SPOTLIGHT NEWS......The Antlers at Vail, named one of three finalists by the Vail Valley Partnership for Green Business of the Year.
On Friday we were honored to be in attendance for the Vail Valley Success Awards Banquet. The gala was held at the Ritz-Carlton in Beaver Creek and 10 Antlers employees were dressed in their best "duds" to partake in cocktails, dinner, dancing, good old fashion socializing, and hopefully to accept the award. Rob LeVine, who compiled all the information required for our 10 page finalist application, was giddy with excitement as the master of ceremonies opened the envelope and announced "and the winner is....not the Antlers at Vail".
Rob and the rest of our group were a little disappointed but as is usually the case, we were gracious, held our heads high, ordered a round of martinis and toasted the winners. (I think Rob was looking forward to putting the award next to the "business of the year award" we received in 2004, which is still on display in the lobby).
When Hazel Miller and her small orchestra started up, the dance floor was alive and I personally believe we would have won something if the producers of "Dancing With The Stars" were in attendance. This Antlers group doesn't just excel in the hospitality business. They can "cut a rug" too (see video).
It needs to be mentioned how important this nomination was to us. We at the Antlers have been green and considered it part of the way we do business long before there was an award for doing it. We would like to thank Vail Valley Partnership for their consideration, the Ritz for hosting a fabulous affair, and Hazel Miller for drawing us away from our inhibitions.
Oh, and congratulations to GREEN LIMOUSINE for being honored as the 2007 Green Business of the Year.
Hazel Miller and her small orchestra put everyone in the mood
Monday, January 28, 2008
Mountains Are the Best Medicine
Whew...it's almost February. Year after year, January brings lots of med talk to the Antlers as we host medical conference groups new & old. Academic Hospital Affiliates (AHA) celebrated their 11th year at the Antlers this year! It's almost like they're part of our Antlers' family. Actually, it's exactly like that! Dr Susan Black & Dr Mark Trankina, who host the event with the Cucchiaras, are owners here. We're happy to say that we'll see them all again in 2009 for more skiing... and work, of course!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Ski lay-off....Too Long...
NEWS ALERT! UPDATE! YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST! STAY TUNED!
SKI LAY-OFF WAS TOO LONG
Greg Z. went skiing on Friday for the first time in 8 years. It seems he has struggled with fear, bad memories, no interest, and several other things related to psychological barriers that only Doctor Phil could begin to address. When asked why the sudden change of heart, his response was only "I live here and it's a long time before the golf courses are playable again".
We did a little research on this Antlers employee and found that the he raised 3 children and taught them all how to ski. "I spent a lot of time in the parking lots looking for gloves, putting on boots, and drying tears before an exhilarating day on the cat walks. This was part of the bad memories", he explained. He continued, "when they all got better, I couldn't keep up and I just ended up being brought down on a stretcher. This resulted in my fear. I didn't want any more re-hab in my life. I convinced myself that I had no interest in the sport and my ability was not that of all the legendary skiers in this valley anyway".
He had so much fun on Friday that he went out again for a few hours on Saturday and that his outlook has changed about everything. "I'm back baby! This is fun. There is something for everyone up there. As soon as these legs get back in shape, I' m going to ski with the kids again, but not until they put my boots on and make sure I'm warm enough".
We asked Greg what he enjoyed most about his re-discovered passion and his simple reply was "The views". I had forgotten how beautiful it is".
Any advice for the person that may be thinking as you did? "Get over it. Get up there and dance like no one is watching". He added, "don't push yourself, ski to your own ability, and stop every once in awhile to take in all that's around you".
He told us as he was headed to the hot tub with a cocktail that "I deserve this tub. My legs are burning, I'm exhausted, and it feels great. I never feel like this after a lousy game of golf."
SKI LAY-OFF WAS TOO LONG
Greg Z. went skiing on Friday for the first time in 8 years. It seems he has struggled with fear, bad memories, no interest, and several other things related to psychological barriers that only Doctor Phil could begin to address. When asked why the sudden change of heart, his response was only "I live here and it's a long time before the golf courses are playable again".
We did a little research on this Antlers employee and found that the he raised 3 children and taught them all how to ski. "I spent a lot of time in the parking lots looking for gloves, putting on boots, and drying tears before an exhilarating day on the cat walks. This was part of the bad memories", he explained. He continued, "when they all got better, I couldn't keep up and I just ended up being brought down on a stretcher. This resulted in my fear. I didn't want any more re-hab in my life. I convinced myself that I had no interest in the sport and my ability was not that of all the legendary skiers in this valley anyway".
He had so much fun on Friday that he went out again for a few hours on Saturday and that his outlook has changed about everything. "I'm back baby! This is fun. There is something for everyone up there. As soon as these legs get back in shape, I' m going to ski with the kids again, but not until they put my boots on and make sure I'm warm enough".
We asked Greg what he enjoyed most about his re-discovered passion and his simple reply was "The views". I had forgotten how beautiful it is".
