Vail’s 50th Anniversary Despite Vail’s modest early snowfall, local and traveling powder hounds alike are anxious to get back on the mountain. With only 2 runs available this past weekend, the lift lift lines proved that skiers and snowboarders are a dedicated bunch willing to wait their turn. Most of Vail’s full time residence relocated primarily for the premium mountain access. Forgive us if we spray you with powder, we’re just excited.Last year was Breckenridge’s 50th Anniversary and they didn’t fail to remind you each and every day with crazy promotions, epic photos with the “50th Anniversary” and heavy online marketing. Their initial marketing idea was the most aggressive. On opening day they were preparing to give anyone who wanted one a FREE Breckenridge Resort “B” tattoo. It got... 11/23/2012

It’s beginning to look a lot like WINTER in the Vail Valley!  With over 14” of snow over the weekend, the valley is blanketed in a beautiful winter wonderland.  Vail Mountain opens this week, Beaver Creek next week.  So get your ski and snowboard gear out of the closet and get ready to head to the mountains! 11/12/2012

With Vail Mountain's opening day less than one week away, we are all pretty excited about the ribbon cutting ceremony of Vail’s new gondola “One.”  All summer long, we’ve watched as they took out the old Vista Bahn chair lift in the heart of Vail Village.  And what excitement to watch helicopters fly through our valley taking out the towers and replacing with the new gondola.  We awoke today to a fresh blanket of snow in Vail and Beaver Creek, and everyone has smiles on their faces.  Whether you ski, snowboard, telemark, snow shoe, ice skate… (what am I missing here!?) this time of year always gets the adrenaline pumping! 11/10/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO: A LITTLE NEW SNOW! With the eminent opening of Vail Mountain only a week away, any evidence of a little new snow is welcome!  What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday was shirt sleeve weather.  This morning we were treated to several inches on new snow on the Mountain with more promised over the next few days.  Mother Nature never seems to fail us.  Maybe soon we will have a few more occupants in Lionshead Mall than an "Official Car" and statue depicting what we'd all like to be doing!                                                                                                                        PHOTO:  Nilsson Images     11/10/2012

11/07/2012

  Vail Valley Daily Photo: Last Man Standing In Nature as in life, there are always examples of the results of not giving up, even in the face of being surrounded by  capitualion.  I found a great example of this while taking an early morning walk on the bike path between the end of the Vail Golf Course and the East Vail open space.  In this heavy aspen hillside forest there was nary a leaf to be seen - except on this single, otherwise unremarkable tree.  Why or how it hung out in the face of overwhelming suggestion, I have no clue.                                                                                                                       PHOTO: NILSSON IMAGES                                         10/23/2012

VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO:  IT'S A START Well, I guess some things have got to start off slow.  October in Vail is always a slow starter - this year has been nothing to write home about either.  First measurable snow is always just around Holloween.  Then we have one big storm on the 15th of Novermber or so - just enough to open the mountain for Thanksgiving.  Next, a few meaninful dumps for the Christmas crowd.  January......look out!  I'm looking forward to some turns!                                                                                                                  PHOTO:  NILSSON IMAGES   10/21/2012

VAIL DAILY PHOTO: INDIAN SUMMER - This could be the nicest time of year here in the Vail Valley!  While evenings are cool and often touching feezing, days are generally warm and sunny with perfect temperature range.  Everywhere green has turned to gold and it's a perfect time to take a walk along Gore Creek.  It's a little bit bitter-sweet because you know that each glorious day gets you one more day closer to a time when you won't have days like this for 5 or 6 long months.  Oh well, the mountain opens in 5 weeks!                                                                                                                            PHOTO:  NILSSON IMAGES                                10/14/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO:  A LITTLE HELO HELP A huge heavy lift helocopter drops a cable carrier assembly onto the top of a lift tower which itself was dropped into place just minutes before.  This was the amazing show yesterday as Vail Resorts hurried to complete the installation of the brand new high speed state-of-the-art Gondola replacing the old four passenger Vista Bahn chair lift out of Vail Village.  Towers and assemblies from bottom to top of the mountain were installed in one day!  The massive carrier cable roll is set to be delivered to the site today on a 32 wheeled flat bed.  This new luxury lift will be operational for Vail's opening day - only a little more from a month away.  Pray for Snow!                                                                                ... 10/12/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO:  THE LAST OF THE COLOR  After the last couple of days of colder weather and gusty winds, most of the dramatic aspen colors have been blown into history.  You can still find pockets of former glory in limited areas that are sheltered from the wind and frost.  While driving to a sales meeting at a terrific new listing last Monday, I turned the corner at the top of the hill and took this view right between the eyes!  I wonder how long I can get my aspen leaf fix at this location?                                                                                                                   PHOTO:  NILSSON IMAGES   10/04/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO:  A SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON TROUT POND LANE The normal visitor to Vail comes up for a week, checks into a hotel, and spends the day pounding down the slopes and the evenings dining and partying.  It remains to we locals to find the little pockets of beauty that are in profusion throughout the Vail Valley.  Trout Pond Lane is one of those spots.  Located at the end of a quiet lane in one of our many little subdivisions outside of the hustle and bustle of Vail Village, this dreamy pond is known by few and is host to several lucky homeowners.  Sorry, nothing here is currently on the market...but maybe someday.                                                                                                                    PHOTO:  NILSSON IMAGES 10/02/2012

    VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO: FIRST SNOW First Snow is always an exciting time here in the Vail Valley.  It confirms the realization that it's time to put away the golf clubs and hiking boots and start dusting off the the ol' boards (or board as it may be).  While opening day at Vail is not until just before Thanksgiving, there is always a race between Loveland Basin, Keystone, Arapaho, and Copper Mountain to see who can be the first Colorado ski area to open.  Some years this has been won before Holloween.  It's still pretty warm...doesn't look like it's going to happen this year - but we'll see.                                                                                                                        PHOTO:  NILSSON IMAGES                                                    ... 09/29/2012

                                                                                                                 VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO: COLOR EVEN IN THE RAIN While leaving the Vail Valley in the rain yesterday morning fror a trek to Denver, I found this Photo Op of my favorite hillside just above the Vail Golf Course. I pulled my car over to the side of the road to admire.  Heavy overcast that left a little more snow on the peaks earlier was filtering enough light to make the aspen covered hillside litterally glow in an almost surreal manner.  I knew this scene would be fleeting.  While I was absent in the low country the wind came up and, on my way back by this site on the way home yesterday evening, I noticed the color was gone - replaced by bare Aspen sentinals.                   ... 09/28/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO: JUST A FEW MINUTES FROM MY OFFICE Late last week I found myself with a couple of free hours before my floor duty at my real estate office in Lionshead and decided to take a quick drive up to Piney Lake.  This iconic spot has been photographed many times but never by me.  30 minutes up a rather bumped out dirt road netted this photograph, amoung a few others.  I always amazes me that we have so much beauty so close to our busseling mini-metropolis.  You've really got to put Vail and western Colorado on your near term bucket list!  When you come - just get out there.  You will find scenes like this just minutes from your hotel room.                                                                                                                      PHOTO: NILSSON... 09/26/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO: A QUICK TRIP ABOVE TIMBERLINE - Last Wednesday was just the kind of day that cried for a quick trip above timberline. We are expecting snow up high (right about here) in the next few days and we knew this was probably the last chance this year to get out for some really high vistas without boards under our feet.  What an amazing place we live in!  Out the door at 8:00, 12,500 feet by 10:00 and back down by 1:00 for a beer and a nice lunch at Vendeta's on Bridge Street. Hootie the Golden thouroughly enjoyed the experience too.  What a rat race!                                                                                                        PHOTO:  NILSSON IMAGES    09/24/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO: A LAZY SUNDAY IN PARADISE - IT'S HARD TO FAULT A DAY LIKE ONE WE'VE JUST HAD.  NICE AND WARM, NOT A BREATH OF WIND, AND ....COLOR. THIS HAS BEEN AN EXPECIALLY BEAUTIFUL FALL IN THE VAIL VALLEY.  THE UNUSUALLY DRY SUMMER HAS BEEN CAPPED WITH PLENTY OF RAIN IN THE LAST MONTH.  I AM TOLD THAT THIS HAS RESULTED IN A VERY VIBRANT ASPEN DISPLAY BUT UNFORTUNATELY, ONE THAT IS MUCH SHORTER AND EARLIER THAN NORMAL.  THE MOUNTAIN-SIDES WILL SOON TRADE YELLOW FOR GRAY...AND THEN WHITE!  AT ANY RATE, THIS FALL HAS BEEN ONE TO REMEMBER.                                                                                                                   PHOTO: NILSSON IMAGES       09/23/2012

  VAIL VALLEY DAILY PHOTO: NICE DAY FOR GOLF With the summer winding down and fall off-season approaching quickly, it's nice to take a little time to enjoy what this wonderful valley has to offer.  The weather has been absolutely terrific and the fall colors have been spectacular!  Incidently, it's time to get your Epic Pass (www.Snow.com) and, if you are amoung the lucky owners in the Vail Valley, time to think about turning on your heat!  No predictions yet about the coming ski season but the Skunk Cabbage is reasonably high! 09/21/2012

Vail Valley Theatre Company Sets the Stage for “Company” I couldn’t be more excited to announce that I’ll be appearing in the Vail Valley Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”.  One of my favorite musicals of all time, “Company” explores the life of single, 35-year old, Bobby and his relationships with his three girlfriends and his 10 best friends, 5 married couples. The music is fantastic, complicated, and quite simply genius.  (This is Sondheim after all!)  All of the characters are uniquely developed and each bring a different perspective on what it means to be in a relationship.  Take a look at the column I’m writing for our local Vail Daily newspaper, “Theatre with Altitude” to get to know a few of the characters…    09/15/2012

Happy Memorial Day from Vail, CO!  Today we remember those who have lost their lives serving in the United States Armed Forces.  Growing up, I would go to the cemetery with my Mom to decorate our loved one’s stones.  Today I plan to plant my flower beds and will send good positive thoughts to those I’ve lost, and to my friends and relatives currently serving. The sun is shining in Vail and families are out enjoying the day… 05/28/2012

Holy Smokes!  It’s snowing in Vail, CO today! Went to bed last night with a light sprinkle of rain, and woke up to snow covered peaks.  I love springtime in the mountains. 05/24/2012