A Guide to Closing Day at Vail
As most of you know by now, at Ski Town All-Stars there are a couple of things we take very seriously. They line up with our work hard, ski hard, party hard mantra. We try our best to live out every day according to this credo, but there are a couple of days a year that are particularly important in order to truly live like one of the STAS. We’re talking about closing days. If you’re a follower of ours, and you’ve read the Aspen Highlands closing day blog post, then you know we go HAM for the end of the ski season. If you were at Vail closing day this year, you probably SAW just how wild the STAS get for the last day our home mountain spins its chairs. We’ll tell you how we do Vail closing day, but we want to know how you guys do it too. Drop us an email and tell us your story.
A successful closing day at Vail starts the night before. Make sure to hydrate. Eat a solid dinner, and we’re not talking fast food or pizza. You have to get your body prepared for a full day event. Make sure to hit the hay at whatever time will let you get up for a 6:30 am start. Get up and shove yourself into whatever crazy outfit you’ve chosen to put on display. We’re fans of the jorts-hawaiian shirt combo, any girls-out onesie, fur coat no shirt, or a Ski Town All-Stars bucket for our more conservative STAS. Once you’re dressed, meet up with the squad and hit your favorite breakfast spot. There’s Northside or Sabor for our grab-and-goers, and Westside or Little Diner if you like to make breakfast an event. Another popular way to do closing day breakfast is at one of the homies cribs. Make sure they live on the free bus line and then pile in deep. Just make sure you don’t party so hard at breakfast you miss first chair.
After you’ve gotten into town, you’ll want to head to one of the gondolas. We’re partial to Gondi 1, but don’t want to discriminate against any of our Lionshead folks. Be careful at this point. It’s prime Ice time (not again @cjbivo). At this point you and the squad should already be turning up and have all the days party supplies on your person. A quick reminder here that any packs you bring onto the mountain have to fit into a 5-gallon bucket. Once those gondola doors close it’s time to crack open a cold one and cheers to yet another closing day.
It’s important at this time in the day to take care of the ski hard portion of our mission. Most years we’re scantily clad, and you want to get your laps in before anything starts to get too fuzzy. Crush some hot laps with your favorite ski bunnies or groomer hunks and keep the party going. If it’s a nice day and the sun is out make sure to apply, reapply, and rereapply sunscreen throughout the day. Make sure you ski your heart out in the morning and then head up to 4 at 4. We like to get there before you have to wait in line for half the day.
At this point you’re on top of the mountain and the masses are starting to gather. Make your rounds and cheers everyone on your must-have-a-drink-with list before finding a good spot to post up with the crew. Next is the fun part. Party on Wayne. You can chill in your squads designated area, float around and mingle, or dance your little heart out. Be sure to thank ski patrol for working on this beautiful day and try not to make their job any harder than it already is. Once you’ve had your fill of the party it’s time for the most treacherous part of the day; the ski down. Do yourself a favor and don’t go trying to set a new land-speed record if you’re too sauced. You’ve got a summer of camping, hiking, biking, fishing, and rafting ahead of you. Don’t ruin it on the way down the mountain.
If you’re truly a Ski Town All-Star your day won’t end when you’ve reached the bottom of the mountain. You’ll find an après spot in town and then an after party for the evening. If you’re really one of the STAS your closing day lasts all day, and well into the night. Going full send requires you to be a true party athlete. You’ll need stamina, strength, and perseverance in order to do closing day right.
There you have it All-Stars, a guide to closing day at Vail. If you think you crushed it this year, we would love to hear your story. Drop us an email and don’t leave out any of the details. If you missed it, you can still share in the fun. Check out our YouTube channel and watch the video here. It’s hilarious, and filled with babes, studs, and booze. Just like closing day at Vail should be.