Any advice for the person that may be thinking as you did? "Get over it. Get up there and dance like no one is watching". He added, "don't push yourself, ski to your own ability, and stop every once in awhile to take in all that's around you".
He told us as he was headed to the hot tub with a cocktail that "I deserve this tub. My legs are burning, I'm exhausted, and it feels great. I never feel like this after a lousy game of golf."
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Antlers Has Inspired Me
There's a lot of buzz in the ether about "going green" lately. Oprah did a show on it and showed it twice in the span of a few months. I happened to catch it both times and, both times I found it very interesting.The first time I watched, I accepted the show's challenge to change just one thing that I do to make an environmental impact. That day, I started turning off the water while I brush my teeth (Which saves 4 gallons a minute. That's 200 gallons a week for a family of four.) This time, I feel ready to make a couple of more changes.It is easy to get overwhelmed because there are a lot of statistics out there about how much water and energy it takes to make this or that and about how petroleum (i.e. oil and fossil fuels) is burned for the energy to make packaging for products like liquid body wash. That tears it! I'm switching to bar soap in my shower. It's kind of exciting because now I can shop for fancy bars of soap and display them in my bathroom (if I can find space). I like these at Etsy from Dennis Anderson. I would also like to try switching to eco-friendly grocery bags. Up until now, I've been getting plastic bags at the store and saving them (in empty Kleenex boxes - thanks to Amanda) to use as waste basket liners. You can get a whole grocery shopping set for under sixty dollars at Eco Bags.
Even though it's just a small start, I feel like I'm really making a difference. The Antlers is up for a Green Business of the Year Award right now, too! Wish us luck.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Vail Ski conditions January 2008
1/28 Three new inches. A little windy up there but it made for an adventure. I cruised all the way over to Blue Ox for the morning. That new Chair 10 is really fun. I hadn't skied those runs for years and year but with the quick lift now in, it is a breeze. Chris R.
1/26 Randi and I, along with friends Nate, Lisa, Tom & Karen, cut it up pretty good from 9:30 to the closing bell. Big day for me ... we covered a lot of the mountain, but the highlights were Widges, back to back Genghis Khan's, followed by back to back Prima Prontos. Oh yeah, and then there was Highline ... Ouch. Major s
oft snow everywhere with lots of freshies, but a pretty good case of retro-thigh nonetheless. Grabbed a bite at Two Elk late, and then off to another one in China Bowl, followed by a Rasputin's that was starting to put the set in set up. Just what I needed after a full day of deep 
lunges (as Randi put it). Oh well, it's all good. It was a spectacular day with nothing but sunshine ... got a little fried, but thankfully Lisa had some sunscreen to share on the Teacup lift. Can't wait to do it all again. Rob
1/25 4-5 inches of fresh. Nice, dry and light. I had to work at 11am so only had time for 4 runs. Cry me a river, right?
1/23-24/2008 Sunshine and powder. On Wed. we were all surprised by 4-8 inches depending on where you were on the mountain. John Katapodis (owner of 207) just raved about the conditions.... "it was over my knee in places". It has been one of the best Dec/Jan in memory. Not a lot of huge powder days but just consistent. Hardly an icy day on the mountain since Dec 1st. Can it keep up? Well, perhaps more snow on Friday again. Chris R.
1/21/2008 Back into my morning routine of 5 runs before 10:30am. Great base of snow but it would be nice to receive a couple of inches of fresh to freshen up the runs. No ice mind you, but maybe I'm spoiled now after 2-3weeks of powder. Groomed runs are great but the moguls are getting harder with the cold nights. Trying to poke the moguls head on with my GS skis wasn't working. Hit some lift lines with the Martin Luther King Holiday. Chris R.
1/16 - 17, 2008 Too cold for me to ski. The snow is great but cold. Light snow each day and it is pretty dead up on the hill. If you want the mountain to yourself, now is the time.
1/15/2008 Finally a sunny (and relatively warm) day to ski. Sarah and I were planning on going up for perhaps an hour for a few runs and I stayed up for 3 hours and Sarah skied all day until the end! Dead on the hill. Never a line. Did some runs over in China Bowl and Blue Sky Basin. Sort of sad but we hadn't been over in Blue Sky for weeks. A reminder for how big the mountain is. Chris R.
1/11/2008 Ian from the front desk (he is from South Africa) said it was AMAZING! Ouzo, Chair 2 trees and Sundown bowl. He estimated it was 20 inches deep in the back where it has been piling up for days. It has been snowing pretty hard all day.
1/10 2008 I snuck out this afternoon for a couple runs. I'm afraid it's starting to sound like a broken record ... but a really good broken record. The skiing is simply awesome. Lots of face shots, which are admittedly easier when you're skiing on tele's (half a binding, half a brain). Even when I finally got out there at 2:30 I found a line in Ouzo Glade that had to be a dozen turns of untouched and DEEP. There was another spot near the gulley between Straight Shot and Windows that will also stick in my memory banks for a LONG time. What fun ... hope you can join us soon.
