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If Aspen is Colorado's Hollywood East, then her rival Vail is Wall Street West. So popular is this ski resort with the monied East Coast crowd that locals sometimes refer to particularly crowded weeks as "212" weeks, in reference to the area code of their visitors. The attraction for vacationers from all over is the thin, aspen-cloaked Vail Valley, a narrow corridor slit by Interstate 70 and bounded by the rugged Gore Range to the north and the tabled Sawatch escarpments to the south. Through it all runs the sparkling Eagle River. In winter, this region is famous for the glittering resorts of Vail and Beaver Creek. Between these two areas, skiers and snowboarders have almost 7,000 acres at their disposal including the unforgettable Back Bowls far beyond the noise of I-70 traffic.
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 Winter is by far the most crowded time in Vail, with the early spring seeing the highest number of visitors hoping to catch that blissful blend of thick powder and china-blue skies. Naturally, prices are highest then as well. Although summer is quickly gaining in popularity, the real deals can be had in the mud seasons—late autumn and late spring when the ski slopes are closed. Restaurants will often offer two-for-one entrées with a bottle of wine, and hotels run deeply cut rates. Traffic through the I-70 corridor moves at a good clip unless snows have stacked up truckers putting on chains on either side of Vail Pass. The pass itself is low, and stays below tree line, affording it some protection from drifting and blowing snow.
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The Slopes: Despite the somewhat corny faux-Tyrolean ambience of the village, Vail has as real and challenging a ski mountain as you will find anywhere in the western United States, with the steeps and back bowls to prove it.
Romantic Meals: The art of romantic dining has been perfected here. Both Vail and Beaver Creek have a number of intimate restaurants hidden away among the peaks reachable by ski, on horseback, and even by horse-drawn sleighs (van shuttles are also available).
Rugged Scenery: If you're expecting the alps—sheer, glacier-scraped peaks—you might be disappointed with much of Colorado's High Country, which tends toward rounded summits and eroded ridges. But not in the Vail Valley. The Gore Range to the north sports some of the most rugged and sharp-spined backcountry in the state with ice-cold tarns and sheer cliffs. Not surprisingly, shaggy white mountain goats are frequently seen here.
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