marzNC
Angel Diva
With kids, that's different. Better to just ask a host at the base for current snow conditions in your favorite areas.We did a free tour in 2020, but it felt like they guide had to take us the "approved" tour. He pointed out certain trails, but wasn't allowed to actually take us on any of them. The kids hated it (it was like dangling treats in front of them but telling them they couldn't eat any), and after 1.5 hours we had to politely part ways.
The advantage of a free tour is that you can ask questions of the host about the terrain that you can see from the groomer for future reference. It's fine to join or leave at any point.
A few years ago I did one run with a host who I'd chatted with at the base earlier in the week. He was from New York City (so am I). He had been an instructor at Vail for a few years after retirement. Happened to spot him leaving the trail map at the top of Ram8. I was skiing solo at the time. He took his group down the "blue groomer" towards the base but it had snowed so much overnight that there was a lot of pushed around snow. Most of the group had a hard time to keep up. He made it look easy. When we got to the bottom I saw a few friends I hadn't skied with yet, so I said a quick goodbye and rode up with them.