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REUTEMAN: World-class skiing close to Denver worth cost

By Rob Reuteman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 8, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated March 8, 2008 at 2:53 a.m.

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A Colorado Card, offering unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin, plus 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek: $419.

One-night stay at the Comfort Inn in Avon last Saturday night: $238.

Gasoline for the 115-mile drive from Denver to Avon: $20.

Skiing Sunday in 7 to12 inches of powder that pinned an ear-to-ear smile on my face all morning: Priceless.

I have long told friends, job candidates and anyone else who would listen that Denverites live 90 miles from half a dozen world-class resorts the richest people on the planet are tripping over each other to get to. Last week, I heard that notion confirmed by Bill Jensen, former president of the Vail Resorts' mountain division and new CEO of Vail's chief rival, Intrawest.

"There are about 200 places in the world where money wants to be," Jen- sen said at a Quarterly Forum breakfast. "Vail and Aspen are on that list."

"Colorado is one of a handful of resort destinations in North America that drive the sport of skiing," he added. "There are a couple million people globally who travel to ski, and Colorado is on their short list."

Aspen/Snowmass and Vail/Beaver Creek are arguably the creme de la creme of Colorado's ski resorts. The downside for a middle-class skier like myself is that they're also the most expensive. The upside: they have the best skiing - the longest runs, the most snowmaking, the best grooming. A few years ago, as I was walking past the fur shops and art galleries in downtown Aspen, I came to the stunning (for me) realization that I feel more at home in Vail these days. I never thought I'd say that, but in Aspen the billionaires are pushing the millionaires out. And it's becoming true in Vail. For the middle-class skier, the focal point in the Vail Valley has shifted from Vail itself to Avon, and even Edwards to the west. I didn't even set foot in Vail last weekend. Avon and Edwards have great restaurants, much less expensive. Parking is still free at Beaver Creek; it's $20 at Vail.

But if expense matters to you at all, you don't belong in Vail. As the rest of the country wallows in a real estate-induced recession, Eagle County saw a record volume of nearly $3 billion in real estate sales last year, a 7 percent increase over 2006. Down the road here in Denver, realty sales fell 2 percent in 2007 to $14 billion. The $485 million drop in sales is the biggest dollar decline ever recorded here. But Vail Valley is about as recession-proof as it gets. You can see the money everywhere and you can smell it.

"Those buyers have cash," Jensen said. "They're making a lifestyle choice."

Jensen offered his capsule history of the ski industry. In the 1940s and '50s, it began as an adventure activity, he said. The segment of the market that founded the sport was people looking for adventure. The 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley were the first held in the western United States, the first to be televised. With the exposure, skiing evolved from an adventure into a sport. A watershed moment came in 1968 when Jean-Claude Killy won three Olympic gold medals at Grenoble. Everyone watched it on TV, and he became an international sex symbol.

That sex appeal joined with the invention of the hot tub and the condo, and skiing attained lifestyle status in the 1970s, growing exponentially, Jensen said. The '80s brought better slope grooming and ski lifts and became a recreational sport, attainable to the masses. "In the 1990s, as high-speed lifts provided more skiing than the body can accommodate, skiing became entertainment," Jensen said.

Skiers suddenly had three to four hours a day on their hands, and resorts added fine dining, high-end shopping and spas. Now we're in the real estate decade for the ski industry, he said. With better equipment, baby boomers are still skiing, and they're buying second homes and teaching their grandchildren to ski.

"Very few areas can offer all of the above," Jensen said. "If they do, there's a higher price point."

A one-day Vail lift ticket is $92. New housing is going for $1,500 to $2,000 a square foot. But the ski runs are epic. Once in a while, for a special Colorado treat, it's well worth it for my money.

Business editor Rob Reuteman can be reached at 303-954-5177 or reutemanr@RockyMountainNews.com.

Comments

  • March 8, 2008

    6:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    steveholder writes:

    Great Article, I agree with you on Vail and Aspen being the haunts of Bizzillionaires. But doesnt that help drive the inflation engine on slopeside condo prices in "ghetto" resorts like Winterpark,Breck or Steamboat?
    Where I disagree with you, is that the skiing is superior in Vail and Aspen to other Colorado resorts.
    Write next time about whats happening in Winterpark,Still a bargin at only 700.00 per sq.ft. at Intrawest's new base village.And the City of Denver has a stake in it too.Also a world class mountain for skiing by my book. Thank for your article! care to comment? Or better yet partner-up with me on the brand new 2bd/2ba/ unit (that I now cant afford) in W.P Because of the real estate "crash" in Calif. Signed; Fields of Broken Dreams/Dreamer(broke)

  • March 10, 2008

    11:28 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    rreute writes:

    I enjoyed this column, but it made me a sad. My husband and I have been living in the Vail Valley (in Edwards) since 1995. We have watched the trends that Bill Jensen mentioned in the column happen. We saw many family businesses up in the Town of Vail go under due to high rents, no housing for employees unless you pay very high wages or can afford housing for your employees. We’ve seen and continuing to see the habitats for the animals getting smaller and smaller as the houses are getting bigger and bigger. We’ve watched whole communities that had actual people living in them year round become ghost towns as they convert to only second home owners. I realize the economics of the situation, but I wonder how people are going to buy groceries or be provided services when there aren’t people to staff the businesses or services. It’s a very scary situation.
    The local economy that is not part of the “big ski resort” needs the support of “day trippers” to help support local businesses and generate sales taxes that help maintain our services. I am glad you enjoy your day trips up to Vail and love our mountain as much as we do. Please keep coming and spending money – it helps us locals to keep the economy going!
    Thanks.
    Annie Goodman
    A G Business Services, LLC
    Edwards, Colorado
    P.S. All of us long time locals were very also very sad when Bill Jensen left Vail Resorts to go to Intrawest. He was an excellent president of the mountain division and was admired by everyone who worked with him. He and his wife were very involved with local charities and organizations – we will and continue to miss them both.