Rob
1/9 2008 Randi and I made some runs with Bob & Catherine Michela (518 owners) as well as Bob Magruder and Bob Sorry-I-don't-remember-his-last-name. We had a great time cutting it up in Game Creek. The skiing just doesn't get much better. I took this photo at the top of the Game Creek lift on my new iphone ... which I'm still struggling with a little. Oh well.
Rob
1/8-9 2008 No one made a report while I was out of town. Tom S. from engineering and I went up to Steamboat for a little snowmobiling. Roads were terrible. 2 hour drive to Steamboat took 3 hours. They are getting snow too but Vail had a bit more for sure. Started in Colorado near Steamboat lake and ended up in Wyoming. 60 miles round trip. Up near the border the snow was deep! On the car ride back we saw tons of deer near 4-eagle ranch. Only section of good roads were the 4 miles between Wolcott and Edwards. Chris R.
1/7/2008 Oh oh....we are getting tired. Too much snow. I did a quick run into Game Creek, over to Kangaroo, then down the old gondola line from Mid-Vail and I could barely ski. Legs were too tired from all the previous powder and we had 10 inches of snow!
1/6/2008 I hadn't been up in about 3 weeks. Man, you get out of shape fast. I didn't get out until almost noon, but made one run on Minnies, one on Ouzo and then six runs in the back. Thought I was gonna die. "Forever" was so good though, I just couldn't stop. Three different times, with three different lines, and all of them spectacular. On the last run though, and on the way back down, it was snowing so hard you couldn't see 100 yards. Tomorrow could be epic. Rob
1/5/2008 John Taylor (owner of 314) reported POWDER! Vail Resorts said there was only 1 inch but that was at 6am. Then it has been snowing most of the morning. 5-6 inches as of 1:30pm and still snowing. NOBODY in the back bowls. He said Seldom and Yonder were good but Faro in Game Creek wasn't the best (chunky underneath). Let's hope the snow keeps up. No lines the whole day.
1/4/2008 1 inch of new snow. Nice and warm. I dropped into Game Creek and the back bowls but perhaps that was a mistake. It was sort of crusty underneath. Nothing terrible but when I went back to the front side the snow was better. I did some bumps in Northwoods. South Rim and Prima Cornice. I saw two sets of groomers (6 cats each) during the day. One doing Ramshorn and the other Columbine. Chris R.
1/2 - 1/3/2008 None of us got to ski but the sun is out and finally warmer. Highs around 30 degrees but in the shade it is still brisk. Everyone likes the new Chair 10 and 14. No complaints from anyone. Who can gripe with sun and soft snow? But...... they are calling for fresh snow again on Sat/Sun but even warmer.
1/1/2008 Cold outside still but wonderful skiing. It is sort of a New Year's tradition for my wife to ski on January 1 and we ended up seeing quite a few friends up on the mountain. First day that local restrictions were lifted so everyone was out. Also, practically the first day of sun in a week. We mainly skied in the back doing runs in China Bowl, Red Square and on Ghengis Kahn. Our feet became really cold after 2 hours and we headed for Buffaloes to warm them up. It was packed at 2:30pm.
oft snow everywhere with lots of freshies, but a pretty good case of retro-thigh nonetheless. Grabbed a bite at Two Elk late, and then off to another one in China Bowl, followed by a Rasputin's that was starting to put the set in set up. Just what I needed after a full day of deep 
lunges (as Randi put it). Oh well, it's all good. It was a spectacular day with nothing but sunshine ... got a little fried, but thankfully Lisa had some sunscreen to share on the Teacup lift. Can't wait to do it all again. Rob1/25 4-5 inches of fresh. Nice, dry and light. I had to work at 11am so only had time for 4 runs. Cry me a river, right?
1/23-24/2008 Sunshine and powder. On Wed. we were all surprised by 4-8 inches depending on where you were on the mountain. John Katapodis (owner of 207) just raved about the conditions.... "it was over my knee in places". It has been one of the best Dec/Jan in memory. Not a lot of huge powder days but just consistent. Hardly an icy day on the mountain since Dec 1st. Can it keep up? Well, perhaps more snow on Friday again. Chris R.
1/21/2008 Back into my morning routine of 5 runs before 10:30am. Great base of snow but it would be nice to receive a couple of inches of fresh to freshen up the runs. No ice mind you, but maybe I'm spoiled now after 2-3weeks of powder. Groomed runs are great but the moguls are getting harder with the cold nights. Trying to poke the moguls head on with my GS skis wasn't working. Hit some lift lines with the Martin Luther King Holiday. Chris R.
1/16 - 17, 2008 Too cold for me to ski. The snow is great but cold. Light snow each day and it is pretty dead up on the hill. If you want the mountain to yourself, now is the time.
1/15/2008 Finally a sunny (and relatively warm) day to ski. Sarah and I were planning on going up for perhaps an hour for a few runs and I stayed up for 3 hours and Sarah skied all day until the end! Dead on the hill. Never a line. Did some runs over in China Bowl and Blue Sky Basin. Sort of sad but we hadn't been over in Blue Sky for weeks. A reminder for how big the mountain is. Chris R.
