Town of Vail, Colorado
—  Town  —
Gore Creek Drive in Vail Village
Official logo of Town of Vail, Colorado Logo
Location in Eagle County and the state of Colorado
Coordinates: 39°38′9″N 106°21′47″W / 39.63583°N 106.36306°W / 39.63583; -106.36306Coordinates: 39°38′9″N 106°21′47″W / 39.63583°N 106.36306°W / 39.63583; -106.36306
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County[1]	Eagle County
Incorporated	1966[2]
Government
• Type	Home Rule Municipality[1]
• Mayor	Dick Cleveland[3]
• Town Manager	Stan Zemler
Area
• Total	4.5 sq mi (11.7 km2)
• Land	4.5 sq mi (11.7 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	8,022 ft (2,445 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	4,531
• Density	1,006.9/sq mi (387.3/km2)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	81657
Area code(s)	970
FIPS code	08-80040
GNIS feature ID	0202339
Website	Town of Vail

The Town of Vail is a Home Rule Municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,589 in 2005.^[4] The town was established and built as the base village to Vail Ski Resort, with which it was originally conceived. Vail Ski Resort's first season was in December, 1962 and it is the second largest ski mountain in North America (after Whistler Blackcomb).

History[link]

10th Mountain Division in Vail

Vail was incorporated in 1966, four years after the opening of Vail Ski Resort. The ski area was founded by Pete Seibert and local rancher Earl Eaton in 1962, at the base of Vail Pass. The pass was named after Charles Vail, the highway engineer who routed U.S. Highway 6 through the Vail Valley in 1940, and eventually became Interstate 70. Seibert, a New England native, served in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division during World War II, which trained at Camp Hale, 14 miles south of Vail between Red Cliff and Leadville. He was wounded in Italy at the Battle of Riva Ridge but went on to become a professional skier after he recovered.^[5]

Seibert, with other former members of the 10th Mountain Division, returned to Colorado after WWII with the intention of opening a ski resort. During training for ski troopers at Camp Hale, he bivouacked on Vail Mountain and identified it as an ideal ski mountain. In the early 1960s, Seibert raised funds from a group of Denver investors, including Jack Tweedy, and with Earl Eaton bought a ranch at the base of the mountain and eventually incorporated as Vail Associates. In 1962 the resort opened for its first season. It operated a gondola and two ski-lifts on the mountain owned by the United States Forest Service. The village was established at the base of the mountain for local residents and offered logding for visitors. It quickly grew throughout the valley with housing added first in East Vail and then West Vail, and additional lodging added in Lionshead in the late 1960s.^[6][5] Within the first years the village had a ski shop operated by John Houserman, a hotel and restaurant operated by Pepi Gramshammer, and the mountain had a manager.^[7]

Geography[link]

Vail's average elevation is 8,150 feet (2484 m) above sea level. The town has a total area of 4.5 square miles (12 km²), with no lakes (there is, however, at least one pond). Gore Creek flows from east to west through the center of town.

The town is surrounded by the White River National Forest and the Vail Ski Resort is leased from the United States Forest Service. Mount of the Holy Cross is visible from Vail Mountain.

Vail Mountain[link]

Vail Mountain rises from 8,120 feet (2,476 m) to 11,570 feet (3,527 m), giving a vertical height of 3,450 feet (1,052 m).^[8] It has a 5,289 acres (21 km²) skiable area, 33 ski lifts, 193 marked skiing trails on three faces: the front side, the back bowls, and Blue Sky Basin. The seven back bowls are Sun Down Bowl, Sun Up Bowl, Teacup Bowl, China Bowl, Siberia Bowl, Inner Mongolia Bowl, and Outer Mongolia Bowl. Blue Sky Basin includes Pete's Bowl and Earl's Bowl—to commemorate Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton.

Climate[link]

Vail has pleasantly warm summers and cold winters because of its elevation. Depending on the classification used, it is either an alpine or subarctic climate. Minimum temperatures rarely rises above freezing point from late September to late May. The town receives an average of 200 inches of snowfall per season, with even more in the surrounding mountains. Roads may close occasionally during heavy snowfall. Summer temperatures can reach the 80s Fahrenheit, but are more often in the low to mid 70s. Combined with mountain breezes, this makes summers refreshing and cool.

Transportation[link]

Teva Mountain Games in Vail

North side of Vail Mountain, and Vail Valley.

Vail is served by Eagle County Airport near Gypsum, 30 miles to the west. Native Americans used to call the area near the airport the "hole in the sky" because storms seemed to avoid it. Vail is modeled on European ski towns, many of which are car-free, and the town is partially pedestrianized. The town operates the largest free shuttle bus system in the United States and has one hybrid-electric bus. At each bus stop, a sign reports when the next two buses will arrive.

