Skiers get early tracks at Vail

VAIL, Colorado –Vail’s opening day might not be for another month, but that didn’t stop four locals from getting in some turns early Wednesday morning.

Pat Barrett, Charlie Holmes, Jake White and Spencer Stern, all Vail locals, saw the snow falling Tuesday night and began making plans to get up bright and early. They headed to Golden Peak around 6 a.m. to get some fresh tracks in the few inches snow that fell overnight.

“It’s the end of bike season – might as well start ski season right away,” White said. “If we can’t ride bikes anymore, got to get outside and have fun somehow.”

The guys skinned up to mid-six, about half-way up the Riva Bahn lift, and took about 20 minutes to ski down. Barrett said it took about 45 minutes to hike up, so the guys did two laps and called it a day.

“The snow wasn’t great, but it was fun anyway,” Barrett said.

White said the guys ended up on a lot of man-made snow, but there was at least a fresh layer on the sides of the man-made stuff, White said.

The guys watched the sunrise and got in some turns – not bad for an October day.

“It’s fun to be out there with the guys,” White said. “I will definitely be skiing at Vail again before the lifts open.”

Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com