1/11/2008 Ian from the front desk (he is from South Africa) said it was AMAZING! Ouzo, Chair 2 trees and Sundown bowl. He estimated it was 20 inches deep in the back where it has been piling up for days. It has been snowing pretty hard all day.
1/10 2008 I snuck out this afternoon for a couple runs. I'm afraid it's starting to sound like a broken record ... but a really good broken record. The skiing is simply awesome. Lots of face shots, which are admittedly easier when you're skiing on tele's (half a binding, half a brain). Even when I finally got out there at 2:30 I found a line in Ouzo Glade that had to be a dozen turns of untouched and DEEP. There was another spot near the gulley between Straight Shot and Windows that will also stick in my memory banks for a LONG time. What fun ... hope you can join us soon.
Rob
1/9 2008 Randi and I made some runs with Bob & Catherine Michela (518 owners) as well as Bob Magruder and Bob Sorry-I-don't-remember-his-last-name. We had a great time cutting it up in Game Creek. The skiing just doesn't get much better. I took this photo at the top of the Game Creek lift on my new iphone ... which I'm still struggling with a little. Oh well.
Rob
1/8-9 2008 No one made a report while I was out of town. Tom S. from engineering and I went up to Steamboat for a little snowmobiling. Roads were terrible. 2 hour drive to Steamboat took 3 hours. They are getting snow too but Vail had a bit more for sure. Started in Colorado near Steamboat lake and ended up in Wyoming. 60 miles round trip. Up near the border the snow was deep! On the car ride back we saw tons of deer near 4-eagle ranch. Only section of good roads were the 4 miles between Wolcott and Edwards. Chris R.
1/7/2008 Oh oh....we are getting tired. Too much snow. I did a quick run into Game Creek, over to Kangaroo, then down the old gondola line from Mid-Vail and I could barely ski. Legs were too tired from all the previous powder and we had 10 inches of snow!
1/6/2008 I hadn't been up in about 3 weeks. Man, you get out of shape fast. I didn't get out until almost noon, but made one run on Minnies, one on Ouzo and then six runs in the back. Thought I was gonna die. "Forever" was so good though, I just couldn't stop. Three different times, with three different lines, and all of them spectacular. On the last run though, and on the way back down, it was snowing so hard you couldn't see 100 yards. Tomorrow could be epic. Rob
1/5/2008 John Taylor (owner of 314) reported POWDER! Vail Resorts said there was only 1 inch but that was at 6am. Then it has been snowing most of the morning. 5-6 inches as of 1:30pm and still snowing. NOBODY in the back bowls. He said Seldom and Yonder were good but Faro in Game Creek wasn't the best (chunky underneath). Let's hope the snow keeps up. No lines the whole day.
1/4/2008 1 inch of new snow. Nice and warm. I dropped into Game Creek and the back bowls but perhaps that was a mistake. It was sort of crusty underneath. Nothing terrible but when I went back to the front side the snow was better. I did some bumps in Northwoods. South Rim and Prima Cornice. I saw two sets of groomers (6 cats each) during the day. One doing Ramshorn and the other Columbine. Chris R.
1/2 - 1/3/2008 None of us got to ski but the sun is out and finally warmer. Highs around 30 degrees but in the shade it is still brisk. Everyone likes the new Chair 10 and 14. No complaints from anyone. Who can gripe with sun and soft snow? But...... they are calling for fresh snow again on Sat/Sun but even warmer.
1/1/2008 Cold outside still but wonderful skiing. It is sort of a New Year's tradition for my wife to ski on January 1 and we ended up seeing quite a few friends up on the mountain. First day that local restrictions were lifted so everyone was out. Also, practically the first day of sun in a week. We mainly skied in the back doing runs in China Bowl, Red Square and on Ghengis Kahn. Our feet became really cold after 2 hours and we headed for Buffaloes to warm them up. It was packed at 2:30pm.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Remember When....at Vail!
SnowWitch joins you today at the end of 2007, as we begin a new ski season at Vail in 2008 by recalling some fond memories in years past skiing at Vail! Remember when...
Early Vail Skiing - When there was ONLY Vail Village at Vail and no parking structures! Everyone parked along the frontage road!
Studded SnowTires - When few had 4-wheel drive and they allowed studded snowtires or you had to stop, get on your back at the rear of the car, with exhaust and snow blowing in your face and put chains on to get over Vail or Hoosier Pass (there was no access from I-70).
Too Young & Poor to Buy Dinner or Stay the Night - We drove up from Colorado Springs, starting at 5 am, reaching Vail when the lifts were opening, skiied all day and then stopped at Pepi Grammshammer's at the end of the day, bought an "after-ski snack special" of a glass of red wine, a piece of brown bread and a small bowl of spaghetti, wolfed it down and then left to drive back to the Springs. Great times!
