riding and the fun, local Argentinian culture.  Their backcountry terrain is unreal, and there is so much to explore beyond groomed runs.  And the best part?  Their season runs during our summer, so you can literally snowboard all year round if you are so inclined.
5. Breckenridge: If there’s one word we could pick to describe Breckenridge, it would be, well, awesome?  Breck has some of the best terrain parks, and even some great terrain (if you can manage to move yourself outside their parks).  One of the coolest things about Breck, though, is that everyone on the “who’s who of snowboarding” list rides here, has ridden here, or plans to ride here later this season.  You can literally sit at the top of the park for hours and just watch people ride through – it seems as if everyone who rides at Breck is pro! (Or maybe just everyone who is pro rides at Breck?)  Combined with a laid-back atmosphere, high profile events and fun nightlife, Breck offers the complete package. (Learn more)
6. Snowbird: A Steep, deep, powder hounds heaven. Snowbird is not a place for the beginner, as there is not really any easy way down the hill. My favorite part of this resort? They don’t waste away Utah’s, ‘best snow on earth,’ with the dreaded groomers. Snowbird has everlasting powder and a one-of-a-kind tunnel that takes you through the mountain on a conveyor belt to the backside of the mountain, a must see when you visit Snowbird. Insider Tip: the Snowbird Tram increases the price of your lift ticket, but does not give you access to additional terrain (assuming the other lifts taking you to the top are open). Not too exciting so save your extra cash and just buy the day pass sans Tram access.
7. Alyeska: Located in Alaska only 30 minutes from Anchorage, this resort is mellow, full of light fluffy powder and has literally the hands down best view from the top of a resort. A real package deal, and with lift tickets only running $60 bucks, it is budget friendly, too.
8. Mt. High: It may be small, and the snow may slightly resemble a small, flowing creek anytime past noon, but this resort’s got character.  Located only 45 minutes to an hour outside of LA, Mt. High is LA’s hidden gem.  It’s often overshadowed by Big Bear, but IMHO, this resort knocks Bear out of the park – it’s closer, it’s mostly straight highway driving (unlike the windy road to Bear that can take 2 hours or more to get down), and its terrain parks are just as good, if not better.  And the best part?  If you so desire, you could ride hard in the morning and still be on the beaches by 1.  Now that’s the life! (Learn more)
9. Timberline: Located at our home base Mt. Hood, Timberline will always hold a special place in our hearts. Compared to it’s direct competitor, Mt. Hood meadows, Timberline boasts INCREDIBLE terrain parks, virtually no lift lines and it is open all year (yes, even all summer). A must visit on your trip to Hood, especially on the weekends when Mt. Hood Meadows has the long lift line fever.
10. Solitude: This is one of the most underrated resorts we have been too. As Utah is packed full of top rated resorts (over 11 within an hour of the SLC airport), Solitude does not have the street cred. it deserves. With versatile terrain including tree runs, amazing steeps, powder stashes and natural cliff drops, Solitude really has something for all riders (yes, they even have the groomers). On top of the excellent terrain, Solitude has a laid back vibe and nearly no lift lines.

For more “Best of 2010″ posts, check out The Top 10 Easy Tricks to Learn Before 2010 Ends and Top 10 Safety Tips to Remember.

It is Friday (finally), so here are our favs of the week:

• Apparently you don’t have to be able to walk, to snowboard. Check out this incredible video of a ONE year old mini shredder. Ya, you heard me right, now go see for yourself.
• Free Jack Johnson Concert! Help out the environment and yourself all at the same time. What have you got to loose?
• Helmets really are cool! As reported on Transworld Business and a recent study by the National Ski Area Association (NSAA), 57% of skiers and snowboarders are wearing helmets. Think about it.
• As if the Vail Resorts are not classy enough, check out their 75-85mill in upgrades Heavenly, Vail and Keystone will be experiencing just in time for next years winter season. Now even more of a reason to check out these resorts next season.

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.

After an amazing six days in Vail, CO (hence the six days sans blog updates), we’re finally back home   We were able to squeeze in four days of riding, though, and tried two brand new resorts – Beaver Creek and Breckenridge.  Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks, because we can’t wait to share all!

Wow.  It’s hard to believe that it has been more than a year since we published our first post on Westbound Boarder.  My how time flies!  2009 was an extremely busy, but great year, and we’d like to thank all of you for stopping by our blog.  We hope you’ve enjoyed reading!

