Homestake Condos

Think snow and cold!

by johnste

Helmet liner for ski helmets
Glove liners
"Turtle fur" neck gator
Sunglasses
Lambswool padding for toes of ski boots, etc. Liquid sublingual B12 for energy
Glucosamine and chondroitin for joints
EVERYTHING you can think of to keep you moist inside and out
Saline nasal spray
Petroleum jelly
Lots of super-strength hand lotion
Spray-on body oil
Ibuprofen
Diamox or other high-alt prescription
Menthol cough drops
Melatonin to help with sleep disturbances the higher altitute will probably cause
Handiwipes and/or alcohol wipes
Hand sanitizer
Moleskin, anti-blister bandaids Extra camera battery No-fog for goggles
Suntan lotion
Chapstick with sunscreen

Skiing- Back Bowls, Sun Down Bowl

by John195123

Now we're getting to the good stuff.

From the top of Game Creek Express Lift/Lift 7 or Wildwood Express Lift/Lift 3, spill off the edge into Sun Down Bowl via any of the blacks. If you head out along Ptarmigan Ridge toward Seldom or Never or O.S., you get into areas that could have really nice powder (after a good snow) and if you get there early enough, you can still make the first tracks. Not too many people seem to ski this area. It's really nice for backcountry terrain, wide open, yet you can find nice solitude away from the crowds. All runs exit onto Sun Down Catwalk, and you get out via High Noon Lift/Lift 5. Windows is a nice run.

Sometimes the snow can get a bit hard, crusty and choppy. Vail brags about its snow quality, but I don't always see it here. The same goes for all the back bowls- they get sun exposure and melt just enough to make the skiing painful- mixing powder, crud and iced-over chunks. Add to that the lack of visibility on cloudy/snowy days and you really got something bad going!

But, if you don't mind the jarring chop, (which isn't always the case back here) you'll like the area. Especially around O.S. and Never, the snow's almost always good.

High Noon Lift/Lift 5- Triple Chair, 1857 vertical, 11 minutes, closes at 3:30 pm.

Sad Day

by John195123 about Starbucks and Marble Slab

For a long time Vail Village was devoid of chain restaurants. Sadly, that's no longer the case. Starbucks and Marble Slab Creamery have moved into the first buildings you see (on the right) as you approach the covered bridge. I'm sure many people like them, and I'm sure it's good for their business, but Vail has always been about local business. Not any more, I guess. I hope the owners are from Vail, at least.

Starbucks I know very well, as a place I used to hang out on occasion in other cities, with its burned beans and all... Marble Slab has pretty good ice cream, admittedly, but it's about the principle of the thing...

vail/beaver creek

by touristgal

"Vail"

I was here for a week with work.The photo that I am posting is on I 70 driving to Glenwood Springs. Glenwood Springs is a great place to go for the hot baths of natural mineral water. Very inexpenisve and lots of families.

While sitting in relaxing in the hot springs I looked up to beautiful mountain views. This is about 45 minutes away from Eagle and about an hour south of Vail.

Great way to relax between ski days.

"vail airport"

This was on the 2nd of Jan, 2006. Everyone and their brother was trying to get out that day. I think we were number 53 to take off. Normally it is a piece of cake to get out of Vail. Loved looking out at the tarmac seeing all those expensive toys AKA private jets. I was working on one. Not a passenger on this trip. Someday........Someday.... I will ..... oh well... one can dream, right? In the mean time, I am very happy to be on a private jet as a flight attendant.

Vail one of the famous resorts

by rebibi

Vail has a very pretty pedestrian zone and offers many slopes. Total number of lifts = 33. The most difficult ones are the "Back Bowls". To ski there with the well known light powder snow must be a dream. While we were there the snow was not that light.