It's Better Now - We like it better now - more runs, more bowls, more parking, more lifts, more places to eat....Vail is older..... YET BETTER than ever!!
Early Vail Skiing - When there was ONLY Vail Village at Vail and no parking structures! Everyone parked along the frontage road!
Studded SnowTires - When few had 4-wheel drive and they allowed studded snowtires or you had to stop, get on your back at the rear of the car, with exhaust and snow blowing in your face and put chains on to get over Vail or Hoosier Pass (there was no access from I-70).
Too Young & Poor to Buy Dinner or Stay the Night - We drove up from Colorado Springs, starting at 5 am, reaching Vail when the lifts were opening, skiied all day and then stopped at Pepi Grammshammer's at the end of the day, bought an "after-ski snack special" of a glass of red wine, a piece of brown bread and a small bowl of spaghetti, wolfed it down and then left to drive back to the Springs. Great times!
It's Better Now - We like it better now - more runs, more bowls, more parking, more lifts, more places to eat....Vail is older..... YET BETTER than ever!!
Vail Ski Conditions December 2007
12/31/2007 New snow again, but windy and cold. Vail Resorts probably isn't selling too many lift tickets. China Bowl, Tea-Cup and Blue Sky were closed the whole day. 10 inches of new snow but with the wind it was all in the trees. There were 10 inches new but on the ski slopes it seemed like 3 inches. Someone said the line at Chair 5 was 45 minutes because they could only load every other chair with the wind. Ouch. But the front side there weren't many lift lines at all. Everyone that wanted powder was stuck in only one bowl at Chair 5. The sun will be shining Jan 1 and 2.
12/28/2007 O.k. I scammed a lift ticket to get up while our passes are restricted. Cold out but again, good snow. 1-2 inches each day are keeping things soft, yet the front side is a bit icy. All the Xmas vacationers are just skiing on the front side. Some small lines, but then I went in the back and NO ONE was back there. Nice soft powder snow. Empty Chairs on Chair 5. Faro glade had fresh tracks at 3pm. Chris R.
12/27/2007 "Skiers lent" has started. For locals, our ski passes are restricted during the Christmas/New Year's holiday. We have to rest our legs and leave Vail Mountain to the vacationers. It hurts to miss this snow when we are getting fresh each day. The downside for the tourists is that it has been COLD. Tomorrow the high on the mountain will be around 13 degrees. Ouch.
12/26/2007 Us locals haven't been able to ski much lately but local Owner John Taylor has. He reports the skiing as awesome. He skied with the part owner of Bart and Yetis and received a few pointers. These past weeks we've been receiving new snow virtually every other day. Nothing huge, but 2-4 inches every so often. Just enough to keep things soft and fresh. Still COLD.
12/24/2007 John Taylor owner of 314 skied front side and said conditions are great for all levels of skiers. Something for everyone. 5 inches of new snow. Not too cold. A little too much grooming on the front. Leave some powder for us powder fools! says JT -- Sun coming out late in the day. They are predicting another storm tonight!
12/23/2007 Lightly snowing outside but warmer. 19 degrees. 100% of the mountain is now open. We've always had enough snow to open the whole mountain but we think they were waiting for employees to open the Bolshoi Ballet area for skiing. More importantly the Arrabelle shops in Lionshead are now opening! The Mall area of Lionshead is back together after 3 years and you can walk everywhere once again. It is pretty darn cool. The ice rink is not open at this time. Not sure when they'll have that up and running.
12/22/2007 Another powder day in Vail and the sun is out. I'm heading up this afternoon and hope to make a report a little later. (It was cold!) 9 degrees at 3pm, great snow however. Chris R.
12/21/2007 Powder day in Vail. None of us could get up but everyone was telling us how great it was. Makes us jealous.
12/20/2007 It is snowing in Vail! Only time for 2 runs this morning. Pickeroon and Columbine. 1 inch new reported but snowing hard. Conditions will be great tomorrow. No lines, yet there was a goofy guest service guy directing people at Chair 2 and bothering everyone. He had the line goofed up more than us the skiers. Sort of funny to watch. Chris R.
12/19/2007 Was warm up on the mountain but we froze up in Blue Sky. Major wind with the cold front starting to come through. We did a bunch of runs on Pete's lift in Blue Sky. Great views. I quit early due to being so cold. Skiing was great. Skied with Tom Schlader and Tom Conville. Chris R.
12/17/2007 Vail ski conditions are still pretty good. They are opening the chairs at 8:30 now so Eric (Guest Services) and I went up at 8:45. There were a few icy spots in the high use areas but other than that it was great. Good groomers. Snow felt a little like styrofoam but I guess when it is 15 degrees in the early a.m., that is what we should expect. Highs in the low 30s today. We did two runs in the back. They groomed Headwall! Chris R.
