Beaver Creek, Colorado is ready for the ski season!

The Beav is going to be one of the nicest places to ski in the country this winter. It has been proven over the past two years that Beaver Creek has received as much snow on its trails as Vail gets. Today it is dumping in Edwards, home to Gateway Land, and both Vail and Beaver Creek could be getting the first big accumulation of the winter. Both areas will be open by Thanksgiving, but then the Beav will have the Men's World Cup Races the following weekend on the Birds of Prey Downhill Course.

After years of careful growth, the ski area now encompasses 1,625 acres of downhill skiing and now boasts a vertical drop of 4,040 feet. What makes it so special is that it is evenly divided with some of the most pleasant 'green' runs in the country and many of them start at the very top of the mountain. This provides the most beautiful vistas for even the most timid beginner. Then from there, the experts can head over to the Talons area where double diamond bump runs will challenge even the most experienced skiers. Each year the ski area challenges the experts to come ski all 13 of its Double Diamond runs in one day and it is called the Talons Challenge. 23,000 feet of vertical mostly all bumps. The reward is free beer and brats at the end of the runs, and usually a hat and a pin to provide bragging rights back in town.

The best part of Beaver Creek is the incredible village at the base, and here the motto is 'Not exactly roughing it'. The village is connected with heated walkways which allow visitors and skiers alilke to walk between the shops, the restaurants, the Vilar Performing Arts Center, and many art galleries. For the skier the apres ski activities start at the Beaver Creek Chophouse at the bottom of the Centennial Lift. For the locals you can take an escalator down on level to the Coyote Cafe, where the Ski Patrol likes to hang out. The up and coming locals hang out is now the Dusty Boot on the other side of the esplanade. In between those two you will find the large ice rink which allows kids of all ages to skate on the man made ice from sun up to way past sun down.

Other restaurants include the exclusive Toacanini's overlooking the ice rink. Then down one level is the kids favorite Blue Moose Pizza house and next door is Foxnut Asian Sushi. There are also specialty stores for chocolate and ice cream. The Beav is a big place to tour around and there are many restaurants in the hotels with the favorite being 8100 in the Park Hyatt. At the top of the list of condos is the Chateau which includes the exclusive restaurant Splendido's with an atmosphere equal to none. Next door at the Pines is another fine restaurant, Grouse Mountain Grill. The other big condo hotel is the Charter, and it boasts the fine Italian restaurant, Tramonti. At the bottom of the Beaver Creek hill is Mirabelle, another fine eating establishment in the French tradition.

This blog will not end until the next chapter continues with all the great restaurants in the town of Avon, where Beaver Creek calls home. Please feel free to call me for more local information on, not only eating and skiing, but also for some of the nicest homes in the Vail/Beaver Creek Valley.