Beaver Creek Winter 2023/24 Tip Sheet
2023-2024 Winter News and Story Ideas
As the world's best luxury family resort, Beaver Creek is the place to relax, indulge, and explore this season. Beaver Creek maintains the traditions it’s known and loved for, while feeling fresh and modern. The resort offers a winter getaway for any traveler, from families exploring the learning-friendly terrain like the new McCoy Park to adrenaline junkies checking off the best steep slopes in the state of Colorado on the Birds of Prey World Cup racecourse. The beloved Cookie Time is a decades-old tradition, with the aroma of delicious chocolate chip cookies sweeping through the village. But for foodies and families alike, there's more than just sweet treats at the resort: Allie's, Zach's, and Beano's fine dining cabins on the mountain offer bucket-list culinary experiences, with snowcat-drawn sleigh rides to elevated epicurean escapes. In the intimate alpine village, refined luxury abounds, elevated by recent and ongoing investments in infrastructure, as well as art and activation that create a buzz about the base area.
Culinary
NEW this season, Beaver Creek is included in the illustrious MICHELIN Guide Colorado. The Guide made its debut in Fall 2023, and Beaver Creek Resort secured three Recommended restaurants: Mirabelle, Splendido at the Chateau, and WYLD. The resort also offers three differentiated cabin dining experiences at Beano’s, Zach’s and Allie’s Cabins. Start your day with a gourmet breakfast after first tracks at Allie’s Cabin, or enjoy Northern Italian cuisine by night. Zach’s Cabin is perfect for your family or group who wants to enjoy a communal experience with fondues and shareables. And of course, Beano’s Cabin continues to be the crown jewel of luxurious mountaintop dining. Each cabin is accessible by open air sleigh, rounding out a culinary experience not to be missed. Looking for a bit of nostalgia? Of course Cookie Time delivers, as do the Ice Cream Parlour, Cookie Cabin or Candy Cabin, with daytime ski in-ski out curated treats for every age.
Elevating Cabin and Fine Dining to New Heights
Cabin dining at Beaver Creek remains committed to providing a world-class experience and serving gourmet fare while surrounded by mountain splendor. Dinner at our three fine dining cabins, Beano’s, Zach’s and Allie’s, is accessible by Beaver Creek Snow Cat-pulled sleigh, an experience to surprise and delight guests under moonlit and star-dotted skies. Beano’s Cabin will continue to elevate fine dining into a feast for the senses, awakening the appetite with a gourmet menu paired with a breathtaking wine list, while Allie’s serves up comforting and refined Northern Italian cuisine and Zach’s shares Alsatian favorites like satiating fondue alongside signature cocktails.
Dinner at Allie’s Cabin
Guests are whisked from the Beaver Creek Village to the cabin via an open-air sleigh, welcomed warmly and treated to gourmet fare. Dine alongside the glowing floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and enjoy sweeping views of the Beaver Creek Village below, as well as time together in the intimate space of one of Beaver Creek’s three exquisite on-mountain fine-dining restaurants. Traditionally renowned for an atmosphere of rustic and intimate elegance, Allie’s Cabin pours forth a refined, classic Northern Italian fare.
Executive Chef: Jonathan Alonso
Dinner at Beano’s Cabin
The award-winning restaurant sits atop the slopes of Beaver Creek Resort within the White River National Forest. Nestled in a mountain meadow that was once a lettuce patch and home to the pioneer farmer and restaurant namesake Frank “Beano” Bienkowski, this luxurious log cabin truly elevates fine dining into a feast for the senses. Ascending to Beano’s Cabin awakens the appetite for the gourmet menu that is accompanied by a breathtaking wine list. The ride to Beano’s Cabin provides spectacular views of towering Grouse Mountain and Larkspur Bowl. Upon arrival, a cozy stone hearth and blazing fire welcomes you to chase away the evening chill lingering from the excursion up. Antler chandeliers light up the vaulted ceilings and make the wall of windows in the dining room shine. An open kitchen design allows guests to immediately enjoy the sights and smells of the meal to come.
