it was a chilly night on December 19, 2008, but the crowds were still out in full force for the 2008 Vail Village Christmas Tree lighting. There were many different caroling groups singing to the crowd, a live orchestra, and multiple guest speakers including Vail Mayor Dick Cleveland who eventually lit the tree.

There was a parade from Lionshead Village to The Vail Village with Dancing Christmas Trees, Santa and his reindeer, Two Frosties, a Polar Bear, and other fun characters for the kids to enjoy. Once all the extrativities (yes i made that word up, but i like it) the tree was finally lit and what a sight to see it was. And since you all are so diligently reading this article you get to see it to. YAY!!!

The normal Christmas tree that is normally used has been relieved of its duties this year due to stress from having the Christmas lights on it all winter long, but I have to say that the substitute still looks amazing.

The 2008-2009 ski and snowboard season is underway and booming! the snow in the Vail Valley and Summit County keeps falling and is not looking like its going to quit anytime soon. Vail has had 44″ of snow in the past week, Beaver Creek has had 48″ in the past seven days, Breckenridge has seen 19″ in the last week, and Keystone has reported 16″ in the past week. In my expert opinion, the skiing in Vail and Beaver Creek far exceeds that of the Summit County Resorts. Vail has 119″ of total snowfall this season, Beaver Creek has 118″ of total snowfall this season, this far exceeds Breckenridge’s 80″, Keystone’s 59″, and Coppers 97″. If you are planning a last minute Holiday vacation Vail and Beaver Creek are the place to be!!! Vail and Beaver Creek are surprisingly keeping up with the southern Colorado ski resorts in snowfall Wolf Creek has 128″ of year to date snowfall, Silverton Mountain has seen over 100″ since their opening day, Telluride has also seen 119″ of total snowfall this season. The resorts in Colorado are very excited about the recent snow and would like to see more people coming out to enjoy it. The facts and figures on this page are as of 12-19-2008, and the snow is still falling with no end in sight…. what a great feeling!!!

It was a cold evening in Vail Colorado for the 2008 Vail Snow Daze Rail Jam, With activities beginning shortly after 4 pm there was a great deal to see at this contest. The field was split into Amateur and Pro with the winners of the am division getting a shot to shread with the hot shots. The beginning of the event was a great show the amateur guys and gals killed it out there. As seen below Beaver Creek local Ben “Bennie” Hernreich cleans the dub-kink down flat down to catch the judges eyes.

and after doing so was very stoked (also referred to as excited)

The Skiers were also destroying the features at this years contest seen below locals “Coop Dawg” and “Johnny Blaze”show their skills on the down flat down rail, sooo much steeze!!!

After an hour of the amateurs killing it it came to be that The Rodriquez Brothers stood atop the amateur podium and moved into the finals. Ricky Rodriquez was standing a lil’ taller than his little brother today as the box for 1st was about 4 inches higher than 2nd.

above are the before victory shots of Billy and Ricky Rodriquez the looked just as stoked after they killed it out there.

The pro division was dominated by local pro Andrew “Droid” Steward, who was flipping off the Y-Rail at the bottom of the course and pressing his board in to all sorts of crazy contortions before spinning like a top back down to the snow. It really was a sight to see last Wednesday night as a variety of really incredible riders went at it for the number one spot. these riders included John Spriggs, Pat Milbury, Dave Lesh, James McCotter, Rob Bak, and many many others.

Seen below Billy Rodriquez is “handing the key to the city” to Andrew Steward

Andrew steward ended up winning the contest and his share of the 3000 dollars up for grabs. The Vail Valley local says he is looking forward to the rest of the season – “I don’t care what happens as long as I get to shread” – Andrew “Droid” Steward

Eagelvalleyblog.com is now offering unique wallpapers that offer all types of different Vail Valley images. We are attempting to offer our guests free access to full-size spectacular images for their viewing pleasure. These photos are shot from all over the Vail Valley including Beaver Creek, Arrowhead, Vail, Single Tree, Cordillera, Avon, Lake Creek, and other great locations. This is the first season we are doing this so there will me more and more images added as the years go on. Below are links to the first batch of wallpapers from eaglevalleyblog.com.

SHARE AND ENJOY!!!

The eaglevalleyblog.com management team

Today November 26 and tomorrow November 27 Beaver Creek Ski School is offering 1/2 price lessons to kick the 08-09 season off right!

The half price deal applies to regular season pricing, which can be viewed at Beaver Creek Resort. The discount does not apply to ski school packages or multi-day programs.

If you need/want more information call:

Adults: 970-754-5300

Children: 970-754-5464