In case you’re new to our blog, or simply just want to refresh your memory, here is a list of our most popular posts from 2009:

• Spotlight Female: Kimi Werner, National Spearfishing Champion
• Skimboarding, The ‘Shore’ Kind of Fun
• Windells – The Funnest Place on Earth!
• Get Those Ladies Off Yo’ Board!
• Westbound’s Guide To Sk8board Tricks
• Surfing: Longboard vs. Shortboard
• Resort Review: Vail, CO
• Saturday Shop Review – Val Surf
• Featured Female: Chanel aka CC
• Snowboard Buyer’s Guide: First Things First
• Safety First!
• ‘SUP With Your Board?

We’re excited to bring you more in 2010 and beyond!

(Note: If you would like to be a guest blogger or contributor, we welcome any and all female voices in the action sports industry!  Contact us at westboundboarder@gmail.com)

As I’m sure you’re all well aware, we here at Westbound Boarder love sweet deals, and we love them even more when they involve season passes!!  Vail Resorts (read our review here) is offering their 2nd annual ‘Epic Season Pass‘ deal through Sunday, April 12.  The pass costs $579 for adults and $279 for children, ages 5-12, for skiing and snowboarding at all five Vail Resorts – Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly – as well as at Arapahoe Basin.  While that price might seems a bit steep at first glance, season passes normally run well over a grand, and the Epic Pass grants you access to, not one, but six resorts!  (A day lift ticket to Vail runs nearly $90, for comparison, so six times up and it pays for itself).  

The people at Vail Resorts realize that these are tough times for everyone, so to help even further, they are giving guests the option to lock in these 2008-2009 prices with only a $49 down payment per pass with the remainder of the balance due in September, 2009.

This pass debuted last March and shocked the industry with how great the deal was.  They’ve never offered a pass that included all five of their resorts, so this is really an amazing deal.  Last year they sold 60,000.  While Vail is feeling the shock of the economy a little (sales this year were down around 5% from the same time last year) its great to hear that they can continue to offer these types of deals to the most diehard ski and snowboard fans.  Vail Resorts are truly amazing, so if you live in or near Colorado or NorCal, I’d highly recommend you check this out.  And don’t forget, last day’s Sunday so I suggest you get on it!

As I was sitting at my desk today, counting down the minutes until my weekend, I came across an old email I never opened.  An email that made my Friday and I am sure will make yours! The pictures speak for themselves; but nonetheless – here is the story…

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The bizarre event took place back in January when a male skier, 48, and his son loaded onto Vail’s Blue Sky Basin Lift. Unfortunately, the fold-down seat on the lift was not lowered all the way down, causing the man to fall through the resulting gap.

As you can see, the poor man, his pants, his skis and pride were instantly caught in an embarrassing tangle with the chair lift. As the nude man was hanging upside-down from the lift for nearly 10 minutes, with his young son (who is surely, scarred for life from this incident!) and now an entourage of entertained passerby’s watching, the lift began to reverse as the onlookers gathered ‘round to save the day.

The struggle continued as it took the innocent bystanders quite some time to, as The Smoking Gun puts it, ‘successfully dislodge the unidentified man.’

If this does not make your Friday afternoon after a long week, well, then you are your own!

Alright everyone, listen carefully. As our marvelous trip to Vail, CO (and yes, it really is like nothing on earth), has come to an end, I am here to tell you about the village hot spots and our personal favorites. So first things first, you go to Vail to snowboard, and as you already know from Andrea’s Vail Resort Review, this mountain is legit.  So I am going to tell you about where to eat, drink and even shop. You’re going to be tired after a long days riding so we recommend the following (before and after the hill) destinations…

Resturants: We ate at several different places during our trip to Vail, but a few places stood out among the rest, both for their food and drink and their class.

• The French Café: Start your day at the French Café. You can find this authentic gem in Lionshead Village where you’re bound to pick a breakfast that will keep you fueled through your lunch hour. With bona fide pastries such as hearty eggs, potatoes, meat and toast platters, you really can’t go wrong with any selection on their menu. Oh! An added bonus (for those of you who are bilingual), you can even order in French. Parlez-vous français?
• Garfinkels: After a long day on the hill you must ride straight down the Lionshead Village where you will find Garfinkel’s Restaurant and Bar. This cornerstone sits at the base of the Eagle Bahn Express Gondola and offers awesome food and drink specials nearly every day of the week. This is not just a regular restaurant though. Garfinkel’s offers a chill ski-town bar/grill atmosphere (the boys loved this place!), with a quite sizeable sunny deck where you can enjoy a frosty beverage while admiring at your latest triumph (the Rocky Mountains that is). As those who work at Garf’s put it, “seasons pass by, memories are created, good times are had, and lifelong friends are made. The walls inside tell the stories of the past with photos of patrons, athletes, and events gone by. You could be one of them.” Nothing short of a fantastic time is guaranteed when you choose Garf’s as your après ski destination; believe me.  Garfinkel’s is packed nearly every hour of the day, for a very good reason.
• Centre V: So Garf’s sounds a little too chill and laid-back for you? Or you just want to class up your Vail experience? Worry not. Leave the guys at Garf’s and make your way (about a 1 minute walk from Garf’s) over to Centre V. This place offers a killer happy hour (we recommend the Arabelle Martini or the Hot Butter Nut), and they even offer complementary pomme frites (French fries)! You can enjoy the beautiful atmosphere in their oh-so-comfortable spacious booths all the while listening to relaxing (but not too loud) live music. Centre V is absolutely 5 stars!

