If you needed proof--beyond words and reports, that is--that you'd have faster access to some of Vail Mountain's Back Bowls when the snow falls this season, here it is. On Friday, a crew was busy at work on Vail's back side to install the 20 towers by helicopter, replacing the old High Noon lift--a fixed-grip triple that had a ride time close to 15 minutes long--with a high-speed quad come the 2010-11 season.
With the new lift calculated to carrying 70 percent more riders per hour in almost half the time, you might be more willing to venture into the Sun Up and Sun Down bowls and stay for more than one run. I know I will be, especially on the chillier days when the last thing I want to do is freeze on a chair lift or the powder days when I only want to rip through the powder. And I know I've definitely found some good stashes back in those bowls, but hate the line that I have to wait in at the bottom when the rest of the powder hounds decide that's the place to be, too. At least we all spread out once we hit the slopes on runs like Forever, Wow, Apres Vous, Windows and Cow's Face. Before we paid the price for the pristine powder and sun-soaked bumps with a long recovery time on the lift. Not anymore.
Want to read more about the installation? Click here. Photo courtesy of Vail Resorts and Cody Downard.
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