Vail, Colorado
Vail, Colorado | ||
---|---|---|
Town | ||
Top to bottom: Vail Ski Resort, Lionshead district, Vail village | ||
FIPS code 08-80040 | | |
GNIS feature ID | 2413415[8] | |
Website | Town of Vail |
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020.[2] Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numerous events the city hosts annually, such as the Vail Film Festival, Vail Resorts Snow Days, and Bravo! Vail.[9][10][11][12]
History
Vail was incorporated in 1966, four years after the opening of
Seibert, with other former members of the 10th Mountain Division, returned to Colorado after World War II 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 got funds from a group of Colorado investors, including Jack Tweedy, and with Earl Eaton bought a ranch at the base of the mountain and eventually incorporated as Vail Associates. As plans continued for a new ski resort, Seibert hired Morrie Shepard as Vail's first ski school director. Shortly after, Shepard recruited Rod Slifer from Aspen to be the assistant ski school director. Slifer also became the only real estate broker in the early years of Vail and would later be the broker in the transaction that allowed Vail to buy a ranch, now known as the world-famous Beaver Creek.
In December 1962, Vail officially opened for its first season. It operated a gondola lift 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 lodging 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.[13][14]
Within the first year, the village had a ski shop operated by Dick Hauserman and Joe Langmaid, a ski boutique operated by Blanche Hauserman and Bunny Langmaid, a hotel and restaurant operated by Pepi Gramshammer, and the mountain had a manager.[15] By 1969, Vail was the most popular ski resort in the state. In 1988 Vail opened China Bowl, making Vail the third largest ski area in North America.
In 2023, the village paid $17 million to Vail Resorts to prevent Vail Resorts from building housing for 165 workers. This was preceded by a lengthy conflict where the village sought to block the construction of housing.[16]
Geography
Vail's average elevation is 8,150 feet (2,480 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
Vail Mountain rises from 8,120 feet (2,470 m) to 11,570 feet (3,530 m), giving a vertical rise of 3,450 feet (1,050 m).[17] It has a 5,289 acres (2,140 ha) 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. The mountain resort also includes 17 miles of recreation paths, botanical gardens, and an outdoor amphitheater.[18]
Climate
Vail has warm summers and cold winters because of its elevation. Depending on the classification used, it is either an alpine or subarctic climate transitional with
Climate data for Vail, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1985–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 51 (11) |
55 (13) |
66 (19) |
74 (23) |
82 (28) |
91 (33) |
95 (35) |
92 (33) |
86 (30) |
78 (26) |
66 (19) |
51 (11) |
95 (35) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 40.9 (4.9) |
45.6 (7.6) |
55.0 (12.8) |
64.1 (17.8) |
74.4 (23.6) |
81.1 (27.3) |
84.6 (29.2) |
82.2 (27.9) |
77.0 (25.0) |
68.5 (20.3) |
52.7 (11.5) |
41.0 (5.0) |
85.0 (29.4) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 28.5 (−1.9) |
33.0 (0.6) |
41.7 (5.4) |
49.4 (9.7) |
60.4 (15.8) |
71.4 (21.9) |
76.7 (24.8) |
74.0 (23.3) |
66.6 (19.2) |
54.1 (12.3) |
37.7 (3.2) |
28.0 (−2.2) |
51.8 (11.0) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 17.5 (−8.1) |
21.1 (−6.1) |
29.2 (−1.6) |
36.6 (2.6) |
45.7 (7.6) |
53.5 (11.9) |
59.2 (15.1) |
57.4 (14.1) |
50.3 (10.2) |
39.7 (4.3) |
26.4 (−3.1) |
17.6 (−8.0) |
37.9 (3.2) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 6.6 (−14.1) |
9.2 (−12.7) |
16.7 (−8.5) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
31.0 (−0.6) |
35.6 (2.0) |
41.6 (5.3) |
40.8 (4.9) |
34.0 (1.1) |
25.2 (−3.8) |
15.1 (−9.4) |
7.1 (−13.8) |
23.9 (−4.5) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | −10.3 (−23.5) |
−7.5 (−21.9) |
−0.1 (−17.8) |
10.7 (−11.8) |
20.9 (−6.2) |
28.3 (−2.1) |
34.8 (1.6) |
34.4 (1.3) |
24.3 (−4.3) |
10.9 (−11.7) |
−2.9 (−19.4) |
−9.0 (−22.8) |
−12.9 (−24.9) |
Record low °F (°C) | −21 (−29) |
−32 (−36) |
−16 (−27) |
−1 (−18) |
14 (−10) |
20 (−7) |
22 (−6) |
22 (−6) |
14 (−10) |
−6 (−21) |
−16 (−27) |
−22 (−30) |
−32 (−36) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.98 (50) |
2.01 (51) |
1.76 (45) |
