Vail -- looking for insider tips and tricks please

R

remydog

New member
I finally made my reservations at Vail for March. Interested in insider tips.

I will be travelling with the family (two 40-somethings a 13 and an 11). We are all experts and ski most anywhere on the mountain. However, my wife and kids get a bit squeemish on the super steeps and chutes and would certainly not jump into anything. We all had a great time in the trees at Steamboat a couple of years ago, though my wife opted out of the steeper tree runs.

Specifically:

On mountain

Hidden gems -- not necessarily steep and ugly, but places where everyone can have fun and not feel like part of the crowd. Best pow runs and where it's likely to stay untracked the longest.

Best strategies to follow the sun and avoid lift lines. Best morning lift to avoid the crowds and lift combos to get to the good stuff quickly.

Avoiding expensive on-mountain food (is there anything reasonable on the hill?), but knowing when and where spending the money is worth it. Where to leave the backpacks with the lunch and extra gloves and socks, etc. so it's not a burden all day.

Anyone like to serve as a guide one day?

After skiing --

Good and reliable family restaurants that are not going to kill you price-wise (we will have a car, so able to drive places)

Best Mexican and vegetarian resatuarants

Best place to pick up sandwiches before heading up the mountain

Where the locals like to eat

Where to go if I want to splurge on a nice dinner once or twice

Good place for a massage and to unwind, especially for the wife who could probably use it after the first day

reasonably priced grocery store and gas stations

Any suggested must-do's for the inevitable day off from skiing or for the evening.
 
On mountain

Hidden gems -- not necessarily steep and ugly, but places where everyone can have fun and not feel like part of the crowd. Best pow runs and where it's likely to stay untracked the longest.

Well it's a big place so you shouldn't feel like part of a crowd with the exception of the bases, a few liftlines to avoid (Mid-Vail at lunchtime), and Chair 5 can get filled up at times.

Best strategies to follow the sun and avoid lift lines. Best morning lift to avoid the crowds and lift combos to get to the good stuff quickly.

Depends where you start from. If you're in the village, everyone jumps on the Vista Bahn to mid-Vail. Then it depends on what conditions are. If it's a powder day, I would go for Chair 3, then hike Ptarmigan Ridge and get a nice shot down Ptarmigan, then swing right to Seldom (which is also a good spot for 2nd day pow). In March, you may have to wait for the morning bake before the back is skiable. In that case, jump on Chair 4, ski down South Rim/Northstar to Chair 10, and ride the Highline trees (maybe a bit steeper than the family might like, but always a good source of dry, soft snow in March. Another area to ski before the back opens up is Game Creek Bowl, but it can also get crowded.

If the Village is crowded in the morning (which it can be) an alternative is to take the Riva Bahn from Golden Peak to Chair 11.

From Lions' head, take Born Free express, to Chair 2 (Avanti), to Mid-Vail. If Chair 3 (the closer one) is filling up, ski all the way over to Chair 4.

From the backside, after Seldom, ride Chair 5 back up top, if early, bang another run down into Sundown bowl, or if Chair 5's starting to fill up, try Milt's face, which also gets the morning bake, to Chair 17. You can take any path from there down into China Bowl. Ghengis has a nice cornice that's sweet after fresh snow. Hop on the Orient Express and take a run into Siberia Bowl. From there head over into Blue Sky basin. Montane Glade is a nice mellower black with easy trees. You can hang there till after the lunch crowd breaks, then work your way back over in the opposite direction. The front side is usually less crowded later in the day, and it's a great time to cruise the groomers if your legs are tired. Ride the gondi late in the day and try out Born Free and Bwana.

Keep you eyes on the lift status boards. After a few days, you'll get a sense of which chairs start to get busy at peak hours, and you'll know how to avoid them. And always be looking for little stashes of trees that hold the soft snow. Don't worry about ending up at the wrong base at the end of the day, the free bus runs all the time, and it's a great way to find new bars & restaurants.

If you're adventurous, there's the Minturn Mile, an easy backcountry run, actually about a 3 mile run off Ptarmigan Ridge under the rope (there's probably an access gate there) to skiers right. That drops you into a nice bowl that can be an awesome powder run in good conditions. You then traverse right into the aspens, drop down and cross the creek via the beaver dam, take your life in your hands on the luge run, kinda a narrow mini pipe clinging to the hill above the creek bed. It does have a runaway skier ramp on the left at the bottom, but the fun's over by then. Follow the single track out, cross the tracks and hit the Saloon for margarita's. If you do this trip you'll need to have someone pick you up in Minturn.

Avoiding expensive on-mountain food (is there anything reasonable on the hill?), but knowing when and where spending the money is worth it. Where to leave the backpacks with the lunch and extra gloves and socks, etc. so it's not a burden all day.

It's not a great mt from that perspective, as it's so spread out, but two options are Two Elk, which is quickly accessible from Blue Sky or China Bowl, or Patrol HQ's, which is accessible from the frontside or Chair 5

Anyone like to serve as a guide one day?
I'll be back East at that point.

After skiing --

Good and reliable family restaurants that are not going to kill you price-wise (we will have a car, so able to drive places)
Well, this is Vail, so bring your wallet. I don't dine out as much there as others, so I'm no expert. We usually hang at Montauk's (In Lions Head) after skiing, it doesn't draw the tourist crows like a lot of other places. Sometimes we also hit Bart & Yeti's. I also like Bagali's for pizza down in West Vail, it's reasonable. Here's a big list of dining options.


Best Mexican and vegetarian resatuarants
no clue
Best place to pick up sandwiches before heading up the mountain

There's lots of deli's in the village or Lion's head.
Where the locals like to eat
ask one
Where to go if I want to splurge on a nice dinner once or twice
I like traMonti's at the Beav
Good place for a massage and to unwind, especially for the wife who could probably use it after the first day
no clue

reasonably priced grocery store and gas stations
Denver :lol:
Any suggested must-do's for the inevitable day off from skiing or for the evening.
Adventure Ridge at the top of the gondi has tubing, ski biking, kid's snowmobiles, skating, snowshoeing, etc

And don't forget to ski a day at the Beav. It's usually less crowded and it can be a great place to enjoy a powder day.
 
Id say probably the best restaraunt in Vail is Sweet Basil, across form the lodge at vail. The restaraunts at the lodge at vail are all excellent as well. Masatos in Avon is your best bet if you want sushi.

I go to beaver creek twice a year so i know the beav like the back of my hand. So if you decide to head over there, i would deffinatly be able to help you out more.
 
Judz":2mozzq2z said:
Id say probably the best restaraunt in Vail is Sweet Basil, across form the lodge at vail. The restaraunts at the lodge at vail are all excellent as well. Masatos in Avon is your best bet if you want sushi.

I go to beaver creek twice a year so i know the beav like the back of my hand. So if you decide to head over there, i would deffinatly be able to help you out more.
Click to expand...

We may have a day at Beaver, so it would certainly be worth knowing where to go there, since I will have so little time to explore. Also, if there are restaurant recommendations there, I will have a car, so it will be relatively easy to get there.

Thanks.
 
One more little powder stash that I neglected to mention. Snag Park. The original Snag Park was on the old maps, then off, and now Snag Park is on the lookers left on the front side, but it's not the original. The original is the lightly treed area you can see on the map above Timberline catwalk. If your cruising down toward Timberline Catwalk from Chair 11, bear right out onto the ridge and skate a bit, then drop in on your left. It's a north-facing aspect that never sees any sun, so it always holds pow, even in the spring. But be careful when you hit the catwalk. I've had some, ahem, moments there over the years. :roll:
 
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