Skiing / Snowboarding
Skiing and Riding near Vail CO Real Estate
By All Vail Listings

As the largest ski resort in the United States, Vail Ski Resort offers 4 terrain parks, a superpipe, 10 bowls, and 5,289 acres of freeride terrain.  The Front-Side, Blue Sky Basin, and the Back Bowls are the 3 distinct areas of Vail Mountain that blanket over seven miles close to some fabulous Vail, Colorado homes.  In fact, learning from the demand for ski-in ski-out homes and condominiums in Vail, the younger resorts of Beaver Creek, Bachelor Gulch (home of the new Ritz-Carlton hotel and condominium development) and Arrowhead were designed to have more ski-in ski-out homes and condominiums.  

Located in Eagle County, Colorado in the Town of Vail and ski-in/ski-out Vail CO real estate, Vail Ski Resort is owned and operated by Vail Resorts, which also owns the world-class ski resorts in Breckenridge, Keystone, and our nearby Beaver Creek, Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead Ski Resorts with their beautiful homes and condos.  Real estate is often described here as having Bachelor Gulch or Beaver Creek finishes.  Vail has been chosen the No. 1 Ski Resort in the U.S. for 14 of the last 17 years.

The renowned Vail Ski and Snowboard School offers excellent beginner instruction programs in addition to a long list of other instruction.  Every October the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail organizes the Annual Ski and Snowboard Swap, the “Glitter, Gates & Rails” and the “Birds of Prey Men's World Cup Races” for the mid-November through mid-April ski season. 

The resort is committed to its parks, superpipe, and runs.  Spread out among its four parks are countless tabletops, rails, and log rails with a superpipe that is 425 feet long with 22-foot walls.  Ten bowls offer a variety of ski and board options.  Skiers and riders may not call them by their official names of Sun Down, Sun Up, China, Siberia, Tea Cup, Inner Mongolia, and Outer Mongolia or Pete's, Earl's, and Game Creek, but they certainly know which lifts from the base elevation of 8,120 feet will take them to their favorite spots at a top elevation of 11,570 feet.  The longest run of 4 miles on “Riva Ridge” is one of 193 trails and runs.  A huge lift system networks the features with a 12-person gondola, 14 high-speed quad chairs, 1 quad chair, 3 triple chairs, 5 double chairs, and 10 surface lifts.

For those newer to the sport, the Front-Side is the place to learn.  Golden Peak is for beginners and first-timers and it offers variable pitches, cruises on a high-speed quad, and an immense terrain park is right next door.  The Golden Peak Terrain Park is sweetly set up, starting off with a nicely groomed superpipe.  Below the jumps is the rail park, with rails of varying sizes and shapes.  Less experienced riders may also like the less intimidating Mule Skinner Terrain Park.

Kids, or kids at heart, will enjoy Chaos Canyon, a kid’s adventure zone and terrain park.  There are some fun features here, starting out with a series of banked turns winding through the woods.  Boarders should stick to the wider paths.

The Blue Sky Basin, the intermediate/expert lift-accessible backcountry area, has been heralded as one of the best skiing experiences in the world.  Its mogul, gladed, and tree skiing, glorious cliffs and ridges, the views, the snow, and the challenging glades and steeps all make Blue Sky Basin a rider's paradise.

The expert/difficult Back Bowls on the mountain is where the resort really shines.  A good place to start is at the top of Game Creek Express, accessing the cornice through a short five-minute walk.  Drop in off the cornice, then head down to the motocross jumps—three giant windlips that form natural tabletops that are perfect for throwing down new tricks.

Riders need to find an experienced guide and check out East Vail for some adrenaline-pumping backcountry riding.  All adventurers leaving the ski-area boundaries, however, are responsible for themselves.