2.41 (61) |
2.00 (51) |
1.24 (31) |
1.77 (45) |
1.75 (44) |
1.96 (50) |
1.83 (46) |
2.00 (51) |
1.73 (44) |
22.44 (569) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 35.3 (90) |
35.7 (91) |
28.2 (72) |
21.2 (54) |
4.8 (12) |
0.6 (1.5) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.9 (2.3) |
8.6 (22) |
25.9 (66) |
28.0 (71) |
189.2 (481.8) |
Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 33.3 (85) |
38.4 (98) |
34.8 (88) |
20.9 (53) |
6.1 (15) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.6 (1.5) |
4.3 (11) |
12.9 (33) |
22.3 (57) |
38.8 (99) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 12.1 | 11.5 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 6.9 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 9.1 | 7.2 | 9.5 | 10.9 | 116.5 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 12.0 | 11.7 | 9.2 | 7.9 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0. | 0.6 | 3.5 | 8.9 | 10.7 | 67.2 |
Source 1: NOAA[19] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: National Weather Service[20] |
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | 484 | — | |
1980 | 2,261 | 367.1% | |
1990 | 3,659 | 61.8% | |
2000 | 4,531 | 23.8% | |
2010 | 5,305 | 17.1% | |
2020 | 4,835 | −8.9% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[21] 2020[2] |
The 2020 census
Of the 2,268 households, 46.4% were married couples, 18.4% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 26.6% had a male householder with no spouse present. The average family size was 2.62 people.
The population age distribution was 7.8% people under the age of 20, 31.7% from 20 to 39, 28.7% from 40 to 59, 29.7% from 60 to 79, and 3.6% who were 80 years of age or older. The median age was 50.2 years.
The median household income was $100,417, and the median family income was $127,336. 6.0% of the population were in poverty. The average rent was $1,514, and the homeownership rate was 75%.
7% of the population had a high school or equivalent education, 19.2% had some college but no degree, 6.5% had an associate's degree, 41.5% had a bachelor's degree, and 25.1% had a graduate or professional degree.
Economy
The Vail economy relies heavily on tourism. The main attraction in Vail is winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding on the mountain, in addition to snowmobiling and snowshoeing, among many other 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.
A Vail Resorts spokesperson said in 2022 that there is a deficit of some 6,000 beds for the county's work force.[23]
Culture
Notable events
- The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
- 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 Summer Bluegrass Series – Free, 4-week long bluegrass concert series in Lionshead Village; end of June – July
- Taste of Vail, First week of April: The iconic food and wine event of Vail
- Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships
- Vail Resorts Snow Days
Museums and institutions
- Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
- Colorado Ski Museum
- The Steadman Clinic & Steadman Philippon Research Institute – sports medicine clinic and research center for orthopedic injuries
- Vail Health Hospital
- Vail Ski Resort
- Vail Nature Center
Government
Charles "Ted" Kindel was the first mayor of Vail, elected when it became a town on August 3, 1966.[24]
Vail has a
Flag
The flag of Vail is flown by government buildings and businesses in Vail. It is composed of three stripes which are light blue, white, and dark green, which represent the blue Colorado sky, white powder snow, and the surrounding Evergreen forest, respectively. Centered on the flag is the original Vail element, which consists of two "V"s, the upper to represent the surrounding mountains, while the lower represents the Vail Valley. A gold wreath surrounds the element to represent excellence and achievement.[25]
Education
Vail's public schools are part of Eagle County School District RE-50, with high school students attending the nearby Battle Mountain High School in Edwards. Eagle County Schools also offers the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, a joint program with area ski programs for students in grades 5–12 who are involved in competitive skiing and snowboarding. Private schools in the Vail area 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
The Vail Daily newspaper is published by Swift Communications.
