# little help



## Mike123 (Dec 10, 2007)

last season my wife and I visited summit, everything went great, except my wife got altitude sickness on the first day. Some one in my hotel in Dillon, told me about a store in Vail that sold portable oxygen, so we drove there bought it and she was like new for the rest of the trip(it was an instant effect, incredible). This is the thing, we are going again late December to summit, and although we plan to ski Vail, I don't want to go there on my first day, it is to long of a drive, just to buy oxygen. Does anyone here now about a ski shop in Dillon or Frisco that might sell portable oxygen (last time it was a small container, lasted for about 40 breaths or so), that way I don't have to drive all the way there on the first day. She might not get sick, but I rather be on the safe side.

I have a couple more questions, maybe someone can help here.
Last time we parked in lionshead and there was nothing really to like shops or site seeing, is Vail village better?

I have just one more question, last time we skied Vail it took us forever to get to the back bowls. We are horrible navigators and I guess we took the wrong lifts and ended up wasting a lot of time. Can some one just guide me a little of the fastest way to get to the back bowls(conditions permitting). what lifts? and should I park in lionshead or Vail village? 


Thanks for the help


----------



## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

I believe Christy's Sports (probably the one in Dillon) has a pretty good altitude sickness remedy. They have either the bottled oxygen or the acclimation chamber (cool concept, and I've heard good things). I'd find their number online and give them a call.

Park in Vail Village. It's probably the most convenient mass parking (yeah, it still sucks and is a rip-off) and has good touristy shopping, ski museum, etc.

I don't remember the best way back to and through the Bowls at Vail because it frequently changes depending on the runs that are open (which tends to change around in the mornings because of snow, wind, conditions, etc.). Your best bet is to get to the top of the lift and go straight to the kiosk with the big map. There's pretty much always a member of the resort staff there to help people and they can tell you the best way back to where you want to go based on what's open at that time and day. Maybe someone who knows the mountain and its patterns better than I can pitch in with a more exact route. Yes, it often does take an hour and a half to two hours if you're going all the way back.

COUNT


----------



## danger (Oct 13, 2003)

the standard route into the back bowls is to park in the village and then take the vista bahn up to chair 4. this puts you in the center of the back bowls. from here you can also drop into blue sky which is a good bet to get away from the crowds. just keep in mind that getting anywhere at vail takes a few lifts and almost an hour so plan ahead! you might spend all morning getting into blue sky only to realize that you're hungry and now want to go back out for lunch. eating an early lunch, around 10am, might help. also, check out la cantina, on the second level of the vail village parking structure, for a tasty (and affordable) meal.
let me know if you have any more questions. i used to haunt that mtn. frequently.


----------



## Mike123 (Dec 10, 2007)

Thanks for the help.

Just one more thing, during the hollydays, I know crowds are going to be horrible, but in general. On a saturday wich resort is my best bet to avoid crowds, in summit. I was thinking maybe A-basin or loveland, but not sure if I am correct or not.


----------



## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

You are exactly right.


----------



## kp_hyde (May 29, 2006)

I live in Summit and you can find the portable oxygen bottles now at almost any ski shop around.


----------



## Peev (Oct 24, 2003)

You can find that stuff in almost any store in Summit - ski shops, gas stations, there's even a bar or two with it for sale. 

I think it's more a placebo effect than anything. It's a short term remedy, not a cure for altitude sickness. Personally, I wouldn't waste your money. Have your wife load up on water and make sure she's hydrated _before_ coming to elevation.


----------



## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

If you want to avoid the typical Vail crowds, take a few days at Beaver Creek. The crowds are *somewhat* less than Vail, and there's free parking down in Avon (get there early). And the skiing is phenomenal, in my opinion, once you know where to go. There's no 'back bowls', but there's drawbacks to that too. 

There are 2 ways to get back to Blue Sky - 

Village: Chair 4 to Chair 11 puts you at Sundown, then take the cat track down and around to the left as far as you can go. 

From Golden Peak, catch Chair 6 (Riva Bahn) to Chair 10 (Highline), then traverse to the Sourdough- that's the most lifts, but you can be one of the first back to Two Elks & there's less traversing. It used to be a good option when there were crowds because no one wanted to sit on a slow, cold triple (double?) -Highline- to get to the backside. But now that it's high-speed that might get more traffic....


----------

