These are the places I recommend highly. You will not be disappointed.
Gear:
Double Diamond (Vail Villiage)
They have a great selection and a very knowledgable staff. Very happy with everything I bought there.
Ptarmigan Sports (Edwards,CO).
Take the local ECO-Bus from the Vail hq and ride it to the Riverwalk stop in Edwards. This place has everything and cheaper than Vail Villiage.
Vail Sports
This is a great shop in the heart of Vail Village. They have a large selection of gear and they also have a great tuning shop. So get your gear tuned there.
Food:
Red Lion
This is the place to be for apre-ski. You never know who you are going to run into. The owner, Phil, sings sometimes 6-8 hours a night and the wait staff is the best in Vail. The Vail Burger is to die for and the other food is all really good. I cannot recommend this place more. I have made some great friends here.
Covered Bridge Coffee
This is the anti-starbucks coffee shop to go to. Supported by all the Locals and some of the best coffee and coffee-like drinks you can get anywhere in Vail. You must try the Costa-rican coffee. Amazing.
Pavals Pizza
This pizza joing is always packed. Sit at the bar to get the local flavor. The food is superb and the cooks are great. They have all kinds of local pictures and memmoribilia on the walls and on the bar counter. Hightly recommended.
That’s it for now. more to come.