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,
During the mid-1970s, Vail became known as the
Transportation
Vail is served by
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.[27]
Eagle County provides bus service from the Transportation Center with service to Vail,
.The Colorado Department of Transportation, through its Bustang program, provides intercity transportation to Vail along its West Line. The West Line goes from Denver to Grand Junction and back.[28]
Highways
In West Vail, U.S. Route 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 (50 km) to the east.
Notable people
- Joanna Cameron, actress
- Toby Dawson, Olympic skier
- Rob Eaton, musician
- Laurence D. Fink, businessman
- Betty Ford, Former First Lady of the United States (1974–1977)
- Gerald Ford, Former President of the United States (1974–1977)
- John Glenn, astronaut and politician
- James Hetfield, musician
- Buddy Lazier, auto racing driver
- Flinn Lazier, auto racing driver and skier
- Brad Ludden, kayaker
- Seth Morrison, skier
- Sarah Schleper, Olympic skier
- Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic skier
- Richard Steadman, surgeon
- Oscar Tang, financier
- Katie Uhlaender, Olympic skeleton racer
- Lindsey Vonn, Olympic skier
In popular culture
- Vail is mentioned in episode 9 of season 1 in the TV show Friends, as the place Rachel Green could not afford a ticket to go ski with her family.[29]
- Vail, Colorado is referenced in the Stephen Adly-Guirgis play Den of Thieves as the place Paul would like to go to for a "Holistic wellness retreat".[30]
- The Kardashian sisters filmed in Vail, Colorado for their TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2016. Khloé Kardashian, Kendall, and Kylie Jenner skied and snowboarded down the mountain while exploring Vail's Vail Village and Lionshead.[31]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Explore Census Data".
- ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
- ^ a b "News List Vail, CO". www.vailgov.com. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "Town Managers Office". www.vailgov.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ "Vail Town Clerk". www.vailgov.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Vail, Colorado
- ^ "Droves of Rich Foreigners Hit the Slopes of Colorado", The New York Times
- ^ Colorado's Most Affluent Communities, Denver Business Journal
- ^ "Wealthiest Small Towns in America", SkiMag
- ^ "Top 10 Most Affluent Communities in Colorado", Westworld
- ^ a b Vail Associates. Retrieved November 3, 2011
- ^ "History of Vail". Colorado Ski History. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ^ Skiing Heritage Journal, March 2002.
- ^ Blevins, Jason (September 21, 2023). "Town of Vail must pay $17.5 million for parcel where Vail Resorts planned housing but town wants for wildlife". The Colorado Sun.
- ^ "Stats and facts". Vail Management Company. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
- ^ "Welcome To Vail! | Vail, CO". www.vailgov.com. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Vail, CO". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Grand Junction". National Weather Service. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ Britschgi, Christian (October 26, 2022). "Colorado Town Seizing Ski Resort's Land To Stop It Building Employee Housing". Adventure Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ Hauserman, Dick. "Ted Kindel – Vail's first mayor". Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ "Flag Etiquette Information Vail, CO". www.vailgov.com. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "Ford celebrates 93rd birthday in Vail" Vail Daily 2006-07-14.
- ^ "Transportation & Parking", Town of Vail. Retrieved: 2011-05-12.
- ^ Bustang Schedule. "Schedules". RideBustang. CDOT.
- ^ The One Where Underdog Gets Away, November 17, 1994, retrieved January 13, 2020
- ^ Guirgis, Stephen Adly. Den of thieves. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2004. Print.
- ^ "The Kardashian-Jenner Clan Hits the Snowcapped Slopes of Vail—See the Fun Vacation Pics". InStyle.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Vail Valley Partnership, Chamber of Commerce
- Vail, Colorado at Curlie