Executive Chef: Mackenzie Nicholson
Dinner at Zach’s Cabin
Perched on the mountainside high above Bachelor Gulch with uninterrupted views of the magnificent Gore Range, Zach's is the epitome of fine dining at its peak. Guests are whisked away for a starlit sleigh ride, pulled by a Beaver Creek Snow Cat. Famous for its artful assemblage of fresh Alsatian fare featuring the finest regional and seasonal ingredients paired with excellent vintages for the perfect dinner experience.
Executive Chef: Alex Slagle
Signature Beaver Creek Dishes
Cookie Time
Beaver Creek is known for its beloved Cookie Time! Freshly baked, warm and gooey cookies meet skiers, snowboarders and village visitors every afternoon at 3:00 pm at the bottom of Haymeadow and Centennial Express Lifts. Delectable, melt-in-your-mouth cookies have been a Beaver Creek staple for many years, with more than 500,000 cookies baked each season. What’s not to love?
Culinary Adventures for the Entire Family
The Ice Cream Parlour
Located at the top of Haymeadow Express Gondola (#1) and conveniently next to Haymeadow Park learning terrain, the Ice Cream Parlour offers nostalgic ice cream novelties, or a quick soup and sandwich lunch. Menu offerings include root beer floats, ice cream by the scoop, house-made hot chocolate, grilled cheese, tomato soup, and more. It’s the perfect stop after a morning or afternoon of learning to ski and snowboard!
Beaver Creek Candy Cabin
The Beaver Creek Candy Cabin gained fast fame among guests when it opened its doors during winter 2014/15. Located at the top of Strawberry Park Express and directly outside an entrance to McCoy Park, the Cabin’s vintage candy store design of yesteryear invites kids and kids-at-heart to explore myriad palate-pleasing sweets – and to discover local artisan craft chocolates found exclusively at the Candy Cabin. Other popular selections include bulk candy sold by the pound and classic Pepsi products made with real cane sugar. It’s the sweetest place at 9840’.
Beaver Creek Cookie Cabin
A Beaver Creek tradition rises to new heights at Red Buffalo Park’s Cookie Cabin, open to ALL guests. Anyone can stop in for chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa throughout the day. Designed to welcome kids and adults alike with a comfortable and cozy environment, the Cookie Cabin offers the rest and relaxation guests need between exhilarating runs in Red Buffalo.
Vibrant Village Offerings
In our intimate alpine villages, refined luxury abounds, elevated by recent and ongoing investments in infrastructure, as well as art and activation that create a buzz about the base area. The heart of the resort is Beaver Creek Village with its ice rink, shops and restaurants. Guests feel a sense of exploration when they ski or snowboard to the resort’s other two village areas – Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead. Beaver Creek Resort hosts a wide variety of popular village activations
throughout the winter and summer, including signature events like the World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Competition, Birds of Prey World Cup and Winter Culinary Weekend.
Hawk’s Nest Cabin
Making its debut this winter is Hawk’s Nest Cabin, the Cabin with an Edge. This NEW addition to Beaver Creek Village is a custom-designed retreat for teenage guests, with opportunities for older kids to enjoy the space as well. At Hawk’s Nest Cabin, you can be yourself in the coolest underage club with a modern alpine-cabin vibe all its own. Featuring custom, one-of-a-kind decor, craft non-alcoholic beverages, music, interactive technology, arcade and table games, a ski simulator, lounge spots, plenty of charging stations, opportunities for legendary selfies and a whole lot more, it’s where the fun picks up off-mountain and after hours until it’s time to rest up and start all over again.
Extraordinary Events
From Opening Day to the last lap of the season, Beaver Creek Resort has signature events to delight guests of all ages. Whether you’re looking for high-octane World Cup Ski Racing, or family-friendly weekly programming, Beaver Creek offers something for everyone.
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Opening Week: November 22 – 26, 2023
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Beaver Creek Cookie Competition: November 22, 2023
After an exhilarating day on the mountain, Beaver Creek is known for its hospitality and its chocolate chip cookie. Come down to the village on Wednesday, November 22nd and cast your vote for the best chocolate chip cookie.
