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Vast terrain, fresh snow, and few skiers -- the famed back bowls of Vail, Colo.'s largest ski area.

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Winter fun in Vail, Colorado

Vast terrain, fresh snow, and few skiers -- the famed back bowls of Vail, Colo.'s largest ski area. Photo Credit: TW photo by Robert Silk

Vast terrain, fresh snow, and few skiers -- the famed back bowls of Vail, Colo.'s largest ski area.

The crowd is thick as a Saturday ski day offering fresh powder gets underway at Vail.

Jon Groves (back), the author's friend, tackles more than a foot of freshly fallen snow with instruction from private guide Brad Allen.

A skier tackles 13 inches of fresh powder.

Mount Massive, the third highest peak in the Continental U.S., is among Sawatch Range mountains that looms in the distance on a Nova Guides snowmobile tour in the White River National Forest.

A snowmobiling group at the concessionaire Nova Guides prepares to head into the surrounding mountains above Camp Hale. Machinegun Ridge is the highest peak in the distance.

A snowmobiler nears the top of Machinegun Ridge in the White River National Forest. This part of the forest was home to the Camp Hale training facility during World War II for Colorado's 10th Mountain Division, an elite group of skiers who were training for combat in the Alps. The ridge sits nearly 12,000 feet high.

The Lodge at Vail keeps its pool at around 90 degrees. Reservations are required for the hot tubs.

Rooms at the Lodge of Vail are within eyeshot of the main Vail gondola.

German flair at Almresi in Vail, which promotes itself as, "where the Alps meet the Rockies."

Diners at the newly opened Slope Room bistro at the Gravity Haus Hotel in Vail Village.