The In-Town Shuttle provides service every five minutes during peak winter times, and every 15 minutes off-peak, between Golden Peak, Vail Village, the business district, and Lionshead, with live schedule information provided at bus stops by Global Positioning System technology, which tracks buses. Other routes centering on the Transportation Center service the East and West Vail districts on a scheduled, but less frequent basis.^[10]

Eagle County provides bus service from the Transportation Center with service to Vail, Leadville, Minturn, Eagle-Vail, Avon, Beaver Creek, Edwards, Eagle, Gypsum and Dotsero.

Highways[link]

Interstate 70 runs east-west through the middle of Vail and is the only road to or from Vail, with exits at East Vail, at the base of Vail Pass, the town of Vail, and West Vail. From the east, the highway comes from Denver, 97 miles away, passes through Loveland Tunnel and over the Continental Divide, by-passing Loveland Pass, and over Vail Pass, dropping down into Vail Valley. To the west, it meets Highway 6 and Highway 24 at Dowd Junction, passes through Avon, Edwards, Colorado, and Eagle, through Glenwood Canyon traveling and on to Grand Junction, and reaches Utah, where it ends at the intersection with Interstate 15.

In West Vail, Highway 6 (which still exists as a service road between East Vail, Vail, and West Vail) merges with I-70 at Dowd Junction. I-70 roughly follows the original Highway 6 route until the two highways diverge again in Silverthorne, 31 miles to the east.

Demographics[link]

The 2000 census^[11] found 4,531 people, 2,165 households, and 762 families living in the town. The population density was 999.0 people per square mile (385.3/km²). There were 5,389 housing units at an average density of 1,188.1 per square mile (458.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.13% White, 0.29% African American, 0.49% Native American, 1.66% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.20% of the population.

There were 2,165 households in which 11.8% had children under the age of 18, 30.0% were married couples, 3.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.8% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 people and the average family size was 2.62 people.

The population age distribution was 9.9% people under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 47.9% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. There were 140.1 males for every 100 females, and 143.0 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

The median household income was $56,680, and the median family income was $66,389. Men had a median income of $33,534 versus $32,065 for women. The per capita income for the town was $42,390. About 1.8% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those aged 65 or over.

Economy[link]

The Vail economy relies on tourism. While much of the industry is based on winter sports, Vail is also a summer resort and golfing center. Summer activities include guided hikes, mountain biking, horseback riding, carriage rides and fishing. Vail is also developing as a cultural center, with various art and music venues active throughout the summer. The town has a developed culinary center, with a variety of restaurants.

Arts and culture[link]

Notable cultural events[link]

• Vail Film Festival — in March or early April, annually
• Vail International Dance Festival - summer dance festival featuring major ballet and contemporary dance companies. Notable companies include the New York City Ballet, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and the San Francisco Ballet.
• Vail Lacrosse Shootout - Late June-Early July Ford Park.
• Vail Valley Music Festival - featuring the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Museums and other points of interest[link]

• Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
• Colorado Ski Museum
• Steadman-Hawkins clinic — World renowned clinic for knee injuries
• Vail Ski Resort

Government[link]

Vail has a council-manager form of government and is led by a seven member town council elected at-large.

Education[link]

Vail's public schools are part of Eagle County School District RE-50, with high school students attending Battle Mountain High School. Eagle County Schools also offers the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, a joint program with area ski programs for students in grades 8-12 who are involved in competitive skiing and snowboarding. Private schools in Vail include Vail Mountain School (K-12), Vail Christian High School (9-12), St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School (K-8), and The Vail Academy (PK-8). Higher education is available at the Vail Eagle Valley campus of Colorado Mountain College.

Media[link]

The Vail Daily newspaper is published by Colorado Mountain News Media. Alternative news and information sources include Vail Mountaineer.

A broadcast translator for public radio station KUNC allows listeners in the Eagle Valley to listen at 99.7 FM.

Two specialty television networks have stations in Vail, Plum TV and Resort Sports Network. The latter, branded as TV-8, also broadcasts on the low-powered UHF station K45IE. The Ski Channel is available only on DirecTV on Channel 1860.

During the mid 1970s, Vail became known as the Western White House of President Gerald Ford, when he conducted much of the nation's business from The Lodge at Vail hotel. The national media followed Ford to Vail and often broadcast television pictures of Vail's mountain slopes.^[12]

Famous residents[link]

• Michael Bloomberg
• Toby Dawson
• Rob Eaton "Dark Star Orchestra"
• John Glenn part-time (also lives in Cleveland and Orlando)
• Brad Ludden
• Seth Morrison
• Sarah Schleper
• Richard Steadman
• Ryan Sutter
• Trista Sutter
• Lindsey Vonn part-time (also lives in Austria)

Sister cities[link]

• St. Moritz, Switzerland

See also[link]

• Outline of Colorado
  • Index of Colorado-related articles
• State of Colorado
  • Colorado cities and towns
    • Colorado municipalities
  • Colorado counties
    • Eagle County, Colorado
  • Colorado metropolitan areas
    • Edwards, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area
• Gore Range
• Vail Lacrosse Shootout
• Vail Pass
• Vail Ski Resort

References[link]