From