We had 22 total for this early season trip. In addition to local club members, the group included guests from Massachusetts, Alabama, Florida, and Pennsylvania, many of whom join the group every year.
Those traveling from DC had a very rude start to the trip when the Frontier airlines plane in DCA was hit by a de-icer and the wing damaged. The flight was cancelled and passengers had to find their own flights to Denver. With no inbound group to Denver airport, the bus transfer had to be cancelled too. The very resourceful group was thus scattered and obliged to visit cities outside our normal routing. Despite some not arriving in Vail until 2 a.m. everyone was out on the slopes the first morning. Well done all!
The first day was a bluebird day and perfect for orientating to the mountain. The snow was excellent. Most of the front side of the mountain was open. At the wine and cheese reception that afternoon, everyone had a smile on their face.
Then it snowed! We awoke to powder and with the road over the pass to Vail closed the slopes were pretty empty. This was the same story on the next day too. It was snowing so hard that even in the afternoon we were getting fresh tracks. The snow also caused the resort to open more of the back bowls - great for the powder hounds. The last day was bitterly cold but that caused the snow to stay super light.
The group was housed in condos at the Landmark in Lionshead. This is just minutes from the base lifts and adjacent to the ski rental shop. Lionshead has lots of restaurants, bars, shops and a free bus to Vail village a mile away. Vail "snow daze" concerts took place on two of the evenings. The lighting of the Christmas treee was another event.
Breakfasts were independent events either in the condos or at the ever popular Little Diner. Many people met up to ski at the ski rental and storage shop. On three of the evenings the group enjoyed organized dinners in El Sabor, Garfinkles, and Vendettas.
The return trip was blessedly uneventful!.
Here are just a few pictures.