12/16/2007 Now we are talking!! Sunny skies, not too cold, beautiful groomers. Perfect temps in my opinion for Vail skiing (25-30 degrees F). I hit a good lift line on Chair 2 today but it was my fault (going out at 9:30am is a bad idea), but after I hit the back-bowls it was clear sailing. Chair 10 and Chair 14 are a blast since they have been replaced. For beginners it is fun to ride Chair 10 and then take FlapJack all the way around for a long, long run. Chris R.
12/15/2007 Ouch, it was cold this morning up on the mountain. -3F, -20C. We did 4 runs and went in to warm up our feet. The snow is great however. I wish we could have stayed out longer during the day as it warmed up but I had to get to work. Beautiful sunshine. Chris R.
12/14/2007 Burrrrr, it's cold out there today! I don't have even a single day on the hill yet this year, how lame am I? Another big storm is predicted but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Just a light dusting came down last night. Vailmama
12/12/2007 Powder again! 8 inches of super dry snow. It was like feathers. Heaven. Another movie. Chris R.
12/11/2007 Sorry, no update today. Too busy skiing. Chris R.
12/10/2007 Great day. Longest day for me of the season. I started out with Bob Grossman Owner of 208 at the Antlers at Vail. Vail Ski conditions were excellent. Powder left over from the day before and sunshine. They are predicting snow tonight. That could be neat. I later hooked up with some friends from Waconia, MN area and I ate all their food up at Two Elk. That's the deal here. If you want a tour from a local, you might have to cough up for the food at Two Elk. Ouch. Corny Movie attached. Chris R.
12/09/2007 Well........ another 8 inches WOW! We got a good lead on everybody for the race to Chair 2 then Game Creek, Ricky's, Milts, West Wall, Blue Sky, Chair 14, Northwoods, Mid-Vail and home. Actually we took two runs on Chair 14 for the heck of it.
120 second ride for powder turns. Too bad you're not here. Click on the photo for a full size version. Chris R.
12/08/2007 Another 8 inches of snow, but no real report from any of us today. (Sorry) I think Rob got some runs. They opened most of the back bowls. 4500 acres My ball and chain said it was incredible. Big smiles from her. She was in Blue Sky most of the day. Knee deep snow on the hill (thigh deep for the short ones). Chris R.
12/07/2007 I decided to celebrate Pearl Harbor Day by making a few runs (any excuse is a good excuse). I'll spare you any references to the skiing being "the bomb", but it was in fact fantastic. I'm riding up chair 8 first thing, ready to head to chair 2 like usual, but the snow right under the lift was just too tempting. So I broke with tradition and came right back down under the chair. 15" - 18" easy. It was all the way up to your smile. 2 out of 3 turns were in unbroken snow. Make that 3 out of 4. Back up chair 8, ready to try plan A again ... but on the way there, the snow on lower Ledges just looked TOO GOOD. Oops, hard left ... a virtual repeat of the first run and back to the bottom. Back up and finally, I made it to the top. Everything up there was great, although part of the time you had to ski by the braille method ... it was just snowing too hard to see. I ended it with an epic run down Minnie's (almost always a sure bet for good deep pow). Back to work by 10:45 ... but with a whole new attitude. I need to do this more often.
Rob
12/06/2007 The sales team (& Randi) took some runs this morning just to give a special report on the Vail ski conditions! Unfortunately, we didn't venture too far due to time constraints. We had hopes of hitting Chair 26, but headed to 2. 26 & 9 are not running today. Great runs on 2. Pickeroon was especially nice & full of powder before the crowds hit it. There's even some fun little lip hits for those of you who like to play! We headed back to the west and had our final run down on Pride which had only a few tracks in a good 5 inches of powder. (p.s. don't tell anyone!) Katie S.
12/05/07 Hey, it's Rob here. My first day of the season (yeah, I know I don't get out enough). Wow, conditions were GREAT! I went skiing with Mike Glass from Alpine Bank. We did the "Woods" over in Game Creek. A few sapling trees showing on the run, but it just made for some fun slalom turns. For how much snow we've received I was really surprised at how good it was. A series of storms are predicted Thur - Sat Rob L.
12/04/07 I went up around 1pm today with the ball and chain. Pretty warm out, but awesome skiing. Man the groomers were fast. This could mean icy conditions super early a.m. tomorrow. But they are calling for snow Wed. night. We did a bunch of runs on Northwoods and GameCreek. They still haven't opened Chair 14. Maybe they are waiting for more employees or guests. Totally no lines. Groomers made a path down the back bowls on Yonder. If we get 6-8 inches back there, they could open Chair 17, but I have my doubts on Chair 5 unless we get a foot. Chris R.
12/3/2007 There probably weren't enough people on Vail Mountain this morning to fill a school bus. It was deadsville and the skiing awesome. 2 weeks ago I pulled out my rock skis for the first time in 3 years. Today, I hopefully put them away for the ski season. I took out my new skis. It's good out there. Now, if we don't get snow in a week, the rocks will be popping up for sure but otherwise coverage is good for early Dec. The groomers hopefully won't ruin everything by pulling out their plows too often (are those guys from Nebraska?) Chair 14 wasn't open, not sure why. Chris R.
