Opening ceremonies for Beaver Creek were held on Dec. 15, 1980. From left to right: Brain Rapp, president of Beaver Creek Resort Company; Harry Bass, chairman of Vail Associates; unidentified Forest Service representative; Jack Marshall, president of Vail Associates; then-governor Dick Lamm; former U.S. president Gerald Ford. (Vail Resorts
Special to the Daily)
Editor’s Note: The Vail Daily’s Tricia Swenson has compiled this information from talks with longtime locals, her own experience as a Beaver Creek Children’s Ski and Snowboard School instructor and from books from the Avon Public Library.
The first known inhabitants of the Beaver Creek Valley were primarily the Utes as well as hunting parties from the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes. The Utes were called “Blue Sky People” by other tribes. They called the peaks that surrounded them “The Shining Mountains.”
Inside the rugged but lavish Wyoming tax haven where the social set have escaped the pandemic to ski
Unsurpassed skiing, rugged outdoor experiences and cowboy bars - why everyone from Uma Thurman to Matthew McConaughey loves Jackson Hole
Caldera House in Jackson Hole
Since the pandemic began, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has become a refuge for a steady stream of West Coast entrepreneurs seeking to escape tough lockdown restrictions in search of unsurpassed skiing, rugged outdoor experiences and cowboy bars.
Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt, Tiger Woods, Uma Thurman and Matthew McConaughey have all taken a run or two here. Harrison Ford has owned a home in Jackson for 30 years. Sandra Bullock celebrated her 50th birthday on one of the saddle stools at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Celebrities adore Jackson, possibly because no one makes a fuss about them there.
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The world s most in-demand ski resorts have always faced their share of complications, namely challenging geographic barriers and inconsistent weather patterns. (Imagine facing the disappointment of international guests who, after spending five figures on non-refundable reservations, arrive to encounter suboptimal ski conditions or closed roadways.)
Now, in the age of Covid-19, notable ski resorts are bracing for an exceptionally uncertain ski season, given the ever-changing restrictions and circumstances. Most notably, scores of Europe’s leading luxury ski resorts remain in limbo, balancing plans for the upcoming season in the face of an uncertain future.
Wait-and-See in Europe
FORESTIS, a hideaway in the Italian Dolomites that opened in July, offers an atypical ski-in/ski-out experience. Perhaps the most exciting new opening in the Alps this year, FORESTIS has already hosted the famous mountaineer