The Denver Post

A winter walk in Vail reveals that skiing isn't always required

- DAN LEETH

vail » inter’s not good time to be recovering from shoulder surgery. In the middle of this deep snow season, my doctor has barred me from even the bunny runs.

Although I’m banned from slopes, I can still enjoy the ambiance of a fine winter resort. When my downhillin­g spouse decided to ski Vail, I tagged along.

On a typical trip to Vail, my wife and I rush from car to slopes, ski all day and then beeline back for the drive home. What lies beyond garage and gondola has largely remained unknown territory. Turning injury into opportunit­y, I set off to explore this terra incognita on an aimless, window-shopping tour.

Walking Vail’s pedestrian-friendly walkways, I felt like I was strolling through an outdoor shopping mall teaming with upscale jewelry stores, fur shops, art galleries, fashion retailers, ski merchants, real estate agencies and even a Tesla dealership, all jammed between souvenir emporiums, lodging properties and multi-fork restaurant­s.

Getting tired of uttering, “Thank you, but no, I’m just looking,” I retreated to the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum. Strolling its compact galleries, I ogled artifacts depicting the history of skiing, snowboardi­ng, ski racing and the early days of Vail.

Opposite the museum’s gift shop (“Thank you, but no, I’m just looking”) sits a wing dedicated to the 10th Mountain Division. There, a 45-minute video produced by Warren Miller Entertainm­ent and narrated by Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom tells the tale of the 10th.

Formed during World War II, the 10th Mountain Division volunteers trained at Camp Hale near Leadville. In the winter of 1945, they fought the Nazis in the Northern Apennine Mountains of Italy. Reaching the German stronghold required an assault on 1,500-foot-high Riva Ridge, which the enemy considered to be unscalable. Although causalitie­s were heavy, the men of the 10th proved them wrong and ultimately captured over a thousand German soldiers.

At war’s end, many of the survivors returned with a passion for skiing. They

Wbecame ski instructor­s, ski patrolmen, ski equipment innovators and ski area developers. Collective­ly, they catapulted the sport into the mainstream recreation­al endeavor we enjoy today.

One of those soldiers was Pete Seibert, who was wounded on Riva Ridge. After working at the Aspen and Loveland ski areas, he secured backers and started Vail. The resort’s longest trail commemorat­es Riva Ridge, and Vail’s newest onmountain, full-service restaurant is named the 10th. I arranged to meet my back-bowling wife there for lunch.

Fortunatel­y, the 10th does not serve C-rations like the soldiers dined on. Instead, our French onion soups boasted wild mushrooms, my burger sported Wagyu beef and my wife’s pot pie contained herb-roasted chicken and pheasant. The closest we came to Riva Ridge fare was Italian wine by the glass.

Returning by gondola, I headed to the Vail Village Welcome Center to catch the free, hour-long art walk offered at 3:30 on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. Led by art coordinato­r Molly Eppard, I learned that Vail boasts 47 pieces of public art, which include paintings, sculptures, murals, playground equipment and site-integrated elements I had unknowingl­y walked past earlier. Private owners and galleries add numerous additional pieces. Not only is Vail Village a gold-card shopping center, I discovered it’s also a first-rate, outdoor art gallery.

Returning to the car, I stopped once again to admire a painted bronze statue of a 10th Mountain Division soldier. If it hadn’t been for these men returning to promote the sport of skiing, who knows what I’d be abstaining from during my surgical recovery period. Dan Leeth is a travel writer and photograph­er; more at LookingFor­TheWorld.com.

 ??  ?? The Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum’s galleries tell the story of skiing, snowboardi­ng and ski racing in Colorado, and there’s a wall dedicated to the members of the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Dan Leeth, Special to The Denver Post
The Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum’s galleries tell the story of skiing, snowboardi­ng and ski racing in Colorado, and there’s a wall dedicated to the members of the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Dan Leeth, Special to The Denver Post
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