It's only 10 a.m. and already it's been a styling start to Vail's ski/snowboard season. A group of Vail locals dressed in tuxedos and a big bear mascot arrived at 3 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 20 - 6 hours before Vail's lifts started turning - to make sure they were the ones on Vail's first chair. .
According to EC Hoffman, the "camp-out" planning began on April 19, 2009 but the plans didn't really come together until 6 p.m. yesterday. "We've been talking about this for awhile but it finally came together last night," Hoffman said. They brought camp chairs, sleeping bags, tarps and loads of hand warmers.
Hoffman and his four friends reported "chilly" conditions last night, but they bundled up, hunkered down and made it through the night. "I was so bundled up that all I could see was the big dipper," he said. "It was incredible ... it was so worth it."
The second group arrived at 5 a.m. to line up for first chair at Vail and were a bit disappointed, but both groups were rewarded for their early-season enthusiasm. Each member of Hoffman's group on the first chair was given $100 in gift certificates from Vail Mountain and everyone on the second chair got $50 in gift certificates. Even third chair was rewarded for their passion with $25 in gift certificates.
Stay tuned for more Vail opening day festivities - like the kids press conference tonight on www.LindseyIsEpic.com/Live and the Epic Snuggie Pub Crawl. www.vail.com
Camping out in Tuxs for Vail's Opening Day