There's No Wrong Way to Go at Vail

Featured Image: Eric Dunn

As part of our Volume 28 People & Places issue, we curated a list of the Top 10 Ski Resorts in North America. Each resort on this list is here for a reason and who better to explain than the people who know the resort best. Every article is penned by journalists who have lived in the ski towns they’re writing about. They know these mountains inside and out, and their love for them shines through every word. From terrain, atmosphere and accessibility, to pure, unfiltered badass-ery—consider this your bucket list for the season. We'd be remiss to leave Vail Mountain off this list because its expansive skiable acreage and thriving village vibe.

Once the lifts start spinning in mid-November, all of us who call Vail home will be itching for Mother Nature and ski patrol to open up the backside. While the frontside of Vail holds some of the steepest parts of the mountain, we all know that the Back Bowls are the soul of this place.

For as long as I can remember, every January delivers an incredible storm system that hovers over our massive playground for what feels like an eternity, delivering endless refills. In a way, this storm is like a reward for the locals who work hard throughout the busy holiday season.

These storm cycles are the days my alarm clock gets a break. The excitement of waking up before dawn to stand in line before the lifts open—knowing that the early start, surrounded by other powder-addicted friends and neighbors, will be more than worth it. Standing at the top of the mountain with a few close friends, taking in the vastness of Vail in those quiet moments before the village wakes, is nothing short of breathtaking.

Dropping in, there are so many choices. Do you jet over to Forever? Head to Après Vous? Straightline down the Headwall? The truth is, there’s no wrong answer—and that feeling of weightlessness, and of gravity taking over after each turn, never gets old. This is where I feel most at peace: ahead of the crowds, surrounded by the kind of views Midwesterners dream about.

The quiet goes away quickly. Once the main arteries have brought the masses to the gates of the backside, you instantly hear the hoots and hollers, making each lap its own amphitheater of joy. By this time, you’ll find me witnessing the glory from Chair 9, migrating across each bowl and hoping patrol has China Bowl cleared for avalanche control, and I’ll get rope drop.

As the sun chases my ascent, you’ll find me lapping Genghis until my legs can’t handle farming any more lines. The way the winds blow the snow across the slope, combined with its perfect pitch for an effortless charge, makes it my heaven on Earth.

What is most magical about these January powder days, though, isn’t the first chairs, fresh lines or face shots. It’s the collective energy of our community. Whether queued up in the lift line, tucked into the gondola or surrounded by echoing yells of euphoria reverberating off the Back Bowls, we feel this together as one mighty village.