Nightlife: So now that you know where to fuel up before and after conquering the Rockies, it’s time to discover the night life in the Vail Village. After experiencing Vail Village with the locals, four nights in a row, Andrea and I narrowed down our night time destinations to our two favorites – The Club (not so much a ‘club’) and Whiskey Jack’s (previously known as ‘Ski Bar’).

• The Club: Don’t let the name ‘The Club’ deceive you. This place is the farthest thing from a ‘club.’ Come here for some hilarious post ski entertainment, enjoy live cover bands that comically harass the crowd, and prepare yourself for all kinds of rowdiness! Wear whatever your heart desires (as many are still in their ski gear), bring $5 for the cover on Saturday nights and hike on over to Bridge Street to find your self at The Club.
• Whiskey Jack’s: Another favorite of the trip was Whiskey Jack’s. With free beer for the locals on Thursdays (but who’s really asking if you’re local?), and themed nights five days a week, you’re bound to have a great time at this recently remodeled establishment. You will find snowboard memorabilia adorning each wall, 5 flat screen TV’s, a snow machine, an amature stripper pole, a pool table and even a chalkboard to write about your most recent powder sesh.

Enjoy these two late night local hot spots and don’t leave them without a shot of rumplemints (the bartender will know what you’re asking for – it’s a local favorite).  OH! And before you head home, a stop at Vendetta’s Pizza is a requirement!  But don’t let the seemingly long lines deter you; it’s worth it. Your delicious made to order (that’s right, you pick your toppings) late night pizza will save you from that AM hangover so you can yet again conquer the Rockies in the morning.

So hit these aforementioned hot spots and your trip to Vail will surely be a success. Have you already been to Vail before? Let us know what your favorite spots were by leaving us a comment so everyone can be prepared for their next trip to heaven on earth!  Still haven’t gotten enough of Vail? Stay tuned for our review on the largest hillside Burton Shop, centrally located in Vail’s Lionshead Village.

I love getting out and riding new terrain every now and again, so when Danielle asked me a couple of months ago if I wanted to take a trip to Vail, CO, I couldn’t say no! And after spending 5 days at this amazing resort, I can see why it boasts “like nothing on earth.”

But let’s start with tradition: Every year for the past several years now, a group of 10 to 15 of us have taken a trip to Whistler/Blackcomb, BC. Whistler is, of course, an awesome resort – one of the top in the world – but now that we’ve all graduated college and parted ways (ie, took off our party hats and traded them in for professional shoes – well, kinda ) we decided to try something new. Meanwhile, our buddy, Kevin, wasn’t quite ready to fully step into his professional shoes (who knows if he ever will be, come to think of it) and decided to move to Vail for the winter to teach ski lessons. So, free place to stay, good company, and a top US ski resort; how could we go anywhere but Vail this winter?

On to the trip: Dani, her husband, Lance, and I all arrived to the Denver airport Wednesday evening (Kevin was super awesome and offered to drive the two hours to come pick us up) – we did have to wait around for a bit, since massive amounts of snow dumped earlier that morning and the pass was slow moving, but a few beers later we didn’t mind one bit.

We arrived at Kev’s house later that night, after a nice (but dark, and very crammed) ride. He lives in Eagle-Vail, which is about a 5 to 10-minute drive from the Vail resort, and a $3 bus ride. I’m pretty sure he forgot to tell his roommates we were coming, but they were chill and super fun to hang out with (two were from South Africa!) Anyway, after goofing around in the snow for a bit (it was well past midnight by the time we arrived) we went to bed in preparation for a looong day of riding.

We spent the whole of Thursday and Saturday boarding at Vail; we really lucked out because there were perfect blue-bird skies with several inches of fresh powder from the day before. We spent most of Thursday riding the park (we tried to free ride from 2pm on, but with the mountain closing at 3:30pm, all we managed to find were damn cat tracks) and we spent all of Saturday exploring the hill. We would have loved to ride all 3 days, but with lift tickets pushing 100 bucks a pop, we opted for a day of kickers in Kevin’s backyard on Friday.

