Chicago Addick living in Bermuda
Sunday 16 December 2007
  Beaver Creek, Colorado Not exactly roughing it. That is Beaver Creek's proud tagline and roughing it, it is not. Man-made by people who have too much money but know a good thing when they see it, the Beaver Creek ski resort was opened in 1980 as an extension of Vail and the idea was to blend Swiss charm with American hospitality and 27-years on both of those ideals very much exist.

One thing that didn't exist before we got there was snow, but 2 foot of it fell between last Thursday and Friday which cheered the locals no-end. I had not been skiing for a long time and enrolled in the beginners class. As my Aussie instructor told me.... if he could give me a lobotomy, then he could make me into a pro-skiier within a week as it is my subconsciousness he is training not the rest of me. A few simple skills is all that is needed and of course no fear whatsoever. A slight problem for someone as uncordinated and poofy as me.

And what can I tell you after a few days of lessons? Well I do still have the same brain and I still ski like Bambi but it was fun, although my calf's were bloody killing. Those boots are not made for comfort.

Of course the most frustrating thing about skiing is that everyone else always looks brilliant. Kids not old enough to speak fly by you at break-neck speeds with goggles covering their whole faces with not a care in the world. Just wait until I catch one of those blighters.... and you never can.

Four mountains make up the resort - Beaver Creek, Grouse Peak, Bachelor Gulch, Arrowhead and are all connected, although a lot of the runs and lifts were still not open because the season is yet to start in earnest. This suited us though because the place was quiet, cheaper and unbeknown to us, you get the full benefit of the experienced professional ski instructors before the season takes off. In a week or so all the best instructors disappear to teach people with more money than balance, leaving the rookies manning the minions.

We were lucky and met some great instructors and people both avant and apres ski. The resort was extremely cosmopolitan, the variety of foreign accents actually making us strangely homesick.

The resort consists of three villages - Beaver Creek, Arrowhead and where we stayed at Bachelor Gulch. A excellent bus service runs constantly between the three and other outposts, allowing time to rest weary legs and gaze at picture post card views and eliminate the need for a car.

Beaver Creek village is the main draw with it's ice-rink, theatre, restaurants and boutiques. Very neat, very tidy, very er, Swiss. At the base of the mountain the ski school dominates and gondola's and ski lifts combine to take you 11,440ft to the summit. This is not a late night place to go wild, Vail will satisfy those needs but blimey I had trouble staying up until 9pm. Did I mention my poor legs....

Bachelor Gulch itself is dominated by the Ritz Carlton, crowning the top of a mountain like a Bavarian castle. Flickering log fires take centre stage in most of the huge communial rooms with only the freshly fallen snow outside enticing you to leave it's sanctuary. The new Wolfgang Puck restaurant opened a week before we were there and old Wolfy came and joined us when we ate there on Saturday night, charming us alongside his Argentinian business partner.

We were prepared for a walking holiday as it was early in the season, so it was wonderful to see so much snow and be able to (attempt) to ski. I'd imagine that this place gets really busy between the middle of December to February, 800 instructors alone are employed by the ski school over the New Year period. I would definitely go again, skiing in Colorado is very different to skiing European resorts. Less snobbiness, less money but certainly not roughing it. 
|



