My vote: None of the above.
Aspen vs. Vail: the ultimate ski-town rivalry
By David O. Williams, Special to the Tribune
Published November 9, 2003
VAIL, Colo. -- "Vail has the mountain; Aspen has the town" is an old skiing cliche that, as a resident of the former and a frequent visitor to the latter, I still think rings somewhat true.
All of Aspen Mountain's 673 skiable acres could very nearly be squeezed into Vail's latest expansion, Blue Sky Basin, which at 645 acres is merely a small corner of Vail Mountain's overall 5,289 acres of skiable terrain.
North America's largest single ski mountain, the "V" in Vail stands for "vast," while the "A" in Aspen is all about "ambience."
Vail sprang from a sheep pasture in 1962; Aspen already had a turn-of-the-century mining town complete with red-brick buildings and classic Victorian architecture at its base when it opened for skiing in 1946.
Perhaps because in my 12 years here I've already sampled most of Vail's fine restaurants and shops, I'm always energized by the change of pace of a weekend in Aspen--the electricity of its nightlife, the cool sophistication of its shopping and dining.
But after more than a decade of exploring Vail on skis, I'm still finding hidden powder stashes. Throw in Vail's sister mountain, Beaver Creek, and the Vail Valley is an unparalleled snow sports complex comprising nearly 7,000 acres of richly varied ski terrain served by 45 lifts. It's European in its scope and diversity.
In fairness though, one must add in the three other Roaring Fork River Valley ski areas in the Aspen complex when comparing and contrasting Aspen and Vail. Of them, only Snowmass, with its 3,010 acres and 21 lifts, comes close to Vail's massiveness and variety of terrain. Both Aspen Highlands, even with its steep and challenging new Highland Bowl expansion, and Buttermilk, a tiny family hill known more for its terrain park, are smallish areas that can be experienced in a matter of days, if not hours. Vail can take years.
"The reality is, it takes four Aspen ski mountains to accomplish what two do at Vail and Beaver Creek," Vail-area newspaper columnist Scott Willoughby wrote in an issue of The Vail Trail last February devoted entirely to the Aspen-versus-Vail debate.
Throw into the mix the fact that Vail averages about 60 more inches of snow a season than the Aspen mountains (360 versus 300), and it's easy to see how the whole "Vail has the mountain" cliche got started. Wrote Willoughby: "The one element most important to the sport of skiing is snow. And the bottom line is Vail has it, Aspen doesn't."
Aspen Skiing Co. spokesman Jeff Hanle, however, discounts the terrain argument: "I don't think it's true at all. You could take the strongest skier in Vail and ski their legs off on three of the four mountains here (excluding Buttermilk), and you could do the same thing with the best skier in Aspen at Vail."
So I asked two of the top skiers in both places where they stood on the topic of terrain, and, not surprisingly, they both defended their home turf.
"I personally find the terrain in Aspen more challenging, more interesting and more dynamic, and that's due to the fact that we have four unique mountains," says two-time world extreme skiing champion Chris Davenport of Aspen. "I think Vail's mountain is pretty round and pretty flat."
Chris Anthony of Vail, a veteran of 13 Warren Miller ski films, says this of Vail's terrain, which he's been skiing since he was 1: one: "Vail is the most consistent mountain in the world. It will always have snow coverage, great grooming, and when the Back Bowls have good conditions, there is nothing that can match them. If you have one week a year to ski and don't want to risk being shut out of any skiing whatsoever, Vail is the best bet."
Anthony acknowledges Vail lacks the super-steep, challenging terrain of Highland Bowl or the Hanging Valley area of Snowmass. But let's face it, most weekend warriors aren't former extreme skiing champs and they get only one ski vacation a year, which is probably why the vastness and variety of Vail have earned it the top ranking in SKI magazine's annual reader's survey 12 of the past 16 years.
When it comes to nightlife, Davenport and Anthony seem to have more common ground, although the Aspenite argues his town is more cosmopolitan after hours but lags behind in the apres scene.
"The real nighttime party scene in Aspen is pretty pro," Davenport says. "There's a lot of people who come here to party, and the skiing is secondary." Davenport says the three main mountains each has only one good apres-ski scene--Ajax Tavern at Aspen, Iguana's at Highlands and the Cirque Cafe at Snowmass--whereas Vail has a wide selection (including such classics at Los Amigos, the Red Lion and Bart & Yeti's).
Anthony agrees on the variety of Vail hotspots, particularly for tackling a couple of cold ones after a tough day on the slopes. "The nightlife rips in Vail, especially during peak periods. There are a plethora of bars that will fit the taste of every category."