We definitely picked the perfect time to go on this trip. With kids going back to school that very week, the holiday rush was officially over; however, the mid-winter rush hadn’t fully begun. I was surprised though that even on Saturday, the lift lines weren’t crazy long. During busy weekends at Mt. Hood Meadows, you might wait in a lift line for up to 45 minutes, but I think the longest line we saw in Vail only took about 15 to get through! The mountain is HUGE – 193 named runs in all, 5,289 acres of skiable terrain, and 30+ chair lifts – so there’s a lot of ground to cover. One of the great things people kept telling me is that at 1pm in the afternoon it is still possible to find fresh tracks!

Now, the powder at Vail was out of this world. If you’re used to riding West Coast powder, like me, you’re in for a treat when you head to the Rockies. When it snows heavily in the Cascades, the powder is usually a bit heavier, and thus tougher to ride through, but the snow in Colorado is light and fluffy, and it literally feels like you’re riding on a cloud. Due to the warmer-than-usual weather we had in Vail, though, the powder wasn’t as light as normal; it was kind of a bummer that we didn’t get to experience “true” Vail powder, but no bother to me!

If we could go back and do things over, we would have spent more time riding the back side of the mountain (we didn’t discover this until basically the very last run of the day Saturday). If you get the chance to go to Vail, I would highly recommend heading over to the Blue Sky Basin part of the hill and taking Skyline express to the top; the run under the lift is unreal in untouched powder, and it was definitely our favorite run of the weekend.

Now, I really love riding the park and would be totally happy spending an entire day in it (as we did Thursday). The parks in Vail were pretty cool (there are currently two main terrain parks, and one for kids), but nothing really to brag about. They had some awesome jibs (pics to come soon!), and a good mix for riders at all skill levels, but the jumps were pretty beginner, which we realized after clearing every hit our first “test” run through. Now, I’m totally all for beginner jumps to practice new tricks on, but they did get a bit boring after a while; I would have loved to see a progression to give riders something to work up to.

Along the same lines, Vail is definitely a resort geared toward skiers (I’m assuming the beginner parks have a lot to do with it). We would have loved to ski at Breckenridge, which is more of a snowboarder’s resort, for a day (and actually had planned to do so) but with only three full days in Vail we didn’t get around to it. However, if you like freeriding, Vail is the place to be (being Colorado’s largest resort) especially if you’re planning a trip with both snowboarders and skiiers. And surprisingly, there wasn’t an overabundance of moguls, as we had expected – there was a pretty decent mix of everything.

Another caution before you go and plan your trip to Vail – it is expensive! Lift tickets are $97 (plus tax), however, if you’d like to save a spot of money it is *only* $87 for a half-day! Or $55 for an hour and a half (2 to 3:30pm). Hotels are at least $500 a night for an average, 2 person room, and can even run a few grand for a nice condo. Even parking is $25 per day. If you’re looking for a cheap place to go with a few friends for a weekend of boarding, Vail probably isn’t the place, but if you’d like to go on a nice family vaca or annual trip with your friends (and are willing to pay for the added luxury), the price is definitely worth it.

There are also several ways, though, that you can make your Vail vacation a lot less expensive. For example, since we stayed with Kevin, we didn’t spend any money on hotels (Kevin graciously accepted a weekend of drinking on us in return for his gratitude) and since he is a resort employee he was able to get us $45 lift tickets (a steal of a deal!) After our first day of riding, we made a Wal-Mart trip for food, and made sure to stock up on lots’o'liquor so we didn’t have to spend too much at the bars. There are also plenty of happy hours that offer awesome deals on food and drinks (some of which Dani will highlight in Vail post part 2); there was even one we went to on Thursday night that offered free (yes, FREE) beer! If you don’t have the luxury of staying with a friend but still want to save a few bucks on hotel costs, I’d recommend looking at hotels or motels in Eagle-Vail (10 min; $3 bus ride from Vail) or another near-by city. Also, if you don’t want to snowboard every day (well, of course you’d want to, but if you don’t want to spend the money to) then do what we did Friday – find a hill and build a tight kicker! There’s also lots of things to do in town that require little or no money, so that in itself is definitely enough to keep you occupied for a day.

All in all, Vail was a good time. Glad I went and I’d definitely go again! And if you are serious about planning a trip to Vail, stay tuned for Danielle’s post about things to do in Vail when you’re not on the hill, coming soon.

Apologies for the lack of blogging the past few days, but Dani and I are both in Vail!  We’ll write a much longer review later, but day 1 down, and so far this resort is pretty dang legit – dumped a foot yesterday, blue bird day today; couldn’t be more perfect.  We’ll update you all later (with lots of photos and videos, too!)

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