After the jump is a round-up of some of the 2015 summer-oriented capital improvements at CSCUSA resorts as well as opening dates for summer operations.
Aspen Snowmass
Aspen Mountain Top
Aspen
Skiing Company is embarking on a multi-phase project beginning this
summer. Plans include enhancing the top of Aspen Mountain for visitors
and locals to enjoy the surrounding beauty and outdoors year-round. This
summer, Phase I will consist of a landscaping project including Rocky
Mountain flower gardens, picnic areas, new signage and kid’s play
features including hay bales, sand and water play, bean bag toss, a tree
house, lawn games and more. Also part of Phase I, and to begin this
fall, a complete renovation of the welcome plaza in between the Gondola
Building and the Sundeck will take place and include an expanded
observation deck for viewing the Elk Mountain Range. Phase II will
consist of future enhancements meant to inspire mind, body and spirit in
the great outdoors.
Bike Snowmass Trails
With
more than 50 miles of trails, Bike Snowmass offers everything from a
gravity-defying rush along a world-class downhill trail to gentle
single-track through meadows bursting with wildflowers. This spring, the
Vapor Trail is scheduled for further improvements with a tentative
completion timeframe of early summer. The Vapor Trail serves up 2.9
miles of downhill terrain and 1,400 feet of vertical drop. It begins at
the top of the Elk Camp Lift and descends through a wide-open meadow,
over bridges and berms and through groves of aspen and evergreen trees.
It eventually ends at the top of the Elk Camp Gondola, where riders can
connect to the rest of the Bike Snowmass trail network. This summer, the
trail will continue to be re-routed to improve flow.
For more information about summer activities at Aspen Snowmass, visit. www.aspensnowmass.com.
Crested Butte
Evolution Bike Park
This
summer, crews will build another blue intermediate trail near the
current trail of Awakening. There will also be a new technical piece of
trail off of the current Avery trail that will entertain expert
downhillers. This adrenaline filled addition to an already technical
descent is slated to open July 1 and will move through big rock
features. All three of these new sections will give gravity riders more
diversity, different features and more miles to ride on the already
existing 30 miles of single track.
In
addition, the Evolution Bike Park crew will partner with the Crested
Butte Mountain Bike Association to build a section of trail that will
connect the Bike Park’s Westside Trail to the Upper Loop, an existing US
Forest Service Trail that runs down to the town of Crested Butte;
creating a single track connection between the towns of Mt. Crested
Butte and Crested Butte.
Lift-accessed Archery Course
Crested
Butte is installing a 20-target archery course at the top of the Red
Lady Express Chairlift for archers to practice their skills all summer
long. Simulated mule deer, whitetail deer, black bear, fox, coyote and
Rocky Mountain elk targets will be set amongst the beautiful mountain
landscape in a format that will appeal to all ability levels. The loop
from the lift will cover a total of about one and a half miles and
return archers to the top of the lift, where they will download back to
the base area. The Mountain Adventures summer program will also be
offering archery lessons to kids seven years old and up.
For more information about summer activities at Crested Butte, visit www.skicb.com.
Steamboat
Steamboat Bike Park
This
summer, the freeride momentum continues in Steamboat with work on new
trail segments in the Steamboat Bike Park, a redesigned Steamboat Pump
Track in Ski Time Square, and finishes to the reroute of the popular Zig
Zag cross country trail. The Steamboat Bike Shop has expanded its
rental line and now includes a premium option from both Specialized and
Scott cycles, boasting a top of the line component package and the
latest in downhill technology.
For more information about summer activities at Steamboat, visit www.steamboat.com.
Winter Park
Green Horn-It!
A
brand-new addition to Trestle Bike Park, Green Horn-It! gives riders a
gravity experience without leaving the base area. Located adjacent to
Coca-Cola Tubing with convenient access from the Village Cabriolet and
Vintage Hotel parking lot, Green Horn-It! is a 1/3 third mile trail
designed to give beginners a taste of Winter Park’s Trestle Bike Park.
Featuring rollers, banked turns, bridges and a pump track, Green
Horn-It! is a perfect way to introduce kids to the fun of downhill
mountain biking. With the new beginner terrain, Trestle Bike Park
School is introducing “Intro to Trestle,” a special 90 minute lesson
program geared to teach riders all the skills they’ll need to tackle
Colorado’s premier mountain bike park.
Winter Park Resort Putting Course
Winter
Park Resort’s newest summer base activity is an 18-hole contoured
putting course that has undulations and is landscaped similar to the
greens on regulation golf courses. Nestled between the Zephyr Express
and Arrow chairlifts right at the base of Winter Park mountain, the new
putting course is not only fun for the whole family, but is a challenge
for golf experts and beginners alike.
For more information about summer activities at Winter Park, visit www.winterparkresort.com.
Summer Operating Dates for CSCUSA Resorts
Arapahoe Basin: July 2 - September 7 (Thursdays – Sundays)
Aspen Snowmass: Weekends/Holidays May 23 - June 14; daily operations begin June 20
Copper Mountain: Opening June 12
Crested Butte: Opening June 13
Purgatory: Weekends/Holidays May 23 - 31; daily June 6 – August 23; Weekends/Holidays August 29 - Sept. 27
Ski Granby Ranch: Opening May 22
Sunlight: Opening May 23
Steamboat: Opening daily June 11- August 30, and weekends through September 27
Telluride: June 8 - September 20
Winter Park: June 6-7; daily operations begin June 13.
