Breckenridge Ski Resort opens Imperial chairlift on Peak 8 following large controlled avalanche caught on video
JP Douvalakis/Breckenridge Ski Resort
People riding 6-Chair at Breckenridge Ski Resort on Friday, Jan. 3, were treated to an up-close view of an avalanche that ripped the snow from Imperial Bowl a day before the highest chairlift in North America opened to the public.
Imperial SuperChair, which reaches its top terminal at 12,840 feet elevation, opened for the season Saturday, Jan. 4, following the large controlled slide.
Senior communications manager Sara Lococo said the avalanche, which was recorded by various people while ascending 6-Chair Friday, was part of the resort’s planned avalanche mitigation work as patrollers worked to open Imperial SuperChair to the public. Lococo said the resort posted a video of the slide to its social media channels as a reminder to guests to respect terrain closures.
“We regularly conduct avalanche mitigation work from the Peak 8 summit for Imperial and can do so while 6-Chair is operating,” Lococo said.
The avalanche scar and debris spanned nearly the entire bowl that lies directly south of Peak 8’s summit.
The addition of Imperial SuperChair brings access to even more high-Alpine terrain at Breckenridge Ski Resort, which has received 44 inches of new snow in the past two weeks. The resort currently has roughly double the amount of snowfall and terrain open than it had this time last season.
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