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Tree Lighting and Ice Spectacular: November 24, 2023
Kick the afternoon off with free ice skating from 10:00 am – 4:00pm. Visit with Santa Claus from 12:00pm – 3:00pm, as he is making a very special visit all the way from the North Pole. Warm up inside at the Holiday Craft Workshop to create your own hand painted ornament. And when the evening settles in, surround our ice rink in the center of the village for our live music and ice-skating spectacular. Then at precisely 6:30pm help us count down to the finale where we light our holiday tree and shoot off fireworks.
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Holiday Market: November 24 – 26, 2023
Head over to Beaver Creek Village for the Holiday Market from 10am - 5pm! There’s something for the whole family with holiday gifts perfect for each of your loved ones. Browse the vast selection of artisans with the beautiful backdrop of our village – lit up for the holidays.
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Beaver Creek Xfinity Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup Super G and Downhill Races: December 1 – 3, 2023
Ranked as the number one overall stop by the athletes and coaches who participate, the Beaver Creek Xfinity Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup Super G and Downhill races are scheduled for December 1-3, 2023. The festivities of Beaver Creek World Cup weekend celebrate “Where Winter Begins” in North America. This year’s event is scheduled to include live music, beer tastings, ski films, parties, sponsor activation and much more in the heart of Beaver Creek Village on what is dubbed "Birds of Prey Way."
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New Years Eve: December 31, 2023
Beaver Creek Village is full of surprise and delight around every corner on New Year's Eve! The evening kicks off with our annual New Years’ Eve Ski Down with over 200 skiers to light up the early evening slopes at 6:00pm. Then stroll through the village and catch our Winter Circus filled with aerialists, contortionists, jugglers, break dancers, fire dancers and more. Then cap the evening off at 10:00pm with spectacular fireworks display over Beaver Creek Mountain.
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Winter Culinary Weekend Presented by Toyota: February 1-3, 2024
Whether you’re enjoying culinary delights prepared by world-renowned chefs, or pristine mountain ski runs prepared by Mother Nature, Winter Culinary at Beaver Creek is a lavish way to spoil your appetites. Come spend the weekend carving through endless turns of fresh powder or snowshoeing in majestic McCoy Park, then warm up inside with gourmet dishes perfectly paired with hand-selected wines and hand-crafted cocktails. It’s a palate-pleasing weekend like no other. Bon Appetit!
Winter Culinary Weekend benefits Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), an organization that has been transforming lives by providing underserved teens a pathway to success with culinary, job and life skills across the United States since 1990.
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Talon’s Challenge Presented by Helly Hansen: February 24-25, 2024
Think you can conquer over 26,000’ of vertical down 14 of the toughest black and double black diamond runs on the mountain—in one day? Then take on the Talons Challenge at Beaver Creek. Participants who rip down all fourteen runs will earn the coveted patch for completing the challenge, killer swag, and all kinds of bragging rights.
If you think your ski legs are up for it, you can register to take on the challenge Saturday and Sunday for twice the clout, and the coveted “Master of the Mountain” title.
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First Tracks Presented by Helly Hansen: December 30, 2023; January 2, 2024; February 18, 2024
Beaver Creek Resort offers First Tracks presented by Helly Hansen, for limited dates during the season. An unforgettable morning adventure begins long before the lifts spin to the public, where hosts greet First Tracks guests for the morning to offer the best terrain recommendations based on snow conditions and grooming reports. After a couple exhilarating hours of skiing and snowboarding, your appetite will quickly be satiated at one of Beaver Creek’s elevated on-mountain fine dining cabins, where a culinary team will welcome the group to a delicious gourmet breakfast. For more details on First Tracks at Beaver Creek, including pricing and availability, please call 970-754-5310 or visit BeaverCreek.com.
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Thursday Night Lights
Every Thursday throughout the ski season from December 14 to March 28, Beaver Creek invites you to join us for the Thursday Night Lights ski down. Skiers that are level 4 or above are encouraged to register in the afternoon. Each participant will receive a light up baton for the glow. Once registration concludes, skiers along with our ski school will upload onto the Haymeadow gondola for the spectacular show. As part of this weekly event, guests will be delighted with fireworks display from the top of the mountain, following the ski down.
