Vail’s Last Day
Vail’s 50th Birthday was this year! Fortunately for me, I spent 10 days skiing at Vail this season! One of these days happened to be yesterday, which was closing day at Vail….
As the stories were passed down to me from locals and folks around town who experienced closing day in the past, it kept appearing to be a more and more desirable event to attend. It was about two weeks ago when I made the decision that regardless of what I had going on April 14th, I was skiing Vail!
When I arrived to Vail yesterday with my girlfriend and a few skiing buddies, we were greeted with a fresh 15” that had dumped overnight! Needless to say, the powder was endless and the turns were some of the best I had all year!
As tradition had it, 4 at 4 was the theme of the day (Be at the top of Chair 4 at 4:00). Amidst all the funky costumes and wacky skiing props, a huge party was forming. Starting at about 1:30 in the afternoon, the lift line at chair 4 was consistently 100 – 200 people long. My friends and I got on the chair around 3:00 to join the fun. When we arrived at the top, I could not believe how many people were there. There was live music, free prizes, competitions, food, vendors and so much more! Eventually, the lifts stopped turning for the season at which point it became surreal.
There were thousands of people on top of Vail all celebrating a great season together and the vibe was great. The resorts back country crew lit off the remainder of the blasting material leftover from the season which erupted through the Vail Valley and enraged the crowd. It was a day I will never forget and a perfect ending to another incredible winter in the Rocky Mountains!
With all the fresh snow we are currently receiving, it is hard to believe I will have to wait until next year to ski Vail. As the saying goes, “time flies when you’re having fun” and in Colorado where it’s always fun,I will be skiing the back bowls again before I know it!
