Two significant lift replacements and snowmaking improvements at three resorts highlight what’s new in Colorado skiing for 2024-25.
Copper Mountain has replaced the conventional four-person Timberline lift, which served beginner and intermediate terrain at the west end of the resort, with a six-person high-speed lift. At Snowmass, the four-person Coney Glade chair has been replaced by a high-speed quad cleverly called the Coney Express.
Copper’s new high-speed six-person Timberline Express is part of the resort’s multiyear expansion transforming what it calls the Western Territory, which primarily serves families, beginners and intermediates. The goal is to help them progress comfortably from easy to more difficult terrain. Because of its unique topography, Copper’s easiest terrain is concentrated at the western end of the resort and increases in difficulty progressively from west to east.
“We’ve had a lift in this space for decades, but this will increase capacity and allow for a smoother experience,” said resort spokeswoman Olivia Butrymovich. “We’ve done a lot of work there the past three years. We’ve cut five new trails. Some are glades, some are normal beginner trails. It was to create varied terrain that people could progress through in a safe, comfortable environment. They might never have had access to gladed skiing before. This is an area that can expose them to that, before they move eastward on the mountain.”
The new Coney Express at Snowmass will have a bottom terminal situated further down the mountain than the lift it replaces. It will be situated adjacent to the Snowmass Mall, substantially increasing uphill capacity out of the base area.
Winter Park is touting a $37-million upgrade to its snowmaking system, which hadn’t had a major upgrade since it was installed in the 1970s. Resort officials say it includes four new pumphouses, a 13-million-gallon reservoir, seven miles of new pipe and modern technology with new compressors, pumps, 20,000 feet of electrical wiring and almost 200 new snowmaking guns.
Loveland has added four new snowguns at Loveland Valley, the beginner area located about a half-mile east of Loveland’s main mountain complex. Telluride has added snow guns and seven new groomers.
Arapahoe Basin will be requiring reservations to park before 1 p.m. on weekends and holidays from Dec. 21 through May 4. The cost is $20 and reservations must be purchased online. Resort officials say the policy has nothing to do with the area’s pending sale to Alterra Mountain Company and is intended to improve the visitor experience, given the area’s limited parking landscape at the foot of Loveland Pass. The Alterra sale is under consideration by the U.S. Justice Department.
“As a ski area, we are constantly tinkering with our operation to make it the best possible experience and keep A-Basin a true skier’s and rider’s mountain,” explains a post regarding the new parking policy on A-Basin’s website, adding that the new policy is intended to ensure that “everyone who has planned in advance to ski can come and ski, not turn around because of a (traffic) backup, or because they can’t get a parking spot.”
Eldora Mountain Resort will debut the Caribou Lodge, which will house a new children’s center, some food and beverage operations, restrooms and a headquarters for Ignite Adaptive Sports.
There are two notable additions to the competitive side of Colorado skiing.
Beaver Creek, which has been hosting men’s Olympic-level alpine World Cup downhill, super-G and giant slalom racing the weekend after Thanksgiving since the late 1990s, is adding women’s races this year. The men will race downhill, super-G and giant slalom as usual, Dec. 6-8. The women will race downhill and super-G, Dec. 14-15. Colorado’s Mikaela Shiffrin, who holds the World Cup record of 97 wins, has said she probably won’t race downhill this season, but she figures to be a favorite in the Beaver Creek super-G just a few miles from her home in Edwards.
Copper Mountain, long a fixture on the ski and snowboard halfpipe circuit with its annual December U.S. Grand Prix, is adding a nighttime X Games Street Style pro event to be held concurrently with the Grand Prix. Grand Prix halfpipe events will be held Dec. 18-21, while the X Games competition will be held under the lights on Dec. 20-21.
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