All of us at VailSkiVacations.com are incredibly excited about the New Year and what 2009 has to offer! While 2008 has been an intriguing and certainly difficult year we look forward to a promising 2009 in which Vail and Beaver Creek should be your top vacation priority. Enclosed in this post is a selection of why we feel that there is no better ski or family vacation than visiting the Vail Valley.
Enjoy the wonderful Vail and Beaver Creek Ski Resorts, both of which are consistently ranked in the top 5 Ski Resorts by Ski, Skiing and Transworld Snowboarding magazines. The two mountains offer unparalleled skiing and village life, from Vail’s legendary back bowls to the Bird of Prey race course both mountains offer challenging terrain. Yet families and newcomers to skiing or snowboarding will be delighted by the great ski school and beginner terrain on both mountains. Vail and Beaver Creek certainly provide world class skiing for everyone.
But there’s so much more to the Vail Valley including wonderful village lifestyles modeled after the European Alps. Vail Village is adorned in Bavarian architecture complementing the walk through village that greets guests and locals with astounding restaurants, bars, shopping and sightseeing. With a wide variety of villages to stay in the options for lodging are endless, Vail Village and Beaver Creek offer high end luxury rentals while Lionshead Village and Avon present more affordable and family friendly alternatives.
We look forward to hearing from readers and vacationers alike, so if you’re planning on visiting the Vail Valley in the next year make sure to contact us through our website or at 1-877-411-8245.
Luxury lodging in Vail certainly manifests a competitive climate as Vail’s upscale lodging and cities have been one of their strongest selling points. Lodging in the Vail Valley, whether in Vail or Beaver Creek, certainly is phenomenal with easy access to the city’s villages and the mountain. But when it comes to distinguishing between your options VailSkiVacations.com and our staff are an excellent resource.
Our company employs a well educated, highly knowledgeable staff of locals who know the Vail Valley as well as anyone. Complementing this local experience is our large, diverse inventory of lodges, private homes, hotels and condos in the Vail Valley. Because we aren’t a property management company we can book clients in any property that aligns their desires with our options, it really isn’t hard when you have access to over a thousand properties!
But what does this mean to you? Well to begin, you’re guaranteed to save time by avoiding a complicated online booking procedure that involves difficult searching and comparison. When you contact our staff we listen to your requests and desires then utilize our knowledge of Vail to properly match you to a few properties. After that we respond promptly with our best selections and inform you on their differentiating characteristics. All this leaves you with a less complex booking procedure, better choices, and accommodations that are exactly what you wanted.
Arguably the best part though is our ability to save you money because as local ‘travel agents’ we have access to great discounts and booking rates. Our competitors frequently mark up their prices to ensure higher profit margins, this contrasts our technique in which we utilize relevant, new information to supply current prices that are guaranteed to rival any competition.
Hopefully this helped illustrate why all of us at VailSkiVacations.com and VailBeaverCreekLuxuryProperties.com are proud of our businesses and our work. We look forward to helping you with any booking you might have upcoming for either Vail or Beaver Creek. Contact us at 1-877-411-8245 or through our website.
Here’s an excerpt from the Vail Daily chronicling this weekend’s race at the famous Birds of Prey course on Beaver Creek. If you missed it this year make sure to plan to attend in future years as it certainly is one of the best World Cup races.
BEAVER CREEK, Colorado — Good things come to those who wait, and that was certainly the case for Birds of Prey 2008.
We lost the super combined to snow on Thursday — for the record, Switzerland’s Daniel Albrecht remains the defending champ — but what followed were three days of enthralling racing at Beaver Creek.
We knew that Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal was going to be one of the big stories coming into the week. Everyone, Aksel included, was just happy that he got down the hill during training on Tuesday. Even everyone in the press corral stopped what they were doing to applaud.
But are you kidding? Downhill win Friday. Super-G win Saturday. Third in the giant slalom Sunday.
Given Svindal’s crash last year, that truly does go up with Hermann Maier’s run from the 1999 Worlds through the 2000 downhill — six wins in as many starts in Beaver Creek — and the Bode Miller-Daron Rahlves podium dance of 2004-05 as one of the legendary stories of the Birds of Prey.
