vail mountain

Great ski trails, wide . So beautiful at the top, check out the view. Eat at the top at Eagles Nest. Some trails not well marked when intersecting.

Located in the heart of the Rockies, I think Vail continues to improve year after year. The conditions, staff and location are some of the best in the USA!

Vail has some of the best skiing in all of Colorado. Hands down. I've been to multiple other ski resorts, and they are great too, but Vail is the complete package. Fantastic skiing, plenty of ski lifts, and enough area to not worry about going down the same lifts. What makes Vail unique to other locations is the backside of the mountain. The backside is all bowls for advanced skiers and this is where Vail shines. There are plenty of ski lifts to get you quickly back up to the top of the bowls. I highly recommend going down these parts of the mountain. Way less people on this side which is one of Vail's problems.Be careful on which lifts you go up though. There are large amounts of people at Vail. Avoid the main lifts and you won't have to wait forever to get back on the mountain.Secondly, Vail is expensive. Be prepared to pay out the wazoo for lift tickets.Awesome and expensive mountain with plenty of tourists, but large enough where you won't notice them as long as you avoid the main lifts! I'll definitely be returning for the skiing.

very nice, well signed slopes. For me, the only con is that you have few slopes groomed each day, compared to other ski resorts around the world.

Always enjoy a day of skiing at Vail - our son took in the bowls and we skied the front face this trip. Fabulous conditions and grooming. Plenty for every level skier.

The mountain is huge! Daily maps are available to tell folks which runs have been groomed over night. We lucked out with lots of new snow which meant endless choices of runs. Thankfully, there were staff in many locations of the mountain to help skiers with navigation and mountain information.

Vail has some of the best back bowl skiing. So many runs, so little time! It's so big, you can't do it in one day. The best way to ski it is to choose one or 2 areas (lifts) at a time. Blue Sky Basin is awesome - best big bowl - each time down is different. China Bowl, Sunup, Sundown, Game Creek, Blue Sky Basin, Pete's Bowl just to name some of the bowls. All have varied runs, some groomed, most not.

Having never skied in North America before I was blown away by how big the mountain was in Vail; 195 runs! We skiied 5 days and were still skiing new runs on the last day. Fantastic, and would love to go back. Be prepared for all kinds of weather though - we had a big range of warm and freezing-snow-sandblasting-your-face weather in just 5 days. Lots of fresh power to play in (we went first week of March 2015). Note the Epic Day ski pass allows you to ski other mountains too (Breckenridge, Keystone etc.), but not sure why you'd ever need to with so much to ski in Vail.

Haven't skied here for 40 yrs as a young man. What a difference.A fabulous resort and with such varied terrain.Excellent facilities on and off mountain.One of the best resorts in Nth America.Will definitely ski here again.

The Back Bowls at Vail are famous and justly so --- HUGE bowls one after the other with so much space between you and everyone else! On a powder day they're amazing.Of the Back Bowls personally I like Sun Up bowl the best. Not as crowded as China Bowl plus the Sun Up lift has short lines and is easy to get to. When they groom it, it's amazing but on heavy pow days it's the right amount. Sun Down bowl has amazing snow and is less crowded but for me the pow was a little too deep. China Bowl has groomed runs but more crowded and the catwalk to Orient Express is freaking long and flat. And at the top of Orient Express to get to Two Elk is a pain since it's super flat, and if you're a snowboarder the rope tow doesn't help.Front Side runs are nice and long but sometimes they have long catwalks, and during the season the lift lines get a little long.Two Elk has good food and is a cool place for lunch. The Terrace at Mid Vail has terrible food -- avoid. Of the resorts I've been to, Vail is #2 in my heart (Whistler is #1) but the Back Bowls are really. what makes Vail stand out so make sure you take at least a couple of runs there. Tip: Park on the street just outside the garage instead of paying $25/day to park IN the garage just a few feet away.

This is my second review of this amazing ski area. A few additional thoughts as I spent some more time here.1. Back Bowls.. Navigating the Back Bowls is intimidating for the "intermediate skier" or "used to be advanced" skier. Some of the terrain is steeper than others, and it is hard to know which is in your comfort zone before getting there (since they are all listed as "Black Diamond"). Firstly, if you want more info, ask a ski patrol. They obviously know the mountain better than anyone, and can help you with which ones have more moguls versus which ones have a steeper pitch, versus which ones have better conditions today or are less crowded.A trip to Outer and/or Inner Mongolia on a clear day is a secret stash (don't tell anyone). The treed area of Yonder is awesome, and most of which is not too difficult. Rasputin's Revenge is the trail requiring the most technical skiing. Ghangus Khan at the top seems to be the steepest pitch. Wow into Forever has a steep pitch and it is sustained.2. Any of the restaurants between noon and 2pm are packed. Buffalos and Wildwoods are small and packed. The Two Elks is bigger area, but can be just as packed (and is a bit to the side of the mountain).

Ride the gondola to the top (after 3:30 it's free) and there is lot's to do for the kid's as well as the adults. Tubing (the snow kind), zip lines, kid snowmobiles, and we did the free sunset snow shoeing. Just dress warm if you plan to do this. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the stars and planets. The tour lasted about an hour.

If you are looking for a perfect ski trip that makes you feel like you are in Europe, head to Vail and Beaver creek to ski. The snow is powdery and the groomed runs are pure perfection! The restaurants are just wonderful including pampered meals at the 10th where you can remove all your ski gear, don slippers and enjoy lunch with a slope side view. For some really fun runs, head to Beaver Creek and ski over bridges and under tunnels next to gorgeous mountain side homes. Ski down to the gorgeous Ritz Carlton and enjoy a fireside hot cocoa or slip into Spago for a treat! Vail Village has wonderful, yet on the expensive side, shops and restaurants. Have a few drinks at the famous Red Lion or Vendettas and feel like a local. Not for the bargain hunter but this ski area is quite a treat and one of the most picturesque places to ski.

I love to ski vail!! It's huge and the back bowls are magnificent!! We come every year! It's heavenly!!!

16 days of skiing this season and 13 of those were spent on Vail mountain. The terrain is so vast, you can get lost in the trees and never have to wait too long for lifts (if you know where to go - but I can't divulge all my secrets). The scenery is breath taking and photographers on hand to help you capture it. If you're traveling far to ski here in Colorado, I would recommend Vail during the weekdays but try to avoid on Sundays