At $579 for an adult and $279 per child this is the best skiing value available for Vail and Beaver Creek in years. Many of the Epic Passes have been printed and delivered by mail to the pass holders. You should have this pass even if you are only planning one holiday week in Eagle County.
Its an epic season by weather standards here in Colorado, but with the warming temperatures and the end of the calendar appearing not too far off, Vail Company is clearly thinking very far ahead. In fact, Vail has come up with its most perfect offering ever for the upcoming ’08-’09 season, and if you are one of Vail’s most loyal customers, or want to be one, the resort company has just opened up its pearly gates with you in mind, with the Epic Pass
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According to David O. Williams at RealVail.com:
January 28, 2008 — Despite two recent avalanche deaths and its growing popularity with backcountry skiers, don’t look for access to the East Vail Chutes to be shut down by the Forest Service or for Vail Resorts to annex the area any time soon.
The heavily trafficked area just east of Vail ski area is not part of the ski company’s permit area and is accessed by a backcountry gate at the top of Vail Mountain where Forest Service officials try to warn snow riders about the potential risks of skiing the uncontrolled area.
But closing the Chutes and trying to enforce that closure would be difficult says Don Dressler, snow ranger for the Holy Cross Ranger District of the White River National Forest, which administers the publicly owned lands in and around Vail Mountain.
“I don’t think anyone wants to have a kneejerk reaction and start closing areas based on accidents, but we definitely want to consider all of our options,” Dressler said. “At the end of the day, though, the responsibility lies with the user, and I have to take a hard look at whether we’re doing all we can to educate the user before they take that risk.”
n both recent avalanche deaths in the area – Matthew Gustafson, 33, on Jan. 12 and Jesse Brigham, 27, on Jan. 4 – the victims were skiing with essential rescue equipment such as shovels, beacons and probes but chose to ski steep, exposed routes when avalanche danger was listed as “considerable.”
It struck a far corner of my mind- a true crevice of a long forgotten crinkled box. Well it had been long forgotten, anyway, until last year when I moved out here to Colorado, then I took up skiing again. It was like riding a bike again, but much much tougher. Plus, my skis were obsolete. I got’em tuned and was immediately sold on some free rentals of K2 True Luv parabolics- the new stuff. I skied on those skies on their first day and they skied on me the same. It was Vail, and gorgeous.
Anyway, I digress. Remembering old equipment though is a fairly common laugh on ski lifts with strangers. “I used to have neon K2’s.” “My mom had those! Rear entry boots too” “I had the very first parabolics! They were basicly straight!” Haha.. seeing those suckers even in your mind is like going back to the 70’s with a beehive, even though it was only 15 years ago. Hopefully anyone who skied in the 80’s and early 90’s remembers their skis by the color or their boots by the entry–
In any case, my point is, I SAW this ALL this weekend, in a moment. 10 minutes before my snowboarding lesson and I entered Zen spin-out as I gazed upon the escalator approaching the Starbucks at Beaver Creek where I was sitting, and holy cow! Honoring the Talons challenge was a particular guest with:
A CB blue polyfill parka with rounded hood
NEON K2’s- straight, shiny and ready to go
.. and rear entry, RED boots, a la kids rental pool circa 1989
-the only thing missing were the jeans, probably under his royal blue shells.
I thought for a moment I might be looking upon the ice man. For years, he was cryogenicly frozen in this gear, and now he emerges in triumph to prove that his gear is certainly still some of the best up there. With all the snobbery abound throughout the industry of perfectly form fitting gear and the latest and greatest, this blatant act of dissent- or else just plain defiance, brought the world of skiing’s hay day, before snowboarding was seen (at least on the east) as a scrape-off nuisance to two-plankers, back to perception, if only for a moment. Like an angel, this man carried the golden days on his back, in his hands and on his feet. He did not look around to catch my gaze, or those of any other onlookers who were as short of breath as I. A soldier of the days before true innovation, he moved along his path towards the top of the Talons, ready to take on the skis and skiers that had since sold themselves to the dark side. I was holding a video camera too, and was so stunned that I forgot to shoot. Then I moved onto my snowboard lesson- the sport that changed skiing to what it has become- parabolic, graphic, and in competition with a sport that was truly innovative from its very conception.
80’s ice man: Thank you. if you’re out there, let me know. You’re my hero.
Who’da thunk it? With intermediate ski/ride level and a lift ticket, you too can see Vail behind the scenes!
Go behind the scenes in Vail this Tuesday, January 29 through the Vail Symposium (click to buy online.) $40 gets you lunch and a “three hour tour.” Just kidding- it goes from 9AM to 3PM. A great day of skiing, a great lunch, and more about Vail than you ever wanted to know. Sound like fun? We thought so.
If you can’t make the above date for Vail, the same for Beaver Creek will go on February 26. Mark your calendars! and see ours for more information.