<< Home
About Me
After living in Chicago for four and a half years, I moved to the beautiful if bewildering island of Bermuda in July 2008. This blog is about being an exiled and depressed Charlton Athletic fan and whatever else the day brings.
CAFC Links
  • Charlton Athletic FC
  • CAFC Player
  • Forever Charlton
  • CAFC Picks
  • CASC
  • City Addicks
  • Community Trust
  • Fans Forum
  • Charlton Life
  • / forum
  • Charlton Scrapbook
  • Addicks Downunder Forum
  • Fellow Addick Blogs
  • Addicks Diary
  • Doctor Kish
  • New York Addick
  • All Quiet in the East Stand
  • SE3 Addick
  • Jakartass
  • Charlton Athletic Online
  • Views from an Iberian Valley
  • Charlton North Downs
  • Blackheath Addicted
  • Drinking During the Game
  • Kings Hill Addick
  • A Red Divided
  • Deepest Darkest
  • All in a Day
  • Johnny73
  • Confidential Rick
  • Charlton Casual
  • Many Miles....
  • Croydon Addick
  • Stickleback
  • And Nothing Else Matters
  • Out in the rain
  • Hungry Ted
  • Bermuda - all 21 square miles of it
  • The Royal Gazette
  • Weather forecast
  • Discover Bermuda
  • Bermuda National Trust
  • Bernews.com
  • Bermuda Blogroll
  • Bermuda Shorts
  • Jen in Bermuda
  • Daily London fix
  • Diamond Geezer
  • Onionbagblog
  • 853
  • The Cabbies Capital
  • A piece of my heart still in Chicago
  • Chicago Tribune
  • Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Chicago Bears
  • Chicago Blackhawks
  • Chicago White Sox
  • Chicago Cubs
  • Chicago Fire
  • My Chicago stuff
  • Andersonville
  • Bucktown
  • Chinatown
  • Evanston
  • Gold Coast
  • Greektown & Little Italy
  • Lincoln Park
  • Lincoln Square
  • The Magnificent Mile
  • Old Town
  • Oak Park
  • River North
  • Roscoe Village
  • South Loop
  • Streeterville
  • Ukrainian Village
  • Wicker Park
  • Wrigleyville
  • Ten things to do with a child
  • My Bermuda exploring
  • Paget Parish
  • Southampton Parish
  • Town of St George
  • Ten things to do with a child
  • Travelogue
  • Atlanta
  • Bahamas
  • Beachy Head
  • Beaver Creek, Colorado
  • Bermuda
  • Buenos Aires
  • Californian Hwy 1
  • Charleston
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Dubai
  • Eastbourne
  • Ft Lauderdale, Florida
  • Grand Canyon
  • Hiroshima
  • Honolulu
  • Houston, Texas
  • Kohler, Wisconsin
  • Kyoto
  • Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
  • Las Vegas
  • Lille, France
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico
  • Miami Beach
  • Mt Fuji & Hakone, Japan
  • Munich
  • New Orleans
  • New York
  • Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Oman
  • Orlando
  • Palm Springs & Joshua Natl Park
  • Park City, Utah
  • Reykjavik
  • Route 66 and Hoover Dam
  • San Francisco
  • San Diego
  • Santa Fe
  • Saugatuck, Michigan
  • Sedona, Arizona
  • Sonoma & Napa Valley
  • St Petersburg, FL
  • Taos, New Mexico
  • Tokyo
  • Uruguay
  • Washington DC
  • The good old days?
  • The men in charge Parts I
  • / II / III / IV / V
  • Carlisle (a) 1986
  • Luton (a) 1989
  • Sunderland (h) 1975
  • Stoke City (a) 1994
  • Crystal Palarse (a) 2000
  • Norwich City (h) 1987
  • Coventry City (a) 2001
  • Barnsley (h) 1985
  • Bristol City (a) 1994
  • West Brom (a) 1995
  • Hull City (h) 1976
  • Burnley (h) 1978
  • Nottingham Forest (a) 1989
  • Sheffield Wednesday (h) 1986
  • Ipswich Town (a) 1981
  • Birmingham City (a) 1993
  • Hereford United (a) 1989
  • Interesting stuff
  • We're not on the telly much but who is?
  • Football Pyramid
  • Football Ground Guide
  • The Political Economy of Football
  • The Fiver
  • London 2012
  • TV Cream
  • Nice cup of tea and a sit down
  • Banksy
  • www.flickr.com
    This is a Flickr badge showing public photos and videos from ChicagoAddick. Make your own badge here.
    And not so interesting
    Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com Powered by Blogger
    EMail me
    ChicagoAddick@Gmail.com
    Follow me on Twitter
  • ChicagoAddick
  • CAFC on Twitter
  • Archives
    June 2004 / July 2004 / August 2004 / September 2004 / October 2004 / November 2004 / December 2004 / January 2005 / February 2005 / March 2005 / April 2005 / May 2005 / June 2005 / July 2005 / August 2005 / September 2005 / October 2005 / November 2005 / December 2005 / January 2006 / February 2006 / March 2006 / April 2006 / May 2006 / June 2006 / July 2006 / August 2006 / September 2006 / October 2006 / November 2006 / December 2006 / January 2007 / February 2007 / March 2007 / April 2007 / May 2007 / June 2007 / July 2007 / August 2007 / September 2007 / October 2007 / November 2007 / December 2007 / January 2008 / February 2008 / March 2008 / April 2008 / May 2008 / June 2008 / July 2008 / August 2008 / September 2008 / October 2008 / November 2008 / December 2008 / January 2009 / February 2009 / March 2009 / April 2009 / May 2009 / June 2009 / July 2009 / August 2009 / September 2009 / October 2009 / November 2009 / December 2009 / January 2010 / February 2010 / March 2010 / April 2010 / May 2010 / June 2010 / July 2010 / August 2010 /