As a keen snowboarder the idea of going over to the states to ride is always a big deal, the rocky mountains and the clouds that hover above them and the snow they deliver is the perfect recipe for some serious shredding. The weather reports leading up to the trip were stating that Colorado was getting some serious inches of snow, flights books and my brother meeting me at Denver Airport the trip had everything planned out to be something seriously epic!
Coming in to land at Denver looking out the window could see that Denver itself had been puked on by shit loads of snow, couldn't wait to get up to the Rocky's and see what was waiting!
First days riding at Beaver Creek, there motto is "not exactly roughing it" and there not wrong. Hot cookies and hot chocolate and a escalator up to the lift! Booooooooom!!
Random sculptures around the town, give the english something to decorate after a few beers!
Beaver Creek Resort, the mountains calling you in the distance after you have yourself a breakfast burrito and as many top ups of Mountain Dew you can handle.
First run of the day the snow stopped for a few hours and left us with perfect conditions fresh pow and the sun even popped out to say hello as we hit a few lines through the trees soaking up every delicious bit of untouched snow there was, shredding for fun!!!!!
Third day of the trip we hit Vail Ski resort, 15 minute drive down highway 70 from Beaver Creek. The first words that came to mind as we pulled up was "Rauuuuuuuuuude!!! this place is crazy, just so huge you would need a week just to explore it all. We parked in the multi story underground car park and felt like we was walking into Disney World or something rather than a ski resort. Blue sky's all day, just one of those days you just don't want to end, time to forget everything and just explore!
You get a "heeeeeeyyyy! "Have an awesome day" off every lift guy at every lift at Vail, it all adds to the atmosphere of riding in America, that feeling of the perfect days riding. Americans are over the top some might say but gives you a rush before the run has even started. Big respect!!
The lifts at Vail from the Lionshead Village east of the resort are pretty high as they carry you up the mountain looking back as you go higher and higher the views on a clear day are breathtaking.
Vail would still be epic with its runs and free ride areas plus its amazing park area alone, but as you head to the top of the resort you get off the lift and look out over "the blue sky basin" what you see are the "Back Bowls" acres and acres of snowboard paradise, free-riding paradise where you go into Jeremy Jones mode and explore. "Truly nothing like it on earth"- Vail's motto
As you sit at the top of the back bowls its hard to decide where to go first, so much landscape to explore lifts going in every direction and as far as the eye can see. We asked a few locals where was best to go and what lift to take etc, there were a few ways to go down to the next bowl either a lift or to literally just drop in and ride under the lift, you cant shred on a lift!
Riding back through the trees at the top of the resort we worked our way back down to the main entrance, we passed some huuuuuuge kickers and forgot it was the US Open Snowboard championship the week after so got to see a few of the riders practicing, no sign of Sean White or Mark McMorris guess they were on there own mountain or something!
I tried to ask security if I could walk up between the kickers and the halfpipe to get some shots, said I had come all the way from London and was with a magazine, she goes "what magazine? and I goes "Errrm London Snowboarding magazine!" hahahah She asked me for my credentials and i said PARDON?! cut a long story short she basically said piss off! haha So had to do me best with a 50mm lens from a far!
As each rider for the comp were practicing they were all dropping through the park area and then back down towards the kickers, good chance to go get involved and get some more shots.
We stayed around to watch a few of the pro riders rip it up then headed back to beaver. Vail, Beaver Creek are just a couple of the amazing resorts to shred over in Colorado, next year we will try a few others!!!!
Coming in to land at Dallas on my connecting flight back home see this mental road, surely a roundabout would of been easier.
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