Skiing’s world championships open tonight in Vail-Beaver Creek: three travel tips

AP

Lindsey Vonn and  Mikaela Shiffrin, are in Vail-Beaver Creek for the next few weeks for the FIS World Championships.

The official opening ceremony happens tonight: organizers are keeping the details a secret, but gates open at 5 p.m. and the event starts at 7 p.m. If you're thinking of heading up to take in the spectacle tonight or any other time, here are a few tips to make things easier:

1. Check out this handy schedule from event organizers. Every calendar day has detailed information on times, venues, and spectator locations, including interactive maps and more. (Beware you can't bookmark individual pages.)
2. Most folks will likely drive to the Vail valley, which means coping with the usual traffic nightmares on I-70. Bookmark cotrip.org on your smartphone for advance warning on backups. On Twitter, follow @EagleCountyPIO for official updates, too.
3. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of the free buses once you get up there because parking is guaranteed to be a challenge.

Vonn and Shiffren are ranked 3rd and 4th respectivel in the World Cup standings, while the highest ranked American male is Ted Ligetty at 14th.  Here's some recent video of all three, including Vonn's downhill victory last week in Italy matched the seemingly unbeatable record of 62 World Cup wins set by Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Proell that had stood for 35 years.