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LUCKY SEVEN IN A SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON, THE BEAV’ HOLDS ITS OWN (AND EVEN EXCELS) AGAINST LARGER RESORTS WITH THESE SEVEN DETAILS
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HEN COMPARING
Beaver Creek to Vail, as far as size is concerned, there is no question that the Beav’ is the little sister. But in terms of character, charm and amenities, in many ways Beaver Creek measures up to — and even exceeds — its larger, more widely recognized counterpart. Vail is hands down one of the best ski areas in the world. But here are some things that the Beav’ does even better. Such as …
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fresh cookies: Not many ski areas in the country can boast this treat: steaming plates of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies every afternoon. The cookies are hand-delivered by a team of Beaver Creek bakers to skiers and visitors milling around the base area at 3 p.m. every day. escalators: A few steps in ski boots and it begins.
Can’t somebody carry me? Where is my chariot? We’ve all been there. Naturally, the Beav’ doesn’t have the arms to carry every single guest up to its lifts like a muscular romance hero, but it does have some escalators. They help, don’t they? steep terrain: Terrainwise, Beaver Creek is the smallest of the seven Vail Resorts ski areas. Its 1,832 skiable acres include a steeper continuous vertical drop on most of its runs (Centennial checks in at almost 3.5 miles with 3,360 feet of continuous drop) and
above Though Vail is the larger in terms of skiable acres, Beaver Creek resort has a lot
of steep, skiable terrain that doesn’t require a lot of traversing to access.
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BEAVER CREEK LUXURY G 2 013 A N N UA L
doesn’t require all the traversing that is a large part of the day at a huge area like Vail. At the Beav’, no skating and hopping are needed. It’s pretty much just get off the lift and bomb down the mountain. world-class ski races: Beaver Creek has hosted two world alpine ski championships — in 1989 and in 1999 — and is slated to host another in 2015. performing arts/concerts: Sure, there are many great winter concerts outdoors at Vail Village’s Checkpoint Charlie and Ford Amphitheater, but Beaver Creek has its own state-of-theart theater. There aren’t many places (outside of London and New York City) where you can take off your ice skates and walk into the next building to see a famed international ballet, Broadway production, orchestra or concert. ski –in, ski-out accommodation: Former President Gerald R. Ford didn’t buy a home on Beaver Creek Mountain for just any reason. Although most are spoken for, there are a slew of mini castles to reside in on the mountain at the Beav’s Strawberry Park and several hotels that you may ski in and out of. fewer lines on weekends: Vail is 10 miles closer to Denver, and it ends up being the stop where nearly all the Front Range traffic makes its exit. This means that even on a busy Saturday at Beaver Creek — which has nearly as many lifts as Vail — you never really feel like you’re jockeying for elbow room.
P H OTO S BY J AC K A F F L E C K & C O DY D O W N A R D