RSS
By Tom Boyd
Headline RSS FeedHappy New Year
December 31, 2007 —
Sometimes the best times in life come when your carefully planned schedule goes completely awry.
For many of you out there, the weather in and around Vail has left you apart from friends and relatives, or perhaps stuck with them longer than you’d like!
But wherever you are, and however you got there, we here at RealVail hope you find new friends in new places, and enjoy the coming of the New Year.
And if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to get back up on the mountain for some fantastic skiing. China Bowl and Blue Sky have been mostly closed for the past few days, and if the winds die down, which they should, the skiing should be incredible once those areas open up again.
So happy New Year, and I hope to see you out there.
Submit a comment on "Happy New Year"
Don’t call it stranded, call it lucky
December 31, 2007 —
Road closures and heavy winds have left many people without a way to leave Vail. For the time being, East Bound I-70 is closed from Vail to Georgetown, and West Bound I-70 is closed from Floyd Hill to Vail (learn more by clicking HERE.
Roads may be open by noon – and may not. Wind gusts up to 79 mhp have been reported in the Floyd Hill area of Denver.
All this may leave you stuck here in Vail … but don’t call it stranded: call it lucky.
Ten inches were reported as of this morning, leaving more powder to those of us who are lucky enough to be “stranded” on this side of the pass. Heavy winds, an anathema to drivers, can actually work to the advantage of skiers.
Sure, lifts may close from time to time, but look for wind deposits in sheltered areas. These same areas will also keep YOU out of the wind … so it’s a case where the best snow is located in the places which are most out of the wind.
And if you’re stranded on the OTHER side of the pass, trying to get to Vail …. hmmmm, I guess that IS stranded.
Submit a comment on "Don’t call it stranded, call it lucky"
If the weather outside is frightful, sledding can be delightful
December 30, 2007 —
Not every day is a ski day. Some days it’s nice to get out and try something else: sledding.
Meadow Mountain is the sledding capital of Eagle County. The “Tubing Hill” boasts a surface lift which pulls tubers to the top of the hill, plus soup, hot dogs, coffee and hot chocolate to stay warm on cold days. Located at I-70 and the Minturn exit, the sledding hill is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and costs $16 per hour. Call (970) 827-4155 for information.
In former years, sledding on Meadow Mountain was free and attracted big crowds during the holidays. Yet with so many people slipping, flipping, and sliding all over the hill, Forest Service officials deemed the activity too dangerous. In the great American name of safety, the sledding hill became a sanctioned, safe, and $16 per-hour mini-biz.
Enjoy it if you like, but there’s no way I’m paying for sledding. With a bit of snowshoeing my gang of rebel sledders and I went to a spot not-so-distant from Meadow Mountain and we got our sled on in a big way – for free.
While winds howled away atop Vail Mountain, closing lifts in Blue Sky Basin and elsewhere, we were relatively warm and happy lolling in the snow.
And when we were done, we were minutes away from a cup of hot cocoa back at the homestead.
1 Comment on "If the weather outside is frightful, sledding can be delightful"
Chad — December 30, 2007
That's too bad that they charge for Meadow Mountain these days. Its such a fun place to play. We used to walk all the way up the mountain and go for a huge ride. Felt almost like a mile. How far up do they monitor it? And can you recommend a nearby "free" location?
Blue Sky, China Bowls closed
December 30, 2007 —
High winds have closed Blue Sky and China Bowl for today, with Sun Down and Sun Up Bowls open. Cold weather and more snow are expected, with gusts of wind hitting 40 miles per hour or more at high elevations.
The outlook for tomorrow depends, as always, on Mother Nature, but my personal opinion is that tomorrow ought to be one great day on the mountain.
The temperature here, down in the Valley, is hovering around 10 degrees, and snow is coming down fairly quickly.
Vail’s reporting 3 inches right now, but I imagine we’ve already got closer to three and will see a few more by the end of the day. Back Bowls ought to be nice a buffed out after today’s wind, so tomorrow could be an epic day.
Submit a comment on "Blue Sky, China Bowls closed"
Next
