China Bowl is reached via Sun Up Lift, Tea Cup Express Lift, and Sourdough Lift. The high-speed quad servicing the terrain is wonderful. From the top, survey your options. Maybe take a run down the groomed Poppyfields east to check out the bowl. Next run, try a steeper route where the snow looks good. Any of the bowl terrain is wonderful on a powder day, bumped up after those days.

Searching for powder? Hit the glades and explore. It's in there, even when the rest of the bowl is powder-free. Don't push yourself hard, but try new things. The best way to become a complete skier is to become familiar with a variety of terrain and conditions, all of which are offered up in the China Bowl.

Vail is easy to get to, just off the interstate. You can either fly into the Denver or Eagle airport to access Vail. Eagle is closer but sometimes costs more and has fewer flights per day. The ski area is huge and has many lifts and trails. It has 5,289 skiable acres with 34 lifts and 193 runs. The longest run is 4 miles. The peak elevation is 11,570 feet and the base elevation is 8,120 feet. They have more than one base area, so there are many hotels and condos close to the lifts. The base is full of shops, restaurants, hotels, and condos. You can buy lift tickets that are not only good for the Vail ski area but for other ski areas, too. The runs at Vail were all really good, and they have a wide range of terrain. They had groomed skiing and non-groomed skiing and bowl skiing. The area was huge and could not all be covered in one day. They offer a range of beginner, intermediate, and advanced runs. They also have a large ski school for all ages. I enjoyed Vail because of the many different types of runs, and it was such a large area that you didn’t have to continue to ski the same runs. The problem with Vail was the crowds. This area was very crowded, and you had to wait in lines for the lifts. This was probably the most crowded ski area I have been to. I like to have a little more personal space on the runs and it not to be so congested.

Before you go on, just know that I didn't get hurt. Vail makes it obviously apparent when you are about to get yourself into a world of hurt. That aside, I still didn't hesitate to take advantage of some relatively fresh powder (Vail claims that it gets a lot, but in the week we were there we only got a good dumping once,) and try our luck on a treed-up black diamond. Not only was it the most fun I had ever had on skis before that point, it was also a turning point for my skiing.

Vail is a great big, expansive place. You can take a lift (or gondola) up one side and ski down the other, have lunch, and then ski to another area and explore. The area is literally a "ski town" and boasts some serious off-hill activies. Be sure to have a Fat Tire beer while visiting (I bought a keg).

Vail is the Microsoft of the ski industry, and that has its ups and downs--on the plus side, they take excellent care of their slopes, patrol their backcountry well (from what other friends on the trip have said), and are very friendly. The downside includes expensive lift tickets and food (in the villages), and big crowds. The colder months are a little less crowded but are also colder, so aim for late December and early January if you want to beat the crowds.

Life off the slopes starts in Vail Village, an Austrian-inspired hub of activity featuring an amazing array of 70 restaurants, shop-lined lanes and an extraordinary range of convenient accommodations. We even found Ryan's fire station that was featured on the Bachelorette (Ryan & Trista season).

The kids are welcomed everywhere and are likely to have a blast at Fort Whippersnapper and its ski-through "Lost Mine".

Vail is very much a world of its own, superb at everything it offers and determined to stay that way. We were impressed with its very wide runs and absolutely beautiful powder snow. This place is everything it's hyped up to be. Wow!!