It's a bright winter day at Colorado's Vail/Eagle Airport, with the blinding sunshine rivaled by crowds outfitted in Louis Vuitton and Prada skiwear. Fresh arrivals stream forth from a handful of gates: a parade of fur-lined hats, dark sunglasses, and high-heeled boots wholly impractical for use in the snow.

This, however, is where the road to the ski trail diverges. Rather than join the high-fashion masses headed for Vail's glitzy slopes, I'm on my way to Vail's fresher-faced sister resort.

With an intimate, laid-back mountain scene, family-friendly Beaver Creek has been quietly amassing a devoted following since 1980. World-class but not too showy, the resort does upscale on a smaller scale. Its unusual layout puts beginners at the top: A cluster of gentle green runs at the 11,440-foot summit of Beaver Creek Mountain—Red Buffalo, Jack Rabbit Alley, and Flattops among them—lets newbies experience high-altitude mountain views typically accessible only to experienced skiers.

Lest you think this mountain is tame, however, there's a lot more ground to cover—namely, the Talons. With 40 trails covering about a third of the mountain's skiable acreage, this expert territory extends from the Birds of Prey Express Lift to Grouse Mountain Express and over to Larkspur Bowl. This season, the site already has played host to four World Cup races.

This year, Beaver Creek has added a super-pipe to supplement three other freestyle terrain areas and built two new high-speed, four-person chairs, which provide faster and more convenient service from the resort's lower parking lot and the Bachelor Gulch area back to Beaver Creek's main base village. Bachelor Gulch is a recent development on the ski hill; it includes a Ritz-Carlton hotel with its posh residence club and Remington's restaurant, a great place to have a light lunch and watch skiers glide down the slope.

The trails we zoom down are on National Forest System lands, and the mountain is managed in partnership with the Forest Service. From the lifts, we spot meandering fox and rabbit tracks between tree areas purposefully designed to give animals shelter as they make their way across the mountain.

On the other side of the ridge from Bachelor Gulch, we find Beaver Creek's main base village is just as carefully planned. It's a compact, pedestrian-only center with high-end restaurants, galleries, shops, an ice rink, even a performance center. Heated escalators carry visitors from the lower village to the base of Centennial Express, the resort's central high-speed quad. Free shuttles run to and from the village; several ski-ways also link the base area to Beaver Creek's ski-in, ski-out properties.

One of these is the Pines, just up the hill from the Strawberry Park Express Lift and a short stroll across the footbridge from Centennial Express. The lodge is owned and managed by RockResorts and has a charming ambience all its own.

Hot chocolate and teas are laid out every afternoon near the lobby fireplace. Encircled by overstuffed sofas, it's a lovely spot to read the paper, take a snooze, or just kick back with a plateful of warm chocolate chip cookies.

Rooms at the Pines are cozy and well appointed for a ski getaway. There's a pillowy bench near the door to facilitate the process of putting on or pulling off cumbersome ski or snowboard boots, and a humidifier to keep your air passages from drying out in the crisp mountain air. Other thoughtful touches include cubbies for tucking things away, a row of coat hooks in the entry, boot-dryers in the closet, and, of course, floor-to-ceiling glass doors overlooking the mountain scene below.

The hotel restaurant, Grouse Mountain Grill, is also one of the mountain's best; the chef, Rick Kangas, has been honored by Wine Spectator, Zagat, and the James Beard Foundation. Friendly, attentive service is paired with rich dishes that manage an inventive flair without being gimmicky. Seared scallops on black barley are perfectly browned and plump, the mussels in red chili sauce surprising and delicious, served with a glazed sweet potato bread excellent for soaking up the complex, spicy sauce. For dessert, apple bread pudding with homemade cinnamon ice cream is outstanding. The restaurant feels intimate, though a hopping jazz band and the buzz of conversation liven up the piano bar area. Ask for a seat by the fireplace for maximum warmth and ambience.

The rest of Beaver Creek's culinary scene is equally impressive. At Beano's Cabin, Thomas Gay offers an innovative fixed menu that spotlights wild game (roasted pheasant breast, venison chop with a fontina cheese and potato tart); Daniel Joly's Mirabelle features Belgian-French cuisine (sweetbread and spinach cannelloni with watercress flan and ginger foam); SaddleRidge showcases the largest private collection of Western artifacts (Annie Oakley's gun, historic paintings and photos, Custer's saddle) along with a menu strong in game and seafood (try the house special, citrus-soy marinated duck with shiitakes and horseradish mashed potatoes).

David Walford's Splendido is also a winner, serving modern American dishes influenced by French Provenal cooking (Dover sole with caper brown butter sauce) and Italian (pan-roasted rabbit with prosciutto, sage, and macaroni and cheese) at the opulent Chateau Residence Club in Beaver Creek.