12/2/2007 Yipee! Photo above of Alan Sandberg, publisher of Vail's The Parent's Handbook. 11 inches new. What a day. They opened Chair 11 and it was powder skiing. The mountain has been transformed. Looks like they'll open the new Chair 14 tomorrow for more beginner skiing. Making turns today with Rick from RJ Limosuines and Jeff Jacobs from the Westwind Condos. The mountain was loaded with locals. Wish you were here (see photo below) Chris R.
12/1/2007 New snow today and still snowing! Vail ski conditions improved. 4 inches reported up on the mountain. They are opening Chairs 2, 3, 4 and 7 today, so over 500 acres of skiing. It's about time. And of course I have to work today. More snow predicted through the weekend. Guests coming back to the hotel had grins on their faces. Good reports for Chair 4 Chris R.
12/28/2007 O.k. I scammed a lift ticket to get up while our passes are restricted. Cold out but again, good snow. 1-2 inches each day are keeping things soft, yet the front side is a bit icy. All the Xmas vacationers are just skiing on the front side. Some small lines, but then I went in the back and NO ONE was back there. Nice soft powder snow. Empty Chairs on Chair 5. Faro glade had fresh tracks at 3pm. Chris R.
12/27/2007 "Skiers lent" has started. For locals, our ski passes are restricted during the Christmas/New Year's holiday. We have to rest our legs and leave Vail Mountain to the vacationers. It hurts to miss this snow when we are getting fresh each day. The downside for the tourists is that it has been COLD. Tomorrow the high on the mountain will be around 13 degrees. Ouch.
12/26/2007 Us locals haven't been able to ski much lately but local Owner John Taylor has. He reports the skiing as awesome. He skied with the part owner of Bart and Yetis and received a few pointers. These past weeks we've been receiving new snow virtually every other day. Nothing huge, but 2-4 inches every so often. Just enough to keep things soft and fresh. Still COLD.
12/24/2007 John Taylor owner of 314 skied front side and said conditions are great for all levels of skiers. Something for everyone. 5 inches of new snow. Not too cold. A little too much grooming on the front. Leave some powder for us powder fools! says JT -- Sun coming out late in the day. They are predicting another storm tonight!
12/23/2007 Lightly snowing outside but warmer. 19 degrees. 100% of the mountain is now open. We've always had enough snow to open the whole mountain but we think they were waiting for employees to open the Bolshoi Ballet area for skiing. More importantly the Arrabelle shops in Lionshead are now opening! The Mall area of Lionshead is back together after 3 years and you can walk everywhere once again. It is pretty darn cool. The ice rink is not open at this time. Not sure when they'll have that up and running.
12/22/2007 Another powder day in Vail and the sun is out. I'm heading up this afternoon and hope to make a report a little later. (It was cold!) 9 degrees at 3pm, great snow however. Chris R.
12/21/2007 Powder day in Vail. None of us could get up but everyone was telling us how great it was. Makes us jealous.
12/20/2007 It is snowing in Vail! Only time for 2 runs this morning. Pickeroon and Columbine. 1 inch new reported but snowing hard. Conditions will be great tomorrow. No lines, yet there was a goofy guest service guy directing people at Chair 2 and bothering everyone. He had the line goofed up more than us the skiers. Sort of funny to watch. Chris R.
12/19/2007 Was warm up on the mountain but we froze up in Blue Sky. Major wind with the cold front starting to come through. We did a bunch of runs on Pete's lift in Blue Sky. Great views. I quit early due to being so cold. Skiing was great. Skied with Tom Schlader and Tom Conville. Chris R.
12/17/2007 Vail ski conditions are still pretty good. They are opening the chairs at 8:30 now so Eric (Guest Services) and I went up at 8:45. There were a few icy spots in the high use areas but other than that it was great. Good groomers. Snow felt a little like styrofoam but I guess when it is 15 degrees in the early a.m., that is what we should expect. Highs in the low 30s today. We did two runs in the back. They groomed Headwall! Chris R.
12/16/2007 Now we are talking!! Sunny skies, not too cold, beautiful groomers. Perfect temps in my opinion for Vail skiing (25-30 degrees F). I hit a good lift line on Chair 2 today but it was my fault (going out at 9:30am is a bad idea), but after I hit the back-bowls it was clear sailing. Chair 10 and Chair 14 are a blast since they have been replaced. For beginners it is fun to ride Chair 10 and then take FlapJack all the way around for a long, long run. Chris R.
12/15/2007 Ouch, it was cold this morning up on the mountain. -3F, -20C. We did 4 runs and went in to warm up our feet. The snow is great however. I wish we could have stayed out longer during the day as it warmed up but I had to get to work. Beautiful sunshine. Chris R.
12/14/2007 Burrrrr, it's cold out there today! I don't have even a single day on the hill yet this year, how lame am I? Another big storm is predicted but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Just a light dusting came down last night. Vailmama
12/12/2007 Powder again! 8 inches of super dry snow. It was like feathers. Heaven. Another movie. Chris R.
