Ongoing Events

Zach’s cabin dinners  A superlative multicourse meal begins with an open-air apertif: A ride up the mountain in a one-snowcat open sleigh to a rustic cabin tucked into an aspen grove high above Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek. Once tucked away at your cozy table, the evening that unfolds (Alsatian fare prepared by executive chef Alex Slagle) will be one you never forget—unless you overindulge on the paired wine! Reservations required. First seating departures from the Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch at 5, 5:30, and 6 p.m.; second seating departures at 7:15, 8, and 8:30 p.m. beavercreek.com

Bearcat’s cabin & 4 Eagle Ranch sleigh ride dinners  Purists who prefer to be conveyed via one-horse open sleigh prior to dinner have two options in the valley: Bearcat’s Cabin in Cordillera’s Colorow Creek (bearcatstables.com) and
4 Eagle Ranch in Wolcott (4eagleranch.com). Both nightly excursions offer the thrill of gliding over snowdrifts behind teams of jingle-belled prancing draft horses, followed by ranch-style feasts served in rough-hewn log cabins warmed by roaring fires.  

Beaver Creek Thursday Night Lights  There’s something to be said about tradition, and when it comes to Beaver Creek’s Thursday Night Lights, that something is: Don’t miss it! Every Thursday evening (through Mar 23), as day transitions into night, crowds of Level 5-plus skiers and riders who register at the children’s ski school gather at the top of Beaver Creek Mountain, crack glow sticks, and then glide downhill, illuminating the entire slope like so many fireflies aflutter. And for the finale: fireworks. beavercreek.com

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens winter snowshoe tours  On Tuesdays at
10:30 a.m.  (mid-January through March), a naturalist from North America’s highest botanic garden leads an hour-long guided snowshoe hike along the Tree Trail, explaining how winter factors in to the life cycle of flora and fauna in high alpine environments. $10, snowshoe rental included; $5 self-guided tours also available  10 a.m.–3 p.m. daily. bettyfordalpinegardens.org/tours 

First Tracks at Beaver Creek On special dates each month (Dec 23, 28 & 30; Jan 8, 15, 22 & 29; Feb 5, 12, 19 & 26) the early bird earns first turns at Beaver Creek, loading the Centennial lift at 7:15 a.m. and literally having the run of the mountain before the masses arrive, followed by bragging rights over a gourmet breakfast at one of the resort’s dining cabins. $180/adult, $90 kids 4–12, lift ticket not included. Reservations required. beavercreek.com 

Nature Discovery Center snowshoe tours  At the top of the Eagle Bahn gondola, the yurt that houses the region’s most stratospheric high-altitude nature center offers free guided snowshoe tours of the ski area’s high-alpine environs daily, and a special evening tour (reservations required) exploring the nocturnal domain of Vail Mountain’s not-so-timid woodland creatures. walkingmountains.org

Tennessee Pass cookhouse dinners  Just up the highway from Camp Hale, beyond the snowglobe Town of Red Cliff, dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse begins at 5:30 p.m. with a 1-mile uphill ski or snowshoe trek from the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center to an off-the-grid dining hall that seats 40 and is heated by a wood stove and lit by propane lanterns and candles. The  meal is as delicious as it is romantic. $125, reservations required.  tennesseepass.com

December 2-4 
BIRDS OF PREY RACE WEEK  The most exciting week of ski racing on American soil/snow (snow gods willing!) begins with four days of training runs down the Beav’s world-famous injected course, followed by a weekend of intense competition, and lots of partying in the bleachers at the Red Tail Finish Stadium, and even more raucous goings-on in Beaver Creek Village afterward. bcworldcup.com

December 3, 10, 17, 22
Outdoor ice skating shows  This 15-minute free exhibition begins at 5 and 6 p.m. (Dec 3 & 17 at the Arabelle rink in Lionshead, Dec 10 & 22 at the Solaris rink in Vail Village) and features elite Team USA skaters performing feats of athleticism on the ice, choreographed to holiday-themed music. discovervail.com 

December 3, 9, 16, 23
Silent disco  Dance like nobody’s listening by everybody’s watching at the ski village’s pop-up outdoor silent discotheque (4:30–7:30 p.m. Dec 3 & 16 in Lionshead, Dec 9 & 23 at the Solaris). discovervail.com 

December 9
Eagle arts art walk  Meet your makers, and mingle with locals, while getting your Christmas shopping done early at the Town of Eagle’s yuletide-themed second-Friday gallery walk. 5–8 p.m. eaglearts.org

December 19  & 20,  23, 27, 29 
Vilar Performing Arts Center  Performing at the Vilar in December: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical (Dec 19 & 20, 6:30 p.m.); Canadian Brass with Kantorei: A Holiday Spectacular (Dec 23, 7 p.m.); Asleep at the Wheel (Dec 27, 7 p.m.); Led Zeppelin 2 (Dec 29, 7 p.m.). vilarpac.org

December 23, 30
Vail astronomy nights A professional astronomer offers through-the-looking glass tours of the stars and planets aligned in the night sky above Lionshead. 6–8 p.m. discovervail.com 

December 23
Vail skating festival ice spectacular  This 70-minute ticketed holiday-themed ice show stars 2022 Olympic gold medalist Nathan Chen in his only Colorado appearance (performing with fellow Olympians Jean-Luc Baker and Kaitlin Hawayek) at Dobson Ice Arena. 6:30–8 p.m. $60–$85. vailskatefest.com 

