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Vail's Early Days: What the Famous Ski Resort Used to Look Like

In honor of Vail's 50th anniversary, we asked Morrie Shepard, the original director of the Vail Ski School, to recall the destination's beginnings.
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Conde Nast Traveler

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The results of our annual ski poll are out, and Vail ranks among the best (no. 7 in the U.S. and Canada, to be exact). More notably, the resort celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. In honor of the milestone, we asked Morrie Shepard, the original director of the Vail Ski School, to recall the destination's beginnings.

-- Alex Pasquariello, Condé Nast Traveler

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    • Vintage Vail: Looking Back at the Ski Resorts Early Days
    (01 of07)
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    Vail Village was modeled on Switzerland's Zermatt, with a cobblestone pedestrian main street and buildings inspired by Tyrolean architecture."Pete [Seibert] and Earl [Eaton] were the impetus behind Vail. The rest of us tagged along and had a whole lot of fun. I had the privilege of skiing with Pete his whole life -- we grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts, and even then he cut ski trails into a little hill outside of town."Read More: Amazing Christmas Trees Around the WorldCourtesy of Vail
    (02 of07)
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    Though the snow is usually softer in the spring, making for slower skiing, some early visitors to Vail realized that an accordion more than compensated."In April 1962, I was working in Aspen, and Pete told me I had to see this ski mountain he was working on. We took a snowcat and looked out over the Vail Valley and what would become Sun Up Bowl. It was beautiful."Read More: Tourist Trap AlternativesCourtesy of Vail
    (03 of07)
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    Created to be Vail Resort's base village, the town of Vail was incorporated in 1966, four years after the resort opened."The bowl had a crust of corn snow, and we skied all the way down to the aspens. Those tracks became Vail's Forever trail -- because it took forever to get back up the mountain." Read More: The Top 100 Hotels in the WorldCourtesy of Vail
    (04 of07)
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    At its founding in 1962, Colorado's Vail Resort had one gondola (seen here carrying skiers to Mid Vail), two chair lifts, eight ski instructors and nine runs."We built a gondola and two lifts the entire summer of '62. That first winter was rough, because there was no snow until late in the season --- we even invited Ute Indians to do a snow dance. I don't know if that was it, but the snow finally fell."Read More: Coolest Themed Hotel Rooms Around the WorldCourtesy of Vail
    (05 of07)
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    Early skiers in search of the good life came to Vail for its $5 lift tickets and proximity to Denver (the drive takes half as long as the trip to Aspen)."The day we opened Sun Up Bowl, there was a crowd of maybe 100 people -- I couldn't believe it! Pete and I headed down the ridge to watch."Read More: Where to Go For the ApocalypseCourtesy of Vail
    (06 of07)
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    Before apps and Wi-Fi, this phone was the best source for up-to-the-minute information on mountain conditions."Nobody had ever skied a powder bowl like that, and some of them turned all the way down, but plenty just fell into the snow. Pete and I stood there soaking it all in."Read More: 10 of the Snowiest Places Around the WorldCourtesy of Vail
    (07 of07)
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    Morrie Shepard was the Vail Ski School’s first director; an assistant, Rod Slifer, would later help lead the resort’s expansion."I'm 87 now, and I don't ski like I used to. But I still get my powder days, and I enjoy every turn. Every time I go to Vail, I can't believe what I'm seeing. I never could have dreamed that Vail would become what it is today, but Pete imagined it all along."Read More: The Top 100 Hotels in the WorldCourtesy of Vail

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