What makes it all the more gratifying is that Svindal is liked by his fellow competitors. They were genuinely happy for him this week, though that may change if Svindal continues his rampage in Europe for the rest of the season.
Seriously, this is not always the case. Jealousy builds up. One such example was the stare of death any reporter got when Austria’s Stephan Eberharter was asked about his teammate Maier. Not a pretty sight.
Don’t be surprised to see Svindal takes back the overall globe from Miller come March of next year.
Just a quick heads up that the Epic Pass is only on sale until November 15th, hurry and purchase this amazing deal. The Epic Pass offers unlimited skiing to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin for an unbeatable $579. In addition, in comparison to other season passes there are no restrictions or Blackout dates on the Epic Passs, meaning you ski whenever you want to.
Concerns with the economy have spread in recent months prompting an invigorating election, progressive measures to aid large businesses and a number of other changes. Despite these concerns the upcoming ski season at Vail and Beaver Creek is bound to be a great one, strong early season snowfall is quickly establishing an above average base with weather reports indicating even more snow is on the way!
If you’re planning a trip to Vail or Beaver Creek realize that sharing time with family and friends is one activity not to be marginalized by the economy. Effective planning and cost effective lodging can help any family or group enjoy a great vacation in Vail for whatever their current budget is. We’ve highlighted below a number of cost effective lodges to help you plan your trip, if you have any questions or would like assistance please contact us through 1-877-411-8245 or check out our website VailSkiVacations.com.
9 Vail Road
These great condominiums have ample space and plenty of amenities to entertain the whole group; an outdoor pool and hot tub, fireplaces and more are sure to keep you busy. In addition, these rentals offer a short walk to Vail.
All Seasons
A great variety of rooms are offered through the All Seasons ensuring parties of any size can be adequately accommodated. Located in Vail Village this is a great rental for groups looking to enjoy Vail Mountain and the town, yet have lodging close enough to retreat to.
Chateau Christian
An iconic Vail lodge, the Chateau Christian offers comfortable mountain themed lodging in the heart of Vail Village for a reasonable price. Great lodging for groups of 3-5 this property offers a large variety of units, each with unique amenities guaranteeing you stay in exactly the property you desire.
I’ve struggled over where to begin this post for roughly twenty minutes now, it’s intriguing that after one of the best weekends of my life all I can recollect are the little things; laughter, stories, adventures and the such…yet no concrete storyline. But in many ways that’s the beauty of such a weekend, through words it’s nearly impossible to recount such events…hopefully photos will do the job.
Friday July 11th Friday Afternoon Club at Vail
It doesn’t take much to get our group on Vail mountain, so when Friday Afternoon Club rolls around offering free gondola rides to the top of Vail and entertainment it quickly becomes the place to be. This Friday was no exception, the plaza on top of the gondola was jam packed with a wide array of people enjoying the start of their weekend. Perfect weather kept the crowd up there till threats of walking down forced everyone to cram into the last gondolas.
For the older portion of the crowd the next move was simple, get off the gondola walk all 10 yards to Garfinkel’s and keep the night going. The bar was crowded as was the deck, but unquestionably with such a nice night the deck was the the place to be as evidenced by a festive and lively crowd.
Saturday July 12th Hiking down West Vail
Saturday we ventured off into the depths of West Vail where we spent the better part of the day walking down the mountain. Exploring the terrain, vegetation and paths was quite intriguing and presented plenty of photo opportunities which will be showcased here.
Curious George would be proud
It turns out Thomas isn’t a lightweight!
A giant among trees…or a gnome?
Graham enjoying this meadow to its fullest
Sunday July 13th Bottling Wine and Eating Raw Vegan
For Scott, Thomas and Graham the opportunity to tour a wine bottling facility was too much to pass on…regardless if it was Sunday. The three of us were accompanied (or should I say chaperoned) by experienced wine producer Rich tenBraak as we toured the bottling facilities at the 4 Eagle Ranch. Rich has bottled over 2500 bottles in his life and was unquestionably the perfect guide to our tour (check his interview from last week). As for the actual bottling, well it was everything you could ever desire and more.
All of us would like to thank 4 Eagle Ranch for a great experience!!