Commitment to Community
At Vail Resorts, everything we do is built upon the promise of bringing together the mountains, our communities, employees and guests to ignite a passion for the outdoors, conserve the natural environment and support our local communities for a bright, sustainable future. This EpicPromise is how we will create a more promising future for generations to come, through the EpicPromise Employee and Community Foundation, Commitment to Zero and Epic for Everyone.
In Eagle County, EpicPromise has provided $4.6 million in cash and in-kind donations between August 2022 and July 2023, supporting community organizations like Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley, SOS Outreach and the Vail Valley Foundation.
Aside from community grants, Beaver Creek Resort and Vail Mountain team members are proud to support through employee volunteering, such as an annual Epic Promise Build Week with Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley, where this September more than 100 employees framed interior walls, installed floor joists, beams, subfloor and more around six units being built for local families.
Beaver Creek’s Industry-Leading Children’s Ski and Snowboard School
Beaver Creek’s renowned Ski and Snowboard School is the ultimate place to learn and sharpen your skills on the mountain, both with incredible instructors and signature learning terrain, including the recently built McCoy Park. Whether igniting a child’s passion for the mountain or unlocking an advanced skier or rider’s techniques, Beaver Creek has world-class instructors to teach all abilities. Beaver Creek Children’s Ski and Snowboard School instructors know how to connect and ignite a child’s love for the mountain experience. If you are an adult looking for steeps and trees – our adult instructors know how to accelerate you to the next level.
Signature Parks Collection: Learn. Explore. Connect.
Beaver Creek is home to the most dedicated learning terrain in Colorado. With the founding of Beaver Creek’s Signature Parks Collection, beginner and intermediate skiers have more terrain built for their skill level than ever before, including last year’s McCoy Park expansion: 250 acres of terrain tailored to learning. These dedicated learning areas provide beginner terrain that mimics the setting of advanced trails, granting guests of all ski levels a chance to explore more of the mountain on terrain they are comfortable skiing and snowboarding. The Signature Parks Collection is specifically designed for beginner through intermediate skier and riders to inspire confidence, progressively improve skills, and evoke a sense of wonder and accomplishment.
With three progressive parks, the Signature Parks Collection offers an extraordinary ski experience for beginner and intermediate skiers who can feel comfortable on the terrain while also discovering the amazing treasures Beaver Creek Mountain has to offer, such as mountain-top vistas, groomed glades, adventure zones and access to world-class dining. These terrain areas, combined with the Cookie Cabin, Candy Cabin and Ice Cream Parlour make Beaver Creek Ski and Snowboard School the industry-leading learning experience.
McCoy Park
During the 2021-22 Winter season, Beaver Creek added 250 acres of lift-served, welcoming ski terrain for beginner and intermediate skiers & riders to elevate their mountain experience. The McCoy Park investment is a commitment to the guest experience which will delight skiers and riders of all ages and abilities. A dedicated family friendly learning zone with an amazing natural feel, including signature groomed, gladed trails, McCoy Park is a place for the entire family to connect with nature and each other in an accessible bowl setting. As the third installment of the Signature Parks Collection, McCoy Park offers 17 trails serviced by two new quad lifts, while maintaining snowshoe and cross-country areas. McCoy Park comes with a new warming hut – Eaton Haus – offering a view of the Colorado Rockies that most guests have never seen before.
Red Buffalo Park
To improve the experience for beginner and intermediate skiers and further establish Beaver Creek as the world’s best luxury family resort, Beaver Creek Resort debuted a new 200-acre family learning area accessed by a new high-speed lift in Dec. 2017. Red Buffalo Park, located at the mountain’s highest elevation, 11,440 feet, provides 13 trails designated as a family adventure zone and features family-friendly amenities such as snow sculptures, Kids Adventure Zones, and a dedicated Ski School Skills Zone. At the heart of the experience, the new Red Buffalo Express Lift (#5), a high-speed quad, allows for easier access to the dedicated beginner terrain while decreasing lift lines and providing a shorter, 4.3-minute ride to the top of the mountain. Red Buffalo Park ensures that beginner skiers and riders get to experience the best views on the mountain.
