Hugh Hefner's favorite Playboy bunnies take over Vail slopes

Hugh Hefner allowed his three favorite girlfriends time away from the hutch, aka the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, to hit the slopes of Vail for snowboarding lessons.

Of course, 80-year-old Hefner's permission was also part of a plan that included a trademark promotion for his Playboy Enterprises.

Holly Madison, 27, Bridget Marquardt, 33, and Kendra Wilkinson, 21, were in Vail to tape an episode of the E! network's "The Girls Next Door," which premiered the first episode of its third season Sunday.

The three blonde former Playboy Playmates were paired with Olympic gold medalist Shaun White during the lessons. The episode will air next month on E!, which boasts "The Girls Next Door" remains the network's highest-rated series.

During their time here for the show's taping, Madison, described as the Playboy founder's "No. 1 girlfriend," was mum about last month's media buzz that had sources saying Hef had asked her to become his wife and the third Mrs. Hefner to date.

Although at one time Hefner had one of his famed Playboy Clubs in Denver, he never realized his dream of opening properties in celeb-heavy Vail and Aspen to serve his "keyholding members."