manchester holidays reviews
Thursday, 28th September 2006
US: No posers in Beaver Creek
Bob Carson  Robert Carson Ski Feature. Beaverr Creek and Vail. Jason Roberts Skiing Beaver Creek PowderDATE CREATED:21/08/2006
A keen skier, you may think you'd be the king of the pistes. That may be the case in Europe, but you'd still be a poor relation on the dollar millionaire slopes of Beaver Creek in Colorado. A few million wouldn't buy you a chalet on the mountain. A decent pad - with room for the servants, of course - could set you back more than $20m.
That would guarantee superb skiing all winter at one of the world's best resorts, but you still wouldn't be allowed to dine with your neighbours at the luncheon clubs high up on the slopes. To keep out the riff-raff, it is members-only for lunch, and membership can cost more than $55,000 dollars a year. For your money all you get is a free pair of slippers, everything else you pay for. Only residents of Beaver Creek can join, and like all the best golf clubs, there's a waiting list.
Exclusive
Throughout the winter months these exclusive restaurants can only be reached on skis or via your own personal snow cat. Which suits the residents just fine. These aren't the showbiz celebs who pose for the gossip columns, these are the CEOs of some of America's biggest companies who want guaranteed privacy on their vacation. The stars go to Aspen, the serious money goes to Beaver Creek or Vail, just a few miles down the road. Former US President Gerald Ford has a house in Beaver Creek. Many of his neighbours are only known on Wall Street. It's not hard to see why the people who have everything choose to ski here. But you don't have to be rich to join them on the slopes. Surprisingly, food and accommodation is cheaper that at many European resorts. Chilli and chips on the slopes was only £6, and that's with generous American servings. Beaver Creek stands at 2,500 metres - above the snow line from November to April - so you're guaranteed snow all winter, and the lifts take you up another 1,000 metres. The slopes are so well groomed they might be too perfect. In the morning it's like skiing on a carpet of snow. The runs are so wide, even intermediate skiers have no trouble on the diamond blacks. But just so it isn't too easy, they will groom half the slope and leave the rest powder for those who want a bit more fun. At the perfect resort, you wouldn't expect to have to keep changing lifts to get to the top of the mountain or, heaven forbid, walk between lifts at the foot of the slopes. So on a single lift you can climb 1,000 metres, and at the base of the mountain a moving walkway takes you between lifts so you save your energy for the downhill run. The mountain is a series of valleys, and the same lift pass enables you to ski at Vail, just 10 miles and a free bus ride along the wide mountain road.
Luxuries After a hard day, it's time to sample some of Beaver Creek's other luxuries. The village has some great shops and restaurants. You can pick up a Prada ski suit or a New York work of art. With more than 400 inches of snow a year, the residents of Beaver Creek wouldn't want to ruin their expensive crocodile shoes on a night out. So they've installed underfloor heating beneath the pavements so the snow never sticks. As an added touch there are no steps to climb in the village - replaced with elevators with canopies to keep all the fur coats dry. They don't have a village green, but the do have an ice rink in the village square. Over in Vail, the skiing isn't for softies. Its Back Bowl ridges are seven miles long, with great pistes and miles and miles of off-piste. However hard you tried, you couldn't ski the 5,200 acres of mountain range in a month. And because the skiing is all in one giant bowl, you are never more than a couple of ski lifts from a run back to base. Where Beaver Creek is discreet, Vail prides itself on its après-ski with busy bars and live entertainment. We stayed at the Vail Cascade Resort and Spar, a short shuttle bus ride away from Vail - although you can ski in and out of the resort. It has luxury rooms, swimming pool and leisure club. A lift pass for the week can be less than £100. The ski season lasts until the middle of the month, but the snow lasts much longer.
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