Luxury Vail Hotel

History of Vail

Vail was the hunting ground and summer residence of the Ute Indians before the arrival of the white man in the mid-19th century. Irishman George Gore, known as Lord Gore, and American frontiersman Jim Bridger were among the first explorers to venture into the mountainous region. From 1854 to 1856, they spent the summers hunting and exploring the peaks northeast of what is now known as Vail. A few years later, Bridger returned to the region and named the mountain range and valley after Gore.

By the 1870s, the Gore Range was attracting fortune seekers as the news spread that its hills contained both gold and silver. Mines were set up and railroad tracks laid down to transport the precious metals. The greedy intruders drove the Ute Indians from the land; upon their departure, the Utes allegedly set fire to thousands of acres of trees, resulting in the deforested area today known as Vail's famous Back Bowls.

Vail, as we know it today, started in the 1940s after a group of buddies from the famous 10th Mountain Division ski troop returned from World War II to their training grounds in Gore Valley . The brave veterans were Pete Seibert, Bill "Sarge" Brown and Bob Parker. They fulfilled their dreams in 1965 and turned a tranquil sheep pasture into the now internationally famous Vail ski resort that encompasses 6 square miles of snowy ski trails.