You don't have to spend big to get great food and drink here, however. The resort's liveliest aprs-ski scene is at Coyote Cafe, a favorite with ski patrollers and locals. It's Beaver Creek's self-proclaimed "first bar and restaurant," where Colorado-crafted microbrews (11 are on tap, and another 11 are available by the bottle) and a really good burrito reign supreme. At each table, condiments are stored in six-pack cardboard containers bearing the names of local breweries such as Flying Dog and Oscar Blue. Popular menu staples include quesadillas, hefty burgers, crispy beef tacos, and tuna melts in panini.

Beaver Creek is an alpine paradise that hasn't forgotten what it's like to be small. After 3 p.m., volunteers in white chef's togs wait for skiers at the base of Centennial Express and throughout the village, serving warm cookies on silver trays. From the elated expressions on the faces of everyone from shivering, pink-nosed 4-year-olds to 60-something mountain veterans, you'd think that they had each just won a new pair of skis.

Like the lights that twinkle in the village after dark, it's just one of the tiny touches that make Vail's little sister postcard perfect and big at heart.

TRAVELER'S TASTE
Fine dining is just a sleigh ride away.

Like Vail and Aspen, Beaver Creek has an after-hours food scene to rival the action on the slopes. You can take your pick of swank dining all over the resort village, and even up on the ski hill. One of the most unusual dining experiences on the mountain is a place you can't drive to, though it's just a snowy sleigh ride away: Beano's Cabin.

My first visit to the restaurant was last year, for a relaxed midday meal. Flanked by huge windows under high, exposed-beam ceilings, lunch was a sunny, laid-back affair, and I recall a plate of excellent fish tacos that was refreshingly light and tasty—an ideal meal that managed to provide fuel for an afternoon of snowboarding without turning my stomach to lead.

This time around, I find dinner is a complete event all its own; the four-course fixed-price menu won't allow for anything else but reclining after the meal. At night, open-air sleighs, both horse-drawn and pulled by snow cat, depart from the heart of Beaver Creek's village, adjacent to the Beaver Creek Chophouse. (If you want to get a ride on a pony-pulled sleigh, you'll have to score an early reservation, as it takes an hour and a half each way; rides driven by snow cat take 20-25 minutes).

Even if you're pulled by machine, there's something exhilarating about being in an open carriage in the frigid winter air. My friend Esther joins me for the ride, and we huddle with other guests under piles of wool blankets. A canopy of stars wink above, and as we chug up the ski slope, the moonlit village seems to open up at our feet. All kinds of night critters scamper along with us, or so we're told: Mice are attracted to the vibration of the snow cat, and after they pop up, foxes chase them to the next hiding hole.

An unexpected sight greets us when we arrive at the cabin: a big ball of a mama porcupine, prickly-spined and snacking on bread set out for her by the restaurant staff. After some oohing and aahing, we dart quickly toward the warm glow of the foyer. Gas lamps light the interior and the big open kitchen; painted white tiles and hanging antique pots and pans are the centerpiece of the restaurant. A double fireplace, which separates the front of the dining room from the entrance bar and cocktail lounge, is adorned with a pair of old-fashioned snowshoes and extra-long vintage wooden skis.

Accustomed by this time to the riches of Beaver Creek's dining scene, Esther and I vow to pace ourselves. From the start, it's a tough promise to keep. A luscious amuse-bouche arrives from the chef: a pureed white-bean soup with a drizzle of pesto oil, served in a tiny, long-handled pot and accompanied by a selection of crusty breads with soft, substantive interiors, including olive, raisin-walnut, and ciabatta.

The service is efficient and observant without being overbearing. When I leave most of the goat cheese and onions on my salad plate, our server notices as he clears the plates away.

"You should have told me, I could have done something about that," he says in an agreeable, not admonishing, way.

The table dressings are simple and elegant, with clean lines and little fuss. It gives Beano's Western lodge a classy, modern feel. For appetizers, we choose the garlic, mushroom, and mozzarella pizza (made with dough tossed right before our eyes) and the duck. Both are fragrant and crisp, with deep, richly smoky flavors. For main courses, we order shellfish-crusted Arctic char and Colorado lamb. Beautifully browned, the char arrives on a bed of delicate baby vegetables and basmati rice, with ginger butter. The lamb loin comes with creamed leeks, shiitakes, and fingerling potatoes.

By dessert, we're full, but forge on. We prefer the simplicity of the house-made coconut sorbet to the vanilla-bean cake, which is rich enough on its own but comes overdressed with a ribbon of intensely tart raspberry coulis and two chocolate-filled cookies. After ordering espresso to aid in digestion, we sit back in our chairs, as predicted, for a good long while.

With live music and the constant bustle of sleighs arriving and departing bearing their customer cargo, the restaurant is a busy, noisy place. Intimate it's not, but Beano's Cabin is more than worth the nighttime trip for the excellent food and service. Next time, I'm taking the horse-pulled sleigh, if only to have more time to digest.

Meet in the bar adjacent to the Beaver Creek Chophouse in Beaver Creek Village; 970-949-9090. Fixed price dinner is $94 per person.