The Insider - Vail, Colorado

02/12/09

World Champ Vonn Misses GS Due to Surgery

Ski Club Vail product and double World Champion Lindsey Vonn missed Thursday's (Feb. 11) giant slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Val d'Isere to allow more time for injured thumb to heal. She is hopeful to start in Saturday's slalom, the final women's event of the Championships. Vonn cut her thumb Monday after winning her second gold medal. She had surgery at Privatklinik Hochrum Tuesday in Austria and returned to Val d'Isere on Wednesday.While celebrating her second World Chamionship gold medal, Vonn couldn't open a champagne bottle after the cork broke. Someone used a ski to extract the remaining piece of cork, breaking the bottle in the process. Vonn didn't realize what happened and grabbed the damaged bottle as the champagne...

Posted at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/11/09

Vail Film Festival Announces 2009 Renegade Award Recipient

Kevin Smith will receive the Vail Film Festival’s 2009 Renegade Award for risk taking in film. The Festival will honor Smith for his contribution to independent film and for his groundbreaking work. Smith offers a unique vision and style and has been an inspiration to many up and coming indie filmmakers. His first film, Clerks, was shot for a total of $27,575, it was picked up by Miramax after playing at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994 and ending up grossing $3.1 million. It was a huge critical success and shot Kevin’s career into high drive. His next film Mall Rats also became a cult hit. Chasing Amy has been hailed one of Smith’s best films and was on many critic’s year-end best lists. Smith’s other films include Dogma, starring Matt...

Posted at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/09/09

Vonn Makes History Again

Ski Club Vail product Lindsey Vonn made history again, winning a gold medal in downhill at the world alpine ski championships at Val d'Isere, France, giving her a sweep of the "speed" events there on Monday, February 9.Vonn won a super-G gold medal last Tuesday, and her victory today made her the first American woman to win two gold medals at a world championships. It also tied her with 1980's standout Tamara McKinney for most career medals won at world championships (four). "I'm just so, so happy," Vonn told reporters in the finish area. "I'm just trying to ski my best and working as hard as I can, and to get something for it like I did today means so much because that's why I work hard. That's why I'm out here doing my best, to have something...

Posted at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/04/09

Best Guest Service in the Country

Beaver Creek is Voted Best Guest Service in the Country by the National Ski Areas Association for the 3rd Consecutive Year.Expect to be pampered during a visit to Beaver Creek and you in fact will be. Embracing the resort’s “Not Exactly Roughing It” tagline, more than 150 mountain hosts are continually committed to providing the highest level of guest service in the ski industry. In fact, Beaver Creek Resort holds the title of Best Customer Service of any ski resort in the country, as awarded by the National Ski Areas Association. Look for hosts to maximize your enjoyment on the mountain and in the village by greeting you, helping to carry equipment, providing grooming reports and local’s tips, and leading free mountain...

Posted at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/02/09

Go Run the World

The Vail Symposium’s Unlimited Adventure Series Continues: Go Run the World with Kimi PuntilloThe Vail Symposium continues on Thursday, February 5 at Donovan Pavilion in Vail from 6-7:30p.m. As always, the presentation is free of charge. Plan on getting there early as the first Adventure Series presentation drew an audience of over 200.This edition of the Adventure Series focuses on running and if you’re going to run, why not run the world? There are marathons in Antarctica, at the Great Wall of China, at Everest and even Mount Kilimanjaro. Kimi Puntillo has counted these runs amongst her favorites as she “ran the world”. Along the way, she conquered two Guinness Book World Records including being the first...

Posted at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

01/27/09

The Beav’ Gets its Flavor On!

Beaver Creek Resort, in partnership with Bon Appétit magazine, will become a culinary paradise for guests to sample world-class cuisine while learning the tastes and flavors of North and South America.The Bon Appétit Culinary & Wine Focus Jan. 28-31, 2009, embraces a world-view in its programming and opportunities for guests to get an up-close and personal experience with a host of culinary masterminds. This event provides an opportunity for guests to join world renowned chefs for a weekend of both educational and palate pleasing events. “Supreme” EntertainmentLive Concert with Mary Wilson of the SupremesExperience a high-octane concert with legendary singer Mary Wilson of the Supremes. The concert will commence at 7...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

01/21/09

Vail’s Heavy Metal Weekend

Artists from across the country will convene in Vail this weekend to cast iron and bronze at a public outdoor event. The Town of Vail Art in Public Places (AIPP) and the Vail Symposium are sponsoring the “Heavy Metal Weekend” from 5 to 9 p.m. Jan. 24-25 at the International Bridge, bringing the 5,000-year-old industrial process out of the foundry and onto the streets of Vail. According to AIPP Coordinator Leslie Fordham the performances take place after dark to take advantage of the spectacular visual impact of the process. Artists will dress in fire-safe clothing and load bronze or scrap iron into metal-melting furnaces called cupolas. Temperatures within the cupolas will reach up to 3,000 degrees. Once molten, the fluid is poured into molds created by...

Posted at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

01/19/09

Seibert Circle Fountain Gets “FIRED” Up

A public ceremony to mark completion of the Seibert Circle water feature took place last Thursday (01.15.09) in Vail Village. Members of the Vail Town Council, town staff and numerous private funding partners took part in recognizing those who have been responsible for the design, installation and financial sponsorship of Vail’s newest icon. More than two years in the making, the fountain is located at the top of Bridge Street and features the only water-on-fire effect of its kind. It was designed by Los Angeles-based WET Design whose previous works have included the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas and the Cauldron at the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The water arc represents mountains, the...

Posted at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1

01/14/09

Triumph Winterfest Art Event Debuts

For the second year in a row an ice sculpture is taking shape alongside Gore Creek as Vail's second annual Triumph Winterfest art event debuts Jan. 16. A project of Vail's Art in Public Places (AIPP), the exhibit has been designed by Denver artist Lawrence Argent, the artist responsible for the Big Blue Bear sculpture that has become the signature of the Denver Convention Center, and is being sculpted this week by Scott Rella, an internationally applauded ice sculptor.A lighting ceremony to celebrate the exhibit's completion will take place at 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at the fire pit on Gore Creek Promenade. The illuminated spiral shaped sculpture represents a giant mollusk shell consisting of a wall of ice blocks that vary in size from two to nine feet. The intent of the...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1

01/13/09

Vail is Stepping Up Wildfire Mitigation

Have you noticed all those log "teepees" sitting around Vail's borders? The first phase of a town-wide inspection process to assist in the removal of dead trees on private property took place this past fall. Wildfire crew members studied 419 properties in neighborhoods that were identified as most at risk for wildfire due largely to the recent pine beetle epidemic. Property owners who were found to have dead or diseased trees on their parcels were notified of a Town of Vail regulation that requires removal of the hazard. In addition to the inspections, wildfire crews removed 835 hazardous trees on public property, conducted 58 free Firewise property assessments and began burning the first of 1,500 slash piles located in and around Vail. The...

Posted at 02:54 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0