Day 5 - Our 2026 began with a day of skiing in Vail - about 35 minutes east. We'd heard horror stories of how little snow Vail has and how crowded the limited runs were and those were fairly accurate. But we were there at opening and got a few great runs in on grippy snow before it really filled up. After that, we made it our mission to ski all the parts of Vail that were open and that took us around the mountain and led to a great day of skiing and exploring. Plus, it started snowing around lunchtime! We went down to the Lionshead Village base area and that was super impressive - like a Disneyland version of a European village complete with ice rink and so many ritzy shops. After we wrapped up our skiing (18 runs, 23,000'), we changed out of our ski clothes and took a stroll through the main Vail Village. It also has a European flavor to it, lots of pedestrian areas to stroll and explore, many works of art throughout, and top-notch people watching. We drove back to our hotel and had a little downtime before eating dinner at the Red Mountain Grill. All-in-all, it was a fantastic way to close out 2025 and celebrate the start of a new year and new possibilities.
Day 6 - The snow is so much better at Keystone that we skied it again - this time with fresh snow. There was about 5" of powder on top of the groomers and it was such a great day of skiing. By this time our legs were really feeling it so we skied 20,000' by 11:30 and then called it a day. After some relax time in the sauna and hot tub at our hotel, we ventured out to the historic town of Frisco, just a few miles from us. They have a very detailed and interactive museum in the heart of town that includes a dozen cabins and structures from the pioneer days. Inside each one are artifacts and exhibits. I learned so much about the area. My favorite exhibit was about women's suffrage and the all-female takeover of the Frisco City Council in 1916 because the men weren't getting any business done. Frisco's main street is charming and we popped into a number of shops before heading to into Vinny's restaurant for a delicious dinner. We met a nice couple at the bar who told us how they met after their first marriages didn't work out and it was very inspiring.
Day 7 - We had to ski Beaver Creek on our final day even though it was about 45 minutes west of us and the opposite direction of the airport that we needed to get to that evening. BUT we didn't want to miss anything on our trip. We'd heard horror stories of how little snow they had, the icy runs, the crowds, etc. and so we were skeptical of what we'd find. We were pleasantly surprised to find enough well-groomed runs and snow to have a lot of fun exploring the mountain and we were able to get in a lot of good runs - enough for a full day of 25,000'. Beaver Creek is known as being very bougie, more so than Vail. They have a gate to be allowed to drive into the area. It has covered escalators so you don't have to manage stairs in ski boots. The Saddle Lodge had glove and helmet hangers built into the tables. Every day they serve chocolate chip cookies at the base area at 3:00 to everyone. The buildings are all coordinated in a modern pioneer theme. One of the lifts had the Ritz Carleton at the base and it was made to look like the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone, only better. Most of the runs open were greens and blues and it felt like a place I could ski in my 70s or 80s. The aspens and terrain were beautiful and approachable. The base area featured many seating areas with giant cushions and propane heaters and fireplaces as well as an ice rink. It catered to everything a person would need, but it wasn't the same scene as Vail - the people at Beaver Creek were there to ski in luxury and weren't there to make social media posts. We were so happy we decided to check it out.
After a full day at Beaver Creek, we drove two hours east to the Denver airport, including taking Highway 6 over the 11,990' Loveland Pass which was stunning. We were fortunate to be able to stop into the airport lounge for dinner and to watch the Seahawks win their final game of the regular season against the 49ers to become NFC Champions!
