Our Blog has moved to our actual web-site

The Antlers at Vail blog has become quite popular and therefore we recently incorporated our blog into our actual web-site http://www.antlersvail.com/ Although this information will remain here for quite awhile, we will no longer be making updates here. For new blog posts and in the future, please visit us at blog.antlersvail.com All old blog posts can also be found at that site.

Vail in the Spring!

I just spent almost a week out at Vail (at the Antlers), cycling every day out along the Golf Course - still just a little snow at the tops of the mountains and...SO GREEN! - dry, sunny, cool - thought you would enjoy this picture that I took one day cycling. The plus was the Artists Festival in Lionshead over the weekend - really interesting art and sculpture and jewelry. See you soon!
SnowWitch

G.H.O.S.T. SEASON ENDS

PERFECT RECORD REMAINS INTACT

A few new faces, an extreme case of confidence, and large dose of optimism was not the formula that would propel the Antlers into the post season playoffs. This softball season ended on Monday and we all walked away from the beautiful Ford Fields feeling like gladiators. We did the best we could, but in the end we lay bloody on the field, clinging to life. We would re-group and do it again, for 8 weeks, as the frenzied crowd chanted "death to ghost" every Monday. We lost every game, again, but returned to please the masses as the life was kicked out of us week after week after week.

We did make several huge leaps toward respectability and this beat writer would like to point out some differences from last years inaugural season and share some player comments with our loyal fan(s).

No major injuries for one. We lost a few arms and legs and I remember a couple of eyes that were taken out and we're still looking for Eric's ear, but other than that, nothing serious. Just a few cuts and bruises that were worn proudly and displayed for all bar patrons to see whether they wanted to or not.

I asked coach/pitcher Tom Schlader what he was most impressed with this season and he replied "On 3 different occasions, players from other teams said you guys don't suck as bad as last year".

Darci Walls, the ever so consistent catcher and team leader added "We only lost by 4 runs in one game".

Crissy Greenawalt, the swift right fielder that has been recruited by teams as far away as Washington made this observation. "We would have beaten Loaded Joes but some guy in left field makes this rolling, tumbling catch when we were only 3 goals away from overtime".

One of the new faces on the team, Amy Scherm, who could play anywhere on the field, knew in her heart "Our record is no indication of how bad we are. Let me re-phrase that".

Randi Davis, the wily veteran and stellar 2nd base person seemed relieved. "I can't promise I"ll be back next year. All the other old guys on the team never showed up.
The beer after the game is good though and I do remember catching a ball or making an out or getting a hit or something".

As it is, no one has quit their day job and we are all back to where we belong. We can only watch the playoffs from behind the fence as fans now. We hold are heads high and know we did everything we could to try and be part of the post season, but we just came up a little short. No, we came up a lot short.

I asked Rob LeVine as he was cleaning out his locker, a blue Toyota Prius, how he felt about the season. His eyes gleamed and even though I saw a trace of sorrow in them, he said "This is a great group of fighters and I assure the softball world the funding is there for next season".

The Saint that leads his martyrs into battle. Stay tuned.

2008 Colorado River Ride

Every year for the past four years, some variation of Team Antlers has ridden in the late-July Colorado River Ride ... one of the best and most fun bicycle centuries there is. In addition to the 100 mile route being spectacular (much of it paralleling the Colorado River from Burns to Dotsero) the aid stations are more like big parties then most other rides. That's because a significant number of the 1,000+ riders are locals that all know each other.

This year was Team Antlers' finest hour (so far) with 15 people riding in Antlers jerseys. It was an all-star lineup, including:

Randi Davis (our controller) and her architect husband Danny on their tandem (hanging out about six inches off of their back wheel is truly one of my most happy places in the whole world)

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Bert Farin ... the most fun-loving employee in the history of the Antlers. Period.

Kent Rose ... past mayor of Vail, a stalwart of our regular Wednesday night mountain biking group, and the only guy I know to once ride to Steamboat and back (200 miles) in one day

Ray Tuomey ... Bert's friend (and ours) from Chautauqua in Boulder and now solar panel guru (pictured here using his "portable changing room" aka a Mexican poncho)

Erin Kelly ... son in law of Ebby and Lex Pinson (of Vail Symposium fame and Wednesday nights respectively)

Lee Rimel & Charlie Dolan ... Both Wednesday night vets. Charlie's a builder extraordinaire and Lee built and owns the 10th Mountain Division Hut System's newest hut at the top of Tennesee Pass ... the Continental Divide Hut

Cathy Craig ... Durango's finest product ever and one of my very best buds from Colorado College

Nate Free ... past Antlers employee (last millenium), who now runs club sales for the Sonnenalp golf club and frequent biking pal of Randi & Danny

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and yours truly

Sadly, Ratz, Sarah and Marco Pierotti decided to start from Beaver Creek, whereas the rest of us started and finished in Eagle ... so we missed them. Deputy Sherriff Jeff Layman, caught us midway as well. So too bad ... no photos, but they all proudly wore the Antlers Burgundy and Cream as well.

Coming out of Eagle we were full of piss and vinegar ... constantly challenging each other for the head of the paceline. Well, maybe not ... but you get the idea.

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However by the end of the ride, it was a slightly different story.

Thanks to Kent and Rayma Rose who threw an AWESOME post ride cookout and picnic at their magnificent Eagle Ranch home, the wear and tear of all those road (rode?) miles wore off pretty quickly. On the other hand, I suspect everyone slept pretty darn well that night ... I know I did.

By the way, we've got some open slots for next year's ride ...

Antlers Anniversaries

At the Antlers, we are always excited to host social groups because it allows us to share their special time. This year, we’ve provided lodging for a record number of weddings, anniversaries and family reunions, and have enjoyed meeting and learning about each of the people who come to stay with us.

While hosting guests from Vail, Colorado and across the country (or world!) for social events is wonderful for us, we are even more excited when it is our condominium owners who think of the Antlers for their intimate events. It’s just one more way of showing the Antlers truly is a ‘home away from home’.

This August Lowell and Carol Geithman will be hosting their family and closest friends at the Antlers for their 50th Wedding Anniversary. With the help of Pan for Hire, our in-house catering, and the Geithman’s own special drink, Cataba, we’re expecting a festive evening, celebrating their best memories of the last 50 years. However, the Geithman’s aren’t the only Antler’s owners coming up on 50 years together! The Antlers will also be host to Charlie and Helen Wachendorfer’s family when they celebrate their 50th in 2009.

Congratulations to everyone who has celebrated a special event at the Antlers this year – we’re glad you’ve chosen to include us in your lifelong memories.

En el Antlers at Vail, amamos nuestro trabajo!

Razones por las cuales preferir Antlers at Vail

Quienes laboramos en el Antlers at Vail, amamos nuestro trabajo! Nos encanta lo que hacemos y sentimos pasión por el servicio a nuestros huéspedes.

Sabemos que planificar sus vacaciones no fue un trabajo sencillo y usted aspira a que su decisión haya sido acertada. Nosotros los sabemos, por eso nuestro director de primeras y ultimas impresiones lo recibe con una amplia sonrisa y la primera frase que escucha en esta tierra es: "Bienvenido a Casa!". No lo dejará ni cargar su equipaje.

Conocemos también que usted tiene un presupuesto asignado para esta vacación y nosotros no queremos que lo exceda, sino que sea inferior. Usted no pagará por el servicio de parqueo, tampoco pagará por la entrega del periódico matutino, ni por el servicio de limpieza de su habitación o por el uso de nuestras instalaciones. Nuestro trabajo es servirle a usted y que tenga la experiencia mas cómoda posible con una tarifa justa y razonable que lo incluye todo!

Lo ayudamos a programar sus actividades recreativas:

Si desea esquiar, nuestros agentes le pueden ayudar a programar la compra de sus tickets
Si desea cenar y quiere que se le recomiende un lugar, consúltenos. Nuestros agentes conocen los mejores lugares de acuerdo a sus requerimientos.
Si tiene que hacer compras en el supermercado, nuestro equipo de transporte coordinará con usted el horario para recogerle y traerlo de vuelta.

Si prefiere quedarse en casa usted contará con más de 200 títulos que puede alquilar, para disfrutar su reposo. Las palomitas de maíz van por nuestra cuenta!

Cada uno de quienes formamos el Antlers at Vail se siente orgulloso de estar aqui, pertenecer a este lugar, de realizar su trabajo y ser creativo en el, aportando con soluciones efectivas a cada situacion. Queremos que usted forme parte de nuestra familia tambien! Porque usted es la razon por la cual estamos aqui. Sera un placer tenerlo con nosotros y decirle en nuestra tierra " Gracias por hospedarse en el Antlers at Vail" Es nuestro propósito lograr que usted se sienta en familia y encuentre en Vail su nuevo hogar.

Conference Room - Summer Upgrades

With the sun shining and the beautiful summer weather now in Vail, the Antlers conference center has made some small summer upgrades to try and bring the outdoors in! We've added a fresh coat of paint to the walls and a splash of teal with new napkins. We're also switching out our regular black skirted buffets for an all white color scheme, making the inside of the rooms even more light than with the wall of windows alone!

Also look for new buffet risers and a summer beer offering to come to the conference center soon! As always, contact myself or Magda King to get your group in to see the Antlers summer upgrades!

And when you're not stuck in meetings - enjoy the true outdoors!
(clowe@antlersvail.com; mking@antlersvail.com)

My Last Day

Well, folks, today is my last day of work at the Antlers. It has been a great six years for me, and I hope for them as well. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of the Antlers family and that our family relationship will only grow from here. I have learned more from Rob and Ratz than any other bosses I've ever had and I'm so very grateful to them for all the good advise and lessons. Beginning Monday I will be the new Administrator of the Vail Valley Surgery Center at the Vail Hospital. I'll basically have the same job as here but instead of checking people in and out of luxury hotel suites, I'll be checking people in and out of luxury surgical suites. Who knows, maybe I'll even go back to school eventually and finally make my Nana proud!

Vail road biking

It is time for Colorado "touring", both with the car and with the bike. Independence Pass and Trail Ridge road are now open after the record snows this past winter. It sure is a fun time to ride to the top of some of the Colorado passes and then throw some snowballs around or do a little sledding. The pic above is from Loveland Pass near the Eisenhower tunnel. I and a few friends did a training ride from Idaho Springs up to the top on Wednesday. 30 miles up in about 3 hours. All the way down in about 1 hour 10 minutes. It was work. Chris R.

Clock Tower

As promised, here is a shot of our beautifully updated clock tower:

Colorado Children's Chorale goes for "the record"

The Colorado Children's Chorale is in Vail this week and once again the Antlers at Vail is playing host! The kids have a busy and pretty structured week (thank goodness). Even their pool time is scheduled. The kids decided to try for the record for the most people in the pool. Check out the movie. The sad thing is, they JUST missed the record.

The Antlers Welcomes 3 Teva Groups

The first weekend in June is a busy one for the Vail Valley as we are host to the Teva Mountain Games. There are many components that make up this weekend of events, from street concerts to kayaking at International Bridge to DockDogs competitions. And there is even more behind the scenes work that goes on.

The Antlers is proud to be hosting some of the Teva Mountain Games staff over the long weekend, as well as two other groups directly related to the Games.

One of these groups is Cocona Fabrics, Inc., a Colorado based company that uses recycled coconut shells to make athletic fabrics. What a perfect fit with the Teva Games and the Antlers green lodging goals!

The second group the Antlers is hosting is SERAC Adventure Films. SERAC is holding an Adventure Film School during the Teva Games. The students will be out and about filming the games, and then returning to the Antlers to review and edits their takes. We're excited to see what this wonderful and ambitious group of students presents at the end of the week!

The Antlers is excited and proud to be a part of the Teva Games - we hope to see everyone out there this weekend!

The G.H.O.S.T. Is Back

The Antlers Haunts Ford Park Again

All though there was some confusion about our softball team and whether we would be organized again, our fearless leader Rob Levine took charge and we found ourselves drenched in sunshine at Ford Park. It was Monday evening at 5:30 and the usual suspects took the field.

We were a team again, but still confused. The apprehension, the nervousness, the lack of athletic ability. It was all evident for the first 3 innings. Simple grounders were rolling between legs. Pop flies were not dropped, but rather falling harmlessly over our heads. Mighty swings of the bat resulted only in walking back to the bench with heads down in shame.

But this team has grit and we managed to keep the Snow Pigs from a commanding lead. We found ourselves in the 6th inning only 2 runs down and dare I say, feeling like no would could stop us now. But as it goes, swing and a miss, swing and a miss, swing and a miss. We lose 9 to 7 but feel great about it.

Yes, the G.H.O.S.T. is back and this season we may even scare someone. (For season ticket information. you can contact the Antlers. We would love the support).

New Stone Work II

We've almost finished with the stone veneer on our courtyard clock tower, and it is looking great! All that is left now is to grout the stones and remove the scaffolding, which should be completed by Friday. I'll update then with a photo of the finished product.

For now, here's a before shot: ...and during:

It is time for mountain biking

O.k., the trails around Vail still need a few weeks of drying out before they'll be good. However, the trails in Eagle (30 minutes from Vail) are in top notch condition. Very smooth, lots of green, views and new flowers. C. Ratz

Winter is finally exiting Vail

Wow, it is taking awhile, but winter is starting to leave Vail. The picture above is from the Antlers looking up towards the ski slopes. It was taken around May 18th. Don't worry, it has been melting a lot the last few days. None-the-less, we received some snow showers this Memorial Day weekend. The bike path is open up to the top of Vail pass (although it is 5 feet of snow tunnel at the top). Golf course is OPEN! Rafting it EXCELLENT! The Aspen trees are budding big time and within a week it will be green, green, green.

A Famous Guest

Back in March, we had Jorge Ramos stay with us for a little ski getaway. Being that he is a super star in the Spanish speaking world, some of the girls in our housekeeping department were very excited to meet him.(l to r: Carolina, Gladys, Lorena *front*, Fatima, Jorge, Carolina's daughter Alandra, Lola, Macario, Alicia and Eva)

Antlers at Vail unit remodels

Tis the construction season. The mountain has been closed for a little over a week and our construction crews are busy at remodels and updates at the Antlers. Large remodels are occurring in units 303, 305, 503, 505 and 608. Slightly smaller upgrades are being started in 502, 507 and 702. This spring we will be re-doing the exterior rock work on our South elevator, re-painting the balcony railings, and installing a new stairway access in the courtyard to the North elevator.

Tear out starts in unit 305

608 kitchen work

This is 503
That wall you see is being torn down tomorrow!

Another kitchen remodel in progress

It will look something like THIS (below)

Busy Beaver

We were visited last night by a menacing beaver that cut down one of our prized Aspens. When Greg told me about it I said, "Oh, cool! I've got my camera today so I'll go photograph it and put it on the blog." Greg's response: "No, not cool - Rob is not going to be happy."

Bowling Party

For our annual "end of season" party this year we all went bowling down in Eagle. There was plentiful beer and food and a good time was had by all. Sadly, this was Kati's last Antlers event.