But some say Aspen, whose motto reads "The difference is night and day," is light years ahead of Vail after the apres crowd staggers back to their hotel rooms to sleep off too many pitchers of Bud--mostly because of the number and charms of Aspen's female revelers.
"And speaking of girls, Vail is a welcome retreat from other places that actually have them," wrote Aspen Daily News reporter Troy Hooper in that Aspen-versus-Vail issue of The Vail Trail. "For example, how could you concentrate on trying to get Kelsey Grammer's autograph if there were scores of long-legged beauties frolicking about?"
Hooper was also taking a not-so-subtle shot at Vail's perceived lack of star quality. TV's Fraser, who owns a Vail-area home, tops a slate of mostly B-listers, including the likes of "ET's" Mary Hart, Ian Ziering of "Beverly Hills 90210" fame, and Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford, who prefer the relative privacy of the Vail Valley.
Aspen is where Hollywood skis to be seen. A-listers like Jack Nicholson, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Costner, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver are all known to gallivant about town.
But the poster boys for the two ski towns--Hunter S. Thompson in Aspen and Gerald R. Ford in Vail--speak volumes about the politics of the two places. Aspen is liberal, environmental and largely Democrat. Vail is conservative, home to captains of industry and mostly Republican.
It's an oversimplification to say that Aspen is peopled solely by Hollywood greenies who wing in on their soy-fueled Gulfstreams; nor is it totally accurate to say the Vail Valley is Wall Street West, a conservative fortress of corporate ideals. But there is some validity to the assertion.
In Vail, Fortune 500 board members buy homes to stay under the radar (deposed Tyco and Worldcom CEOs Dennis Kozlowski and Bernie Ebbers to name two), and professional athletes come to be surgically repaired at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic without being sliced and diced by the paparazzi--although L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant blew that by virtue of his sexual encounter this summer with a 19-year-old hotel worker, who later accused him of rape.
The Aspen-versus-Vail rivalry sometimes goes beyond personalities and verges into politics, especially where the environment is concerned. The two ski giants, one a publicly traded conglomerate on the New York Stock Exchange (Vail) and the other a privately held company with high ideals (Aspen), traded public barbs last winter when Vail proposed a wind farm atop its mountain.
Aspen's corporate environmental director countered that such posturing was disingenuous because Vail Resorts had recently fired its corporate environmental officer. Vail shot back that it was just as green as Aspen but simply didn't see fit to "put out a press release every time it changed a light bulb."
"We've seen some back and forth over different environmental issues," Aspen's Hanle says. "But I think it's more just a way to poke fun at each other. I don't think anyone really takes [the rivalry] seriously other than the rugby teams."
Steve Skadron, who owns a small Aspen marketing company, agrees. Last season he started the Aspen/Vail "Skirmish for the Rules Cup" after he saw a "Vail Sucks" bumper sticker on a car parked in town.
"Sucks is little too negative," says Skadron, who will host the event again this season on Jan. 16 at Highlands. Five luminaries from each of the two towns will square off in the Disrobe Invitational, the Schuss and Hobble, and the Ski Boot Bop, with the winners taking home a child's snowboard painted gold with a ski boot screwed into it. The trophy currently resides in the Aspen chamber offices.
Aspen may hold a bit of a cultural edge over Vail, with its Wheeler Opera House and Aspen Art Museum, as well as its various wine, food and film festivals in the summer. But the Vail Valley isn't far behind. The Vilar Center for the Arts in Beaver Creek is arguably the best venue for theater and live music in the central Rocky Mountains, and in the summer Vail hosts the likes of the New York Philharmonic at its outdoor Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.
From a winter recreation standpoint, both areas have few rivals in North America. Extensive cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobile trail systems criss-cross both scenic and high-alpine valleys, and recreation centers and indoor skating facilities abound.
Lodging, too, sets both resorts apart. Aspen boasts legendary hotels such as the Little Nell, the St. Regis and Hotel Jerome, while Vail and Beaver Creek counter with the Lodge at Vail and the Sonnenalp in Vail and the Ritz-Carlton and Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek.
Re: My vote: None of the above.
Quote:
Originally posted by truth
"And speaking of girls, Vail is a welcome retreat from other places that actually have them," wrote Aspen Daily News reporter Troy Hooper in that Aspen-versus-Vail issue of The Vail Trail.
That's pretty funny!
Re: My vote: None of the above.
Quote:
Originally posted by truth
"Vail is the most consistent mountain in the world. It will always have snow coverage, great grooming,
Great Grooming? Isn't that any Oxymoron?
Re: My vote: None of the above.
Quote:
Originally posted by truth
But the poster boys for the two ski towns--Hunter S. Thompson in Aspen and Gerald R. Ford in Vail--speak volumes about the politics of the two places.
Umm, yeah. Okay.
