VAIL Like nothing on earth.™

2015 Summer in vail recap

Well that was fun! With the nighttime temperatures dropping, aspen leaves turning and the first snowfall on the horizon, let’s take a moment to look back on what an incredible summer we just had.

Events

The world came to Vail once again this summer for an incredible lineup of premiere cultural and athletic events.

The GoPro Mountain Games kicked off summer in style with record attendance, great weather, and world-renowned athletes competing at venues throughout Vail. Relive the fun with this video that uses GoPro footage submitted by athletes, spectators and pros:

Bravo! Vail may have been named as one of the Top 10 “Can’t Miss” Classical Musical Festivals in the US by NPR, but this event offers up classical music and then some. Luminous performances by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic feature the great classics, as well as jazz and pops. Some of the unique offerings this summer included Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s “Let’s Dance”, with orchestral showpieces from blues to ballroom showcasing a troupe of professional dancers and two vocalists – the number from Dirty Dancing brought the house down – as well as Philadelphia Orchestra’s “Pixar In Concert”, an incredibly fun and moving night with the Orchestra providing live-accompaniment to specially edited storylines from some of Pixar’s greatest films. In addition to performances by the resident orchestras, world-renowned chamber music artists performed a diverse and eclectic chamber music series in intimate settings throughout the Vail Valley.

Here’s one of our favorite shots captured at Bravo! Vail this summer, photo by Zach Mahone on the night of Pixar in Concert:

As Bravo! Vail came to an end, the Vail International Dance Festival was just getting started, bringing the top dancers from a variety of disciplines including: American Ballet Theater Principal Dancer Misty Copeland, New York City Ballet Principal Dancers Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild, jookin’ star Lil Buck, World American Rhythm Champions Emmanuel & Liana, and so many more. New York Times dance critic, Alastair MacCaulay, says the Festival’s “plenitude and diversity of talent alone makes it extraordinary.”

One of our favorite aspects of both Bravo! Vail and the Vail International Dance Festival are their support of local youth and aspiring music and dance professionals. With free youth programs for preschool – elementary age programs, Bravo! brings events like an Instrument Petting Zoo and Little Listeners @ the Library to locals kids. The Pre-Concert talks give in-depth perspectives on the upcoming night’s program, and the Young Professionals In Residence provides up-and-coming ensembles the chance to work with and learn from long-time classical music professionals. Colorado’s best Hip Hop crews and B-boys gathered in Vail as a part of a dance competition during the free Hot Summer Nights. The winners not only got a cash prize, but earned a spot in the Dance Festival’s popular Ballroom/Dance TV Remix night. The Internship and Festival Ambassador program allows for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to get first hand experience working different aspects of the Festival.

Tiler Peck teaching a Master Class in Vail:

Other awesome events included Vail’s traditional 4th of July parade through Vail Village and Lionshead, ongoing series like FAC at the top of Vail Mountain, Sunday Farmers’ Market and Art Show and the Tuesday night concert series, Hot Summer Nights, as well as sporting events like Vail Lacrosse Tournament, King of the Mountain Volleyball, 3v3 Soccer, and the wildly popular Kids Adventure Games.

The delicious Labor Day culinary celebration, Gourmet on Gore, rounded out the summer with creative and tasty small plates from local restaurants on Bridge Street.

A beautiful start to the weekend. #VailSummer #gourmetongore

A photo posted by Vail Mountain (@vailmtn) on Sep 5, 2015 at 1:46pm PDT

Weather

Vail’s incredible climate is always a highlight of our summer season, and this summer was no exception. We kicked off June with a series of warm dry days, then shifted into the more typical sunny morning/afternoon, hour-long afternoon storm, followed by a beautiful evening, for most of the rest of summer. The dry mountain air is a great respite for many out-of-state visitors and the summer temps sit comfortably in the 70-80 degree range for its highs and in the 40-50 degree range for its lows. Those afternoon showers blow through quickly, and keep the Vail Valley green and fresh. Added bonus: lots and lots of rainbows.

  It’s a double rainbow kind of night in Vail. #VailSummer   A photo posted by Vail Mountain (@vailmtn) on Jul 21, 2015 at 7:23pm PDT

Endless Activities

With so many activities to do in and around Vail, even those that spend their whole summer here feel that they didn’t quite check everything off the list! The hiking alone can take up a whole summer and then some, with trails that climb to lakes, waterfall, grand vistas, and the Colorado hut system – all originating right here in Vail. Trails we always have to check off our list each summer: Berry Picker, Booth Falls, the North Trail and a bike ride along the East Vail bike path.

Gore Creek also offers up lots of fun, with fly fishing, paddle boarding, tubing and kayaking possible in Vail proper and white water rafting just down the way.

The activity offerings on top of Vail Mountain at Adventure Ridge just kept on growing this summer, adding summer tubing to the list of  ropes courses, zip lining and, new this summer, tubing! We’re excited to see even more activities as a part of the Epic Discovery program starting next summer.

And of course, one of our favorite activities is just strolling through the shops of Vail Village and Lionshead, taking advantage of off-season ski and snowboard deals and drooling over the incredible clothing and unique accessories and gifts from shops like Perch, Gorsuch and Axel’s.

Food is an event unto itself in Vail and we fueled up for our summer adventures with plenty of crepes from Crespelle and coffee from Yeti’s Grind and Loaded Joe’s. The treats from Mountain Cupcakes and Fuzziwigs made it a challenge to save room for the main course at one of Vail’s many awesome restaurants, but somehow we managed. New comer Vintage Vail has made quite the impression this summer, and we can’t get enough of local favorites like Sweet Basil and sister restaurant Mountain Standard, Matsuhisa (yes, you can get fresh sushi in the Rockies!) and so many more.

Thank you!

So thank you for another incredible summer in Vail! There are still plenty of events on the docket to take us through early October and the fall colors are popping, and of course we can’t help but be excited for the winter season (this is Vail, afterall). That said, we’re soaking up the last of these warm days and making a list of all the things we’re looking forward to next summer in Vail. Hope to see you there!