Summit County resorts open new lifts, ski runs and high-Alpine areas in preparation for Christmas in Colorado
Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
Editor’s Note: Each Thursday throughout the winter, the Summit Daily News will provide a terrain update that will inform skiers and riders on what trails are open at various mountains before they head out to the slopes.
The Thanksgiving weekend was a sight to behold for skiers and riders in Summit County.
In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, ski areas saw multiple feet of snow, allowing guests to plunge deep into early-season powder and enjoy some fresh turns before indulging in a holiday meal.
While the Colorado High Country has yet to be hit with another significant snowstorm, Summit County ski areas are continuing to open up new terrain thanks in large part to the snowstorm during the week of Thanksgiving.
Arapahoe Basin starts spinning the Pallavicini Lift
Those who frequent Arapahoe Basin Ski Area know that new terrain openings can often be limited in the early season.
Composed of mostly natural terrain on steep slopes, A-Basin usually sees a handful of major openings over the first two months of the season before rope drops really ramp near the New Year.
Despite opening on Nov. 2, A-Basin has managed to quickly open up terrain this season. After successfully giving skiers and riders access to the upper part of the mountain via the Lenawee Lift last week, A-Basin started spinning the Pallavicini Lift on Thursday, Dec. 5.
The opening of the lift will give guests access to the Slalom Slope, Grizzly Road, Powder Keg, Scutter, Challenger and Radical trails. Additionally, A-Basin will offer limited openings on the east side of the lift including Pallavicini all the way to Rock Garden.
“The Pallavicini area is A-Basin’s legendary, front-side advanced and expert terrain,” communications manager Shayna Silverman said. “The primarily double-black Pallavicini runs are big mountain skiing that is accessible directly from the base area with a single lift ride.”
Keystone gives access to North Peak via Mozart
After nearly a week of skiers and riders taking the Outpost Gondola to North Peak, guests can now make their way there via the Mozart trail.
The blue-level trail officially opened for the winter season earlier this week and connects the summit of Dercum Mountain to the base of North Peak.
On Friday, Dec. 6, Keystone will open its Discovery Learning Area out of its Mountain House Base Area. The learning area will offer another beginner-friendly area for guests to grow their skill levels before attempting to conquer more advanced terrain.
In the weeks ahead, Keystone will look towards The Outback. According to communications manager Max Winter, snowmaking teams are already hard at work on the south side of North Peak as well as trails in The Outback like Elk Run.
Once all three of Keystone’s peaks open, Keystone will turn its attention to its high-Alpine terrain in Bergman Bowl. Accessed by Keystone’s newest chairlift — Bergman Express — Bergman Bowl relies almost entirely on natural snowfall to open. With the snowfall Keystone has already received this season, the resort is hopeful that Bergman Bowl can open in a few weeks.
West Village comes online at Copper
On Friday, Dec. 6, Copper Mountain Resort will open up West Village and its associated services.
Kokomo Express is expected to open alongside West Village on Friday while on Saturday, Dec. 7, the Lumberjack Lift is expected to start spinning. The addition of the two, West Village lifts will allow Copper to open several beginner trails in the Western Territory.
“The Western Territory is Copper’s area dedicated to beginner and family progression,” communications and philanthropy manager Olivia Butrymovich said. “With these new terrain additions, we are skiing and riding out of all three villages, and are well over 50% open at Copper.”
In terms of terrain park offerings, Copper is set to open the Medium Line in Central Park on Saturday, Dec. 7, and will have its progression parks off of Kokomo Express open by the weekend.
Breckenridge gives guests taste of high-Alpine terrain
Last weekend, Breckenridge made major progress in opening up terrain for its holiday weekend crowds. In the span of a few days, Breckenridge opened the Rocky Mountain SuperChair, E-Chair and T-Bar, giving skiers and riders access to steeper, more advanced terrain.
The opening of T-Bar has allowed guests to enjoy Horseshoe Bowl including Contest Bowl and Cucumber Bowl, as well as the majority of terrain under 6-Chair. Although 6-Chair is not yet spinning for the season, the terrain is open so skiers and riders can ski down to the Peak 8 SuperConnect mid-station or E-Chair to get up and out of that terrain pod.
Additionally, the Gondola Ski Back trail is now open in addition to the resort’s town access via the base of Peak 9. The opening of the trail allows guests to have two options to get from the mountain to Main Street.
For this weekend, Breckenridge hopes to open more of its expert terrain on Peak 9. Prospective trails include The Windows and hike-to terrain like the Back 9 and The Twin Chutes.
Uphill access is now open on Peak 9 outside of operating hours. The current route consists of Silverthorne, Lower American, Cashier and the Peak 9 patrol hut.
Breckenridge is planning to have Peak 7 terrain open heading into next weekend. Closely following the opening of Peak 7, Breckenridge will plan to open North Bowl terrain off of T-Bar.
Loveland Ski Area opens Lift 6 run
On Thursday, Dec. 5, Loveland Ski Area announced that it has opened the Roulette trail off of Lift 6. The blue-level trail cuts underneath Lift 6 before connecting with the lower portion of Tempest.
While Roulette will be Loveland’s only planned opening for the weekend, the ski area plans to open Loveland Valley’s Lift 3 on Monday, Dec. 9.
Mountain operation teams at Loveland will now shift their focus to the Ptarmigan Lift, which the ski area hopes to open next week. As of Thursday, Loveland is currently offering five lifts and 17 trails across its mountain.
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