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A Vail of Secrecy
NOTE:
Mom, Dad … Just
wanted to let you know I thought about your concerns, and drove
right past Vail. The world renowned ski resort barely crossed
my mind. My bones are in tact, so don’t worry …
… and don’t
read any more of this Journal.
You have to understand that I come from a long line of prairie
people. So Down hill skiing is not a natural thing to most people.
My parents are in this category. None of us in my family are really
sports stars, although my brother Glenn likes to see himself something
of a basketball hero.
So my interest in Downhill skiing just doesn’t translate well.
I’ve always been interested and when I lived in Vancouver last
year I even took lessons, bought my own boots. In short, I got
hooked. Vancouver has three hills in the city, and Whistler less
than two hours away. How could you not embrace the slopes
So as I mapped out the return path for the Volvo, including places
I wanted to see and the most direct route, imagine my pleasure at
seeing Vail right on the way. There is no way I could even think
of travelling by without hitting the hill. So I spent the day wandering
the village, taking in the sights and carving the slopes. |
Emergency call boxes are all over the ski runs of Vail.
OLYMPUS D500 PHOTO © KEITH MORISON/1999
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| I’m not stupid … really. I haven’t skied in about
a year, I’m on rental skis and I have three cameras, in my fanny
pack. The last thing I want to do is injure or break any of the
equipment – photographic or otherwise. So I rode the lifts to the
top … and wasn’t disappointed. The view was spectacular, the snow,
so so. I stuck to the green runs for the first bit, and added the
easier blues near the end. Of course I stopped frequently to take
a pic or two. I skied Vail. |
Occasional enemies, Snow boarders and skiers
do a good job of sharing the space at Vail, although the number
of boarders was lower than expected.
OLYMPUS D500 PHOTO © KEITH MORISON/1999
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Seems like a good spot to take a snapshot. Vail and Beaver Creek
are setting up for the 1999 Alpine Ski World Championships ...which
happen a week too late.
OLYMPUS D500 PHOTO © KEITH MORISON/1999
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I’ll openly admit it. One of the reasons I did what I did was
so that I could say ‘I skied Vail.’
Vail was good. There were next to no lines, the ration of snowboarders
to skiers was good (no offense intended) and the people I ran
into, um, came across were all friendly. The only downer of the
day was finding out that the World Alpine Ski Championships start
next weekend.
All in all I had a good, enjoyable day that left me, and my money,
feeling spent.
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Skier snowplows their way to the green run. With plain English,
color-coded signs, even a foreign journalist can easily navigate
the dangers.
OLYMPUS D500 PHOTO © KEITH MORISON/1999 |
I paid more for a hotel than I would have liked.
I paid for the rental skis.
I paid for parking
I paid for the lift ticket
I paid for internet access to file the last journal (long story)
And now my legs are paying for a day of skiing.
But without a doubt it was worth it.
Did I mention that I skied Vail?
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Skiers stop and survey the slopes atop Vail's
ski hills.
OLYMPUS D500 PHOTO © KEITH MORISON/1999
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Keith
Morison –
Freelance editorial photographer
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