Haymeadow Park
Following the debut of Red Buffalo Park during the 2017-2018 season, Beaver Creek Resort debuted a second signature learning area in 2018-19. At the heart of Haymeadow Park are a beginner gondola and lift, Haymeadow Express Gondola (#1) and Highlands Lift (#2), plus adjacent magic carpets designed for beginner skiers and riders of all ages. Beaver Creek’s innovative learning terrain is designed around creating the most enjoyable beginner experience with terrain features perfectly sculpted to ensure a guests’ first skiing and riding experience is positive. Terrain improvements include a learning area with a beginner racecourse, Buffalo Bumps and Berms, and Ske-Cology environmental learning.
Best Hidden Steeps & Trees
Thinking about Beaver Creek Resort may initially conjure up images of endless groomers, gentle slopes and fresh chocolate chip cookies awaiting you at the base of the mountain after a day on piste, Beaver Creek is hiding a wild side. Some of the best kept secrets in Colorado exist in-bounds at the Resort, and we’re shedding that manicured persona for some shredding on challenging bump runs, powder stashes in Aspen glades, and cliffs for those who dare.
- Stone Creek Chutes: It may be short, but it is mighty. In Stone Creek Chutes, expect cliffs of 10 feet or more, with some drops as big as 40 feet, narrow chutes and glades filled with powder. [Extreme Terrain]
- Grouse Mountain: Mogul paradise. Ready to test your legs on bumps that seem never-ending? Head up Grouse Mountain Express to this secluded spot, and drop down any of the bird-inspired runs for a heart-pumping thrill. Royal Elk Glade is the favorite of many locals and guests alike looking to level up their challenge.
- Birds of Prey: Add skiing or snowboarding a World Cup racecourse to your bucket list, because at Beaver Creek, it’s achievable! Following the Birds of Prey World Cup in early December, this course opens for guests to tackle at their own risk with a maximum slope of 63%.
2023-2024 Beaver Creek Winter Fast Facts
Dates and Hours
Ski Season: Nov. 22, 2023 – April 14, 2024
Elevations
Base Elevation: Beaver Creek Village 8,100 ft. / Bachelor Gulch 8,100 ft. / Arrowhead Village 7,400 ft
Summit Elevation: (Beaver Creek Mountain) 11,440 ft. / 3,488 m Vertical Rise: 3,340 ft.
Snow
Annual Average Snowfall: 323 inches
Snowmaking: 680 acres
Acreage
Total Skiable Area: 2,082 acres / 843 hectares
Trail Classification (Total Mountain Acreage)
34 % Expert/Advanced
38 % Intermediate
28 % Beginner
Conventional Trails: 167
Longest Run: Centennial at 2.75 miles
Bowls: 3, Rose Bowl, Larkspur Bowl and McCoy Park
Lifts
Total Number of Lifts: 24
Combination: 1 (10-person gondola cabins and six person chairs)
Gondolas: 2 (Haymeadow Express Gondola and Riverfront Express Gondola)
High-Speed Quads: 12
Triple Chairs: 1
Double Chairs: 1
Conveyor: 7
Climate (Temperatures in Fahrenheit and recorded on mountain)
Winter: Daytime low temperatures in the teens with averages in the 20s and 30s; temperatures below 30 degrees at night.
Summer: Average temperatures: 75 degree days, 45 degree nights.
Beaver Creek enjoys more than 275 days of sunshine annually.
Important Information for Editorial Use
Snow Line: (800) 427-8308
Toll Free Reservations: (877) 204-7883
Beaver Creek Information Center: (970) 754-4636
Ski and Snowboard School: (800) 503-8748
Facebook: facebook.com/beavercreek
Twitter: @beavercreekmtn
Instagram: @beavercreek #beavercreek
Website: www.beavercreek.com
Youtube: www.youtube.com/beavercreekmtn