Big updates coming to Colorado ski resorts
Colorado Ski Country USA members are announcing some exciting updates for the upcoming winter season, including the two ski resorts in Grand County.
There are significant capital improvements in progress at ski areas across the state and locally along with new food and beverage installations, according to a release.
Winter Park will welcome several new food and beverage options for guests this season. Ember at Snoasis is an outdoor woodfired dining facility overlooking Winter Park; Bradley’s at the Base will give guests scratch-made chicken dishes; and the well-known Front Range restaurant Stoney’s Bar and Grill will be opening a location in the Winter Park Village this season.
Season pass holders can get the Ten Buck Huck, offering a hearty breakfast burrito and a 16 oz coffee every morning this year. Pop up dining will return in several on-mountain locations and online mobile ordering will also be back for the season.
New this winter, Winter Park will offer guests sunset guided skiing and riding experiences. Guests can also enjoy sunset by taking free Gondola rides to Sunspot after 4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to enjoy apres and the view.
Down the road, Granby Ranch has expanded its snowmaking capabilities, tripling the acreage with snowmaking to 115 acres for the 2021-22 season that should provide guests a more consistent and earlier snow surface. The release said guests will also enjoy increased connectivity as new fiber has been installed over the summer.
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area enters its 75th season this year. Guests can enjoy Arapahoe Basin’s new food and beverage venue, Steilhang Hut, serving gourmet, made-in-Colorado sausages, warm pretzels, strudel and German beer in a warming hut with bathrooms. Arapahoe Basin will also only sell lift tickets online and in advance this season.
Aspen Snowmass will be celebrating 75 years with a brand refresh and new logo at Aspen Mountain and Snowmass this year, with Highlands and Buttermilk to follow next year. Visitors can also enjoy the new Alpin Room in the High Alpine restaurant at Snowmass that pays homage to the ski culture and a menu influenced by the Swiss, French and Austrian Alps.
Aspen Mountain has undergone upgrades over the summer and fall with the Silver Queen Gondola receiving a new cable and the Aspen Mountain Club being remodeled.
Cooper will welcome a new restaurant for winter 2021-22 called Timberline Taproom and Trading Post featuring a sawmill theme and an array of Colorado beers and light fares. Guests can also enjoy a new, streamlined rental and retail space featuring a 20% increase in capacity for rentals and 35% for the retail space.
Copper Mountain is launching the Western Territory, an area on the resort’s western-most side dedicated to inspiring beginner skiers, kids and families to connect with Copper’s history and heritage. It will include two new family-friendly adventure zones, two new trails and a connector trail that offer skill development and animation to help families learning the sport.
Copper will also be keeping free unrestricted parking in the Alpine and Far East parking lots this year.
Brothers Grill at Echo Mountain Resort will feature new menu items and the pizza truck has a new home to provide more convenient access to the mountain for guests. Guests visiting Echo will need to purchase tickets or season passes in advance.
Guests heading to Eldora this winter will not need to make a parking reservation, although single occupancy vehicles will be assessed a $10 parking charge on weekends and holidays in accordance with Boulder County’s sustainable-transportation priorities. Guests can take advantage of the free round trip transportation program offered in conjunction with RTD from downtown Boulder.
Howelsen Hill has seen significant investment heading into the winter including the new triple chair Barrows chairlift, which will replace the old double chairlift. A new ticket office and concession area will offer separate facilities and enhanced concession options.
Loveland Ski Area will begin offering Snowcat tours in Dry Gulch, just east of Lift 8, a new guided backcountry experience. The entire snowcat can be booked for groups as well as individual seats. The Loveland Valley Lodge has undergone a significant expansion which will triple the seating available in the cafeteria, expand the rental shop and provide additional capacity at the Ski and Ride school.
Monarch Mountain will increase parking capacity in its Paradise Parking lot by 200 parking spaces and utilize RFID technology to improve guest flow through the chairlift loading process. A new food operation, Shredders, will offer guests a new dining option when visiting Monarch.
Powderhorn Resort will continue to make improvements to its gravity fed snowmaking system, which has allowed the ski area to operate earlier and later into the season. Guests can also enjoy a coffee, treat or pizza from the new coffee shop, Sunrise Coffee & Pizza.
Purgatory Resort continues to undergo upgrades including improvements to the snowmaking infrastructure, new snow groomers to improve snow surface conditions, modernizing existing lifts with new electric motors and digital drives and thinning and removing trees across the mountain. Snowboarding guests can also enjoy a new Burton snowboard rental fleet.
Silverton will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of its chairlift all season long with events and celebrations to be announced throughout the season.
Phase One of Steamboat’s Full Steam Ahead project will be complete for the upcoming season featuring an expanded base area, streamlined arrival process and the realignment of the Gondola to better improve guest spacing and flow. Guests can also enjoy the return of Routtie’s in the Torian Plum Plaza serving delicious BBQ.
Sunlight Mountain Resort will welcome several new guest improvements this season including an expanded lower parking lot, six new electric vehicle charging stations, a new website featuring an online store, and new ticketing, season pass and lift scanning software.
Telluride Ski Resort will provide guests with 40 new acres of beginner and intermediate skiing including the new Grouse Glades and will welcome a $1 million upgrade to its snowmaking system covering 60 acres. There will also be new daily direct air service from Phoenix via Denver Air and Houston through American Airlines.
Ski resorts are expected to release additional COVID-19 information for the 2021-22 season as appropriate as the season approaches, but guests are encouraged to Know Before You Go by checking ski area websites and other channels for the most up to date information on what to expect during their visit.
| 2021-22 Winter Operating Dates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Resort | Open | Close |
| Arapahoe Basin | Mid-October | June TBD |
| Aspen Highlands | Dec. 11 | April 10 |
| Aspen Mountain | Nov. 25 | April 17 |
| Buttermilk | Dec. 11 | April 3 |
| Cooper | Dec. 8 | April 17 |
| Copper Moutain | Nov. 22 | April 24 |
| Echo Mountain | Nov. 26 | April 17 |
| Eldora | Nov. 19 | April 17 |
| Granby Ranch | Dec. 11 | April 3 |
| Hesperus | Dec. 17 | March 20 |
| Howelsen Hill | Nov. 28 | April 3 |
| Kendall Mountain | TBA | TBA |
| Loveland | Late October | Early May |
| Monarch | TBA | April 3 |
| Powderhorn | Nov. 26 | April 27 |
| Purgatory | Nov. 20 | April 4 |
| Silverton | Dec. 30 | April 17 |
| Snowmass | Nov. 25 | April 17 |
| Steamboat | Nov. 20 | April 10 |
| Sunlight | Dec. 10 | April 3 |
| Telluride | Nov. 25 | April 17 |
| Winter Park | Nov. 17 | Mid-May |
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