Winter is coming!

Do Some Conditioning Now

So when the conditions are deep, you'll be getting all you can!

"No friends on a powder day" is heard quite a bit in the lift lines out here.

I think it's the rally cry of the weak and the slow. Consoling themselves once they have been ditched.

Spend some time training this fall and you'll be the one who decides whether or not there are any friends on a POWDER DAY!

Vista Bahn Removal

We thought it would be nice to give you all a compilation of the removal of the Vista Bahn, starting at closing day!

Day -1 (Closing Day)

Day 0 (Party Day)

Day 2

Day 7

Day 8

Day 13

Day 17

Day 21



Day 26

Vista Bahn Tower Removal Video

Not quite mid-December, but still pretty good!

It will come.

I have been hearing a lot of talk about snow so far this season.  At this same time last year we had most of the mountain open.  This year is a little bit different, but keep in mind, we've only been open for 1 week so far!  We've got a great amount of terrain open for being 7 days into normal operation, and we're looking to open new lifts all the time.

Don't worry about the snow, be patient. 
It will come.

In the meantime, we're going to need everyone to do some cold weather dances or something. I do enjoy the sunny warm weather, but it has no place in Colorado in December!

In other news, we have our second training class going through extensive lift training in Golden Peak this week!  We expect them to hit the mountain starting tomorrow.  The first training class is now running the lifts with skill and ease and will be great teachers to all of the new guys!

Opening day at Vail

I'm glad other people make so many videos, because we are busy running lifts! Chair 2 opens on Wednesday. If we just get a little more snow, we will get a lot more terrain. Start with the snow dances!

What a week! Opening Day 2011

It has been a wild and crazy week here at Vail.  We have graduated 84 lift operators through our training course.  We have learned how to run the lifts, maintain our ramps, met new friends, and enjoyed living in Vail.  The team has gotten a few lifts fully ready to open, and a few more lifts ready to go at a moments' notice.  The level of intensity leading up to Opening Day is very similar to the few last days of summer before starting school back when you were a kid.

It finally happened. We opened. The lifts ran, and people were able to enjoy the snow again. It is a great feeling when you load the first batch of guests onto a chairlift for the first time. Whether you are working or out for a few turns on a sunny Friday, the incredible build up is released into a happy greeting from a lift operator or a high-five as you're leaving the terminal on your way up for the first turns of the year.

Here is the TV star, Chair 8 crew just before that moment:

Thanks in advance for a great year guys!