December 30
10th mountain legacy parade  This season, the remembering begins at 7 p.m. with military veterans and active-duty soldiers dressed in historic ski trooper uniforms carrying torches as they schuss down Riva Ridge to Gondola One at the base of Vail Mountain (which will be illuminated with the 10th Mountain Division insignia and animated with fireworks), then parade down Bridge Street to the Colorado Snowsports Museum & Hall of Fame, which will remain open after hours so visitors can discover history as it’s being made. discovervail.com

December 31 
BEAVER CREEK NYE celebration After kid-friendly glow-stick ski-down fireworks, the end-of-year party to end all parties gets cranking at Powder 8, with a DJ, dancing, a balloon drop synced with the ball drop in Times Square (for parents with kids up way past their bedtimes), and a second balloon drop at local midnight, when the white-glove resort welcomes 2023 with a special toast for adults. beavercreek.com

VAIL NYE TORCHLIGHT SKI-DOWN Join the throngs gathered at the base of Golden Peak just after 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to witness the spectacle of ski instructors and Vail locals snaking down the mountain with glow sticks, followed by one of the largest and most ooh-aah-inspiring fireworks displays in the Rockies. vail.com

January 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 
Vilar Performing Arts Center  Performing at the Vilar in January: Rising Appalachia (Jan 11, 7 p.m.); Imagination Movers (Jan 13, 10 a.m.); Khatia Buniatishvili  (Jan 17, 6:30 p.m.); Samantha Fish (Jan 19, 7 p.m.); Interpreti Veneziani (Jan 23, 6:30 p.m.). vilarpac.org

January 13
10th mountain legacy parade  See Dec 30 listing. discovervail.com

February 2, 5, 8, 10, 14, 16, 18,  23, 24, 28 
Vilar Performing Arts Center  Performing at the Vilar in February: Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn with the Colorado Symphony (Feb 2, 6:30 p.m.); An Evening with Sarah Jarosz (Feb 5, 7 p.m.); The Peking Acrobats: Featuring the Shanghai Circus (Feb 8, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m.); Branford Marsalis Quartet (Feb 10, 7 p.m.); Aris Quartet (Feb 14, 6 p.m.); Parsons Dance: The Road (Feb 16, 7 p.m.); Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew: Remain in Light (Feb 18, 7 p.m.); Our Planet: Live in Concert (Feb 23, 6:30 p.m.); Styx (Feb 24, 7 p.m.); Bindlestiff Family Circus (Feb 28, 6:30 p.m.). vilarpac.org

February 2-5
Beaver Creek WINTER CULINARY WEEKEND  Executive chefs from the resort’s finest restaurants host celebrity chefs for a food-centric weekend that includes après parties, food and wine tastings, demos, and a slew of culinary events all weekend. beavercreek.com

February 25-26 
Talons Challenge  Join 1,250 skiers and riders competing to be the first to conquer 26,000 vertical feet of black and double-black terrain on Beaver Creek’s Grouse Mountain, Larkspur Bowl, and Birds of Prey course. Participants who complete all 14 designated runs will have their names added to the Talons Wall of Fame and will earn a commemorative pin, a bottomless cup, and the right to graze and imbibe (and embellish) at the finishers’ feast and après party at the base area’s Talons Restaurant. 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. beavercreek.com/talons

February 26
10th mountain legacy parade discovervail.com

March 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 20, 24, 28, 30 
Vilar Performing Arts Center  Performing at the Vilar in March: Yamato: The Drummers of Japan (Mar 9, 12:30 & 6:30 p.m.); Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Mar 10, 7 p.m.); Legally Blonde: The Musical (Mar 12, 7 p.m.); Justin Willman: Magic for Humans in Person (Mar 16, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m.); Danu (Mar 17, 12:30 & 7 p.m.); Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio (Mar 20, 6:30 p.m.); BalletX (Mar 24 & 28, 12:30 p.m.); Tel Aviv Wind Quartet with Yaron Kohlberg (Mar 28, 6 p.m.); Garrison Keillor  (Mar 30, 6:30 p.m.). vilarpac.org

April 2, 5, 20 
Vilar Performing Arts Center  Performing at the Vilar in April: Colorado Symphony Petite Musique: Peter Rabbit (Apr 2, 4 p.m.); Cirque Flip Fabrique Presents: Muse (Apr 5, 6:30 p.m.); Ajijaak on Turtle Island (Apr 20, 10 a.m.). vilarpac.org

April 5–8 
Taste of Vail  What’s cooking for this annual springtime food fest/feast? Vail’s finest cuisine, just-released rosés, craft cocktails, wine dinners, a celebrity chef cook-off, seminars, auctions, a Colorado lamb cook-off, a grand tasting and auction, and a can’t-miss picnic lunch atop Vail Mountain. tasteofvail.com

April 17 
Beaver Creek Mountain Closing Day   (Anticipated at press time) beavercreek.com

April 24 
Vail Mountain Closing Day (Anticipated at press time) vail.com

May 29 
Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Tours  From Memorial Day through Labor Day, this free, hour-long, docent-led public tour of the world’s highest botanic garden departs at 10:30 a.m. every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday from the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Education Center. bettyfordalpinegardens.org

June 8–11 
2023 GoPro Mountain Games It’s four days of extreme kayaking, dock dogs, slopestyle biking, bouldering, slack-line competitions, a canine-human mud run, and the Ultimate Mountain Challenge: an insanely extreme run, bike, and kayak odyssey from East Vail to the Covered Bridge. Plus, Saturday night concerts and lots of Lycra-wrapped eye candy. mountaingames.com