How to Ski and Ride Vail Like a Local

Courtesy Vail Resorts

“…All right, let’s get the Vail jokes out of the way: ones ribbing the fabulous fur coats seen on Bridge Street, the $18 old-fashioneds, the Wi-Fi connected gondolas and designer oxygen bars to combat altitude sickness. To understate it, there’s nothing chintzy about this Interstate 70 gem with its luxury veneer. Nearly 60 years into the roadside resort town experiment (literally named after a highway engineer), shit-talking Vail’s cultural aesthetic has grown passé as its winning streak grows longer. Even the haters have to admit, when it comes to terrain, Vail is simply phenomenal…”

I had the chance to ride Vail in late January and had some absolutely epic snow my second day there. Fortunately there are some LBI locals who have relocated to this Rocky Mountain Town who let me in on some good info.

Check the Vail travel feature at Men’s Journal.

Courtesy Vail Resorts

About the Author: Jon Coen

I live on Long Beach Island, in the great state of New Jersey.… like, year round. Winters can be a little rough, long stretches of frozen desolation. But then there are those surreal days of soft snowfall and empty waves. Summers are crazy hectic. As the Island swells to capacity we all have to put our heads down to make coin, but our friends are all around, the island is green and the water’s blue. Of course, in between those are the blissful days when the garden is exploding and someone drops off fresh striped bass, chasing snowy barrels in the winter or blue claw crabs with my kid in the summer.