Super Bowl Parties

Sunday, February 2

You might not have a home team to root for during this year's Super Bowl, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the show. The Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa's Lookout Lobby Bar is hosting a game day party featuring drink specials (including cocktails celebrating this year's competitors San Francisco & Kansas City) and deals on food (12 chicken wings for $10, a burger and beer for $15, and half off flatbreads)—plus, happy hour pricing all night long (westinriverfront.com). If you're trying to stay in Vail Village for this year's game, opt for a seat at Manor Vail's Golden Peak-adjacent eatery The Fitz, which will be airing the game on multiple big screens and serving up food and drink specials (including happy hour pricing) all night long for the event (manorvail.com).

Vail Mountain Winter Uphill Race and Hike

Sunday, February 16, 7 a.m., Eagle Bahn Gondola, Vail

You can showshoe, skin, spike, hike or Yaktrax the 2.5 miles—and 2,300 vertical feet—of groomed terrain from the base of the Eagle Bahn Gondola in Lionshead Village to the very top of the mountain at Eagle's Nest for the second installment of Vail Recreation District's 2020 Bloch and Chapleau Vail Grail winter race series. If you end up being King or Queen of the mountain, you get bragging rights and a chance for your name to be etched on the Vail Grail commemorating the event. And if you're not up for racing the pack, you can still join in, as this year's event is friendly to hikers who are just there for the scenery (35 preregistered/$45 day-of for adults). vailrec.com

The Black Diamond Ball

Friday, February 14, 6:30 p.m., Park Hyatt, Beaver Creek

If you're looking for a chance to don your black-tie-gala-worthy best this month, you're in luck; the Vail Valley Foundation's Black Diamond Ball is the local nonprofit's biggest fundraiser of the year, and features and event theme (which, as of press time, hadn't yet been announced), dinner, dancing, live music, and a silent auction. The best part? Funds raised from the event go towards VVF programming, which includes the valley's year-round concert series at the Gerald R.Ford Amphitheater, Vilar, and down-valley venues, events like Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek and the GoPro Mountain Games, and educational programming like YouthPower365 (tickets starting at $500, vvf.org).

Burton US Open

Monday, February 24 through Saturday, February 29 

If you want to see: snowboarding's biggest names flying (and flipping, and spinning) through the halfpipe, and (free!) concerts every night, make sure you're in Vail Village (and specifically, Golden Peak, where all the on-mountain action takes place) when the Burton US Open come to town. Slopestyle and Halfpipe superstars (like Jamie Anderson and Eagle County's own Jake Pates) are annual attendants—plus, a slew of other riders fresh off X-Games competition. This year's competition should have special significance since it's the first following Burton founder and snowboarding legend Jake Burton Carpenter's death this past November. burton.com

An Evening with CAIC's Jason Konigsberg

Friday, February 28, 5 to 8 p.m., Mountain Art Collective, Vail

Whether you're an aspiring backcountry skier—or an experienced one—or you're simply interested in this year's snowpack, don't miss Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecaster and snow expert Jason Konigsberg's presentation at the Mountain Art Collective (Vail's new art incubator, located in the old Cascade theater), where he'll discuss CAIC's forecasting methods and last year's historical avalanche cycle. The event is free with a suggested $20 donation—and the peace of mind knowing the funds from the event go towards Colorado's avalanche forecasting team (aka keeping you safe in the backcountry). mountainartcollective.com