Larry Pierce, Steamboat Ski Resort
Skiers and riders can mark more terrain off of their holiday wish list as the Steamboat Ski Resort opened a number of new trails as well as Sundown, Sunshine, South Peak and Thunderhead chairlifts on Thursday, December 12th and announced it will open the Morningside chairlift on Saturday, December 14th. All told, the resort expects to be skiing 156 trails and 2,693 acres, equaling nearly 91% of the mountain, by this weekend.
I couldnt think of a better place to spend the holidays than Steamboat-Ski Town, U.S.A., said Chris Diamond, president and chief operating officer for the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation. With the snow this past week and continued hard work by resort crews, the mountain is in fantastic shape to serve up great skiing and riding as well as all the holiday trimmings that our guests are accustomed to.
On Thursday, December 12th, the open terrain will balloon to nearly 2,300 acres with the addition of Sundown, Sunshine, South Peak and Thunderhead chairlifts. Tomahawk, Quickdraw, Flintlock, Rendezvous Way, Broadway, Cub, Pup, Buckshot, Ramrod, Fawn, Baby Powder and Spike trails will offer their first turns of the season to eager skiers and riders in the Sunshine Bowl area. In addition, Spur Run, Huffmans and Moonlight; the lower portions of Closet and Shadows; and a number of trails on the lower mountain including lower Vagabond, lower Concentration, Upper Eagles Nest and See Me, will open that same day.
Morningside chairlift will start turning on Dec. 14th providing lift access to trails in Morningside Park such as Alarm Clock, Cowboy Coffee and Hot Cakes as well as the extreme terrain off the top of Mt. Werner. Steamboats First Tracks, the early access program in the Priest Creek and Sunshine areas, will also begin on Saturday, December 14th.
By the weekend, the resort will enjoy 90.8% of it terrain open including 156 trails (78%-green trails, 99%-blue trails, 81%-blue/black trails and 92%-black/expert trails) across 2,693 acres and 3,668 vertical feet of skiing and riding. The available lifts on Saturday will include: Bashor, Burgess Creek, Christie Peak, Elkhead, Four Points, Gondola, Preview, Morningside, South Peak, Storm Peak, Sundown, Sunshine and Thunderhead. Just a week later, Pony Express lift will open on Saturday, Dec. 21st; however, the Pioneer Ridge terrain is currently accessible as hike-to providing snowy turns on the north end of the mountain.
Due to the cold temperatures, snowmaking and natural snow, Mavericks Superpipe and Rabbit Ears Terrain Park are on target to open prior to the holiday period. As conditions change, lift operations and terrain may vary based on additional snow and weather. A complete list of open mountain trails and lifts is available each morning.
The resort is currently reporting a 36-inch base at mid-mountain and 45-inch base at the summit on powder/packed powder conditions. The resort surpassed the 100-inch snow milestone earlier this week, and so far this season at mid-mountain, Steamboat has seen 40 in October; 47.5 in November; and 21.75 in December for a combined total of 109.25 (9.1 feet).
December has come in like a lion and Steamboat continues to enjoy the bounty of being in a snowy weather pattern, commented Doug Allen, vice president-mountain operations for the resort. Mountain crews have done a tremendous job putting together a great snow surface and holidays guests are sure to enjoy their hard work and have a wonderful time.
Steamboat is serving up heaps of Champagne Powder snow and package values almost as deep as the snow! Steamboats nonstop flight program offers convenient access to Ski Town, U.S.A. via nonstop air service from nine major airports on Alaska, American, Delta and United Airlines. Contact Steamboat Central Reservations to explore travel options or for winter vacation packages including the Champagne Powder package at www.steamboat.com or 1-800-922-2722