Rich and Graham check out Rich’s barrel from last year
Thomas, Graham and Scott cheers our ‘hard work’
Following an afternoon of wine, and quite the drive back from Walcott to West Vail through some amazing back roads, we converged at our concierge Pamela Saden’s house for a raw vegan dinner (click here to see her interview). The dinner had been scheduled for a week, but it had been on our minds for the last few days and ever since we left the wine behind.
So what does a raw vegan dinner constitute? While to begin, cooking in methods that conform to raw vegan is actually much more liberating than the stereotypes suggest, for example we ate salsa, guacamole and hamburgers. Or at least that’s what we called them, in reality we were amazed by the attention to detail and commitment to your diet that a raw vegan diet requires. Raw vegans support a fully vegetarian lifestyle, but follow a strict set of other guidelines to cooking such as the inability to cook foods over 1100 F. I think what all of us really learned from our meal is that your diet is something you should take pride in, its easy to eat whatever is in front of you but showing discipline and using your diet as a means of improving or regulating your life is very honorable.
For our meal, the carrot pecan burgers were made from carrots, pecans, olive oil, mushrooms, cilantro and a few other ingredient before being dehydrated for 8 hours. They were sandwiched between pieces of onion bread that contained onion, flax, sunflower seeds all of which was dehydrated for 2 days. The combination was great, it had a hint of Indian cooking but filled all of us up.
Desert and drinks were also quite the treat, fresh juice preceded our meal and prepped our stomachs for the coming meal. Dessert, well anyone that thinks vegans are missing out hasn’t had Pamela’s cheese cake. Everyone at the table was delighted by it, in fact I’d challenge nearly any Vail Valley restaurant to beat it.
We’re done, no more and be proud if you made it all this way….yes it was long but let me tell you this was one amazing weekend. Hopefully we’ll have more condensed updates for our weekends in the future!!
Damian Woetzel the Founder of the Vail International Dance Festival Officially Retires from the Stage
The man who founded the 2008 Vail International Dance Festival 2 years ago has officially announced his retirement from the stage, and in doing so performed once more with the New York City Ballet on June 18th. His style and grace supported a long career lasting over 25 years at the professional level. During this time his reputation as one of the United State’s prominent dancers has established his mark in the dance world. Yet, his contribution to the arts may just be beginning as Damian Woetzel is rumored to be a potential replacement for his troupe’s director in the future.
Damian making a curtain call for his final performance
While the Vail Dance Festival may not gain his full attention now, he is enrolled at Harvard after all, it is sure to grow under his direction. His style and grace have translated into a wonderful persona as a director, his influence over the festival is quite dramatic as he guides his dancers yet doesn’t overstep his boundaries as a director.
Vail Ski Vacations is very anxious for the return of the Vail International Dance Festival and await opening night. Coverage will increase as the festival approaches, but for now all of our staff would like to congratulate Damian Woetzel on a fabulous career.
For further reading on Damian Woetzel’s retirement from the stage check out Dancing Perfectly Free a great blog covering the arts or check New York Entertainment’s for a great in depth look into his career and retirement.
Denver Precedes Vail as the 2008 Kick It 3v3 Soccer Tournament Debuts in Colorado
Merely a month from the Kick It 3v3 Regional Championships in Vail the tournament descends upon Denver, CO as nearly 300 teams play for a berth in the regional championship. Denver will host the tournament July 12th and 13th at the Fort Logan Soccer Complex, Crocs a major sponsor of the tour plans to sell their shoes on-site and sponsor a wide array of events at the tournament.
The tournament features a fast and friendly style of soccer, in which teams of up to 6 players field a 3 person team on a condensed field that features small goals without goalies. The pace is quick providing an interactive game that participants, fans and families will all find enjoyable. For the complete rules of the guide check out the Kick It 3v3 website (FAQ) which illustrates the modified rules and clarifies a few issues.
The Denver tournament precedes the Vail Regional Championship for the Rocky Mountains where teams can earn a berth to the final in Orlando, FL. The top 5 teams from each division in Denver qualify for the Vail tournament, which is open to local teams as well. Vail’s tournament will be hosted at the Ford Fields and the Vail Valley Athletic Field.
Destination