(Ed note: Updated March 2009)

For high-end, think Vail Marriott in Lionshead or Vail Mountain Lodge. If you stay at the cozy, St. Moritzesque Hotel Gastof Gramshammer at Pepi’s (Watch Video on Pepi's). in the village, you may run into Hermann Maier if not the entire the Austrian ski team and you’ll be smack in the middle of everything.

DAY 1: HIT THE FRONT SIDE OF VAIL

It’s a powder day (fingers crossed!), so grab a breakfast wrap at The Flying Burrito in Lionshead and get on the gondola. You don’t want to waste a second of this white utopia. Today's the day to explore the mountain. You will find a run you love, but don’t ski it all day. The next run will be a run you love. And the next. Get a trail map and set your compasses on wide range. You could ski every day for seven days and not hit all of Vail’s 193 marked trails. Plan to tackle as much as you can of the front side of Vail on Saturday.

When the mountain closes at 3:30 p.m., or even before if your legs get tired (which is when you should quit, since most knee injuries occur late in the day), pamper yourself with a massage or hot tub at Cascades Aria Spa and Club. While you’re at Cascade, hit the Fireside Bar for some live après music and a hot toddy before a couple of tapas plates, or go for the rock shrimp and the bruschetta at Blue Tiger.

Dining in Vail offers so many options (See our Dining Guide). But to make sure you indulge at least once and get a nice hearty meal for all of your hard work making turns on the hill, try Russell’s Steak House. (Watch Video on Russells) Don’t forget to drink lots of water.

If the adrenaline is still pounding despite your full day on the hill, head up Bridge Street for some dancing to live music at The Club or anything between live tunes, top 40 or techno at Samana Lounge (Watch Video on Samana Lounge). Don't get too crazy or dehydrated. You want to be functional for another mountain attack in the morning.

DAY 2: THE BACK BOWLS BECKON