After the drive over the pass to Vail we decided to find a place nearer to Beaver Creek. This is the beginning of a great story. The lower parking lot is only $10 and the shuttle bus takes you up the hill to the resort at 8,100'. You get off the bus which has a step that lowers so the step from the bus is shorter - very nice as most buses have high steps for young legs. We got off the bus and were met by 2 employees who gave us trail maps and groomer maps. I asked about access to the lifts and he pointed out that there are 3 sections of steps (Grrrr!), BUT they also have 3 escalators. Jill asked 'did he say "3 escalators" '?? Robie, this is an upgrade from the elevator at Vail. Yes, we had a short walk of 100 feet past some shops and then rode the covered escalators. Wow! Happy knees. We love this place even though we haven't yet skied. We had cloudy weather with some sun and snow flurries and 2'' overnight. We rode with a high school skier who lives at Vail and likes Beaver Creek because it's without the Vail crowds. He's on the Vail ski race team and has good genes with a father who's the ski team coach and a mother who coaches the US ski team. Nice young man, but talk about pressure to perform on skis....
We rode the Centennial express and then the Cinch express to the top at 11,440'. The school instruction groups have a great section of the mountain at the top and lower mountain. A large part of the mountain has intermediate and expert terrain. We rode the Centennial, Birds of Prey, Lankspur, and Strawberry Park lifts. The Grouse Mountain Express was on the list, but not groomed and the liftie said it was icy so we skipped it. We had a great day with fresh powder, perfect groomers, no crowds, and fast skiing. After we left the slopes we rode down the escalators, walked a short distance to the shuttle bus, and got a ride to our camper. This is one place that we definitely want to come back to.