12/11/2007 Sorry, no update today. Too busy skiing. Chris R.
12/10/2007 Great day. Longest day for me of the season. I started out with Bob Grossman Owner of 208 at the Antlers at Vail. Vail Ski conditions were excellent. Powder left over from the day before and sunshine. They are predicting snow tonight. That could be neat. I later hooked up with some friends from Waconia, MN area and I ate all their food up at Two Elk. That's the deal here. If you want a tour from a local, you might have to cough up for the food at Two Elk. Ouch. Corny Movie attached. Chris R.
12/09/2007 Well........ another 8 inches WOW! We got a good lead on everybody for the race to Chair 2 then Game Creek, Ricky's, Milts, West Wall, Blue Sky, Chair 14, Northwoods, Mid-Vail and home. Actually we took two runs on Chair 14 for the heck of it.
120 second ride for powder turns. Too bad you're not here. Click on the photo for a full size version. Chris R.12/08/2007 Another 8 inches of snow, but no real report from any of us today. (Sorry) I think Rob got some runs. They opened most of the back bowls. 4500 acres My ball and chain said it was incredible. Big smiles from her. She was in Blue Sky most of the day. Knee deep snow on the hill (thigh deep for the short ones). Chris R.
12/07/2007 I decided to celebrate Pearl Harbor Day by making a few runs (any excuse is a good excuse). I'll spare you any references to the skiing being "the bomb", but it was in fact fantastic. I'm riding up chair 8 first thing, ready to head to chair 2 like usual, but the snow right under the lift was just too tempting. So I broke with tradition and came right back down under the chair. 15" - 18" easy. It was all the way up to your smile. 2 out of 3 turns were in unbroken snow. Make that 3 out of 4. Back up chair 8, ready to try plan A again ... but on the way there, the snow on lower Ledges just looked TOO GOOD. Oops, hard left ... a virtual repeat of the first run and back to the bottom. Back up and finally, I made it to the top. Everything up there was great, although part of the time you had to ski by the braille method ... it was just snowing too hard to see. I ended it with an epic run down Minnie's (almost always a sure bet for good deep pow). Back to work by 10:45 ... but with a whole new attitude. I need to do this more often.
Rob
12/06/2007 The sales team (& Randi) took some runs this morning just to give a special report on the Vail ski conditions! Unfortunately, we didn't venture too far due to time constraints. We had hopes of hitting Chair 26, but headed to 2. 26 & 9 are not running today. Great runs on 2. Pickeroon was especially nice & full of powder before the crowds hit it. There's even some fun little lip hits for those of you who like to play! We headed back to the west and had our final run down on Pride which had only a few tracks in a good 5 inches of powder. (p.s. don't tell anyone!) Katie S.
12/05/07 Hey, it's Rob here. My first day of the season (yeah, I know I don't get out enough). Wow, conditions were GREAT! I went skiing with Mike Glass from Alpine Bank. We did the "Woods" over in Game Creek. A few sapling trees showing on the run, but it just made for some fun slalom turns. For how much snow we've received I was really surprised at how good it was. A series of storms are predicted Thur - Sat Rob L.
12/04/07 I went up around 1pm today with the ball and chain. Pretty warm out, but awesome skiing. Man the groomers were fast. This could mean icy conditions super early a.m. tomorrow. But they are calling for snow Wed. night. We did a bunch of runs on Northwoods and GameCreek. They still haven't opened Chair 14. Maybe they are waiting for more employees or guests. Totally no lines. Groomers made a path down the back bowls on Yonder. If we get 6-8 inches back there, they could open Chair 17, but I have my doubts on Chair 5 unless we get a foot. Chris R.
12/3/2007 There probably weren't enough people on Vail Mountain this morning to fill a school bus. It was deadsville and the skiing awesome. 2 weeks ago I pulled out my rock skis for the first time in 3 years. Today, I hopefully put them away for the ski season. I took out my new skis. It's good out there. Now, if we don't get snow in a week, the rocks will be popping up for sure but otherwise coverage is good for early Dec. The groomers hopefully won't ruin everything by pulling out their plows too often (are those guys from Nebraska?) Chair 14 wasn't open, not sure why. Chris R.
12/2/2007 Yipee! Photo above of Alan Sandberg, publisher of Vail's The Parent's Handbook. 11 inches new. What a day. They opened Chair 11 and it was powder skiing. The mountain has been transformed. Looks like they'll open the new Chair 14 tomorrow for more beginner skiing. Making turns today with Rick from RJ Limosuines and Jeff Jacobs from the Westwind Condos. The mountain was loaded with locals. Wish you were here (see photo below) Chris R.
12/1/2007 New snow today and still snowing! Vail ski conditions improved. 4 inches reported up on the mountain. They are opening Chairs 2, 3, 4 and 7 today, so over 500 acres of skiing. It's about time. And of course I have to work today. More snow predicted through the weekend. Guests coming back to the hotel had grins on their faces. Good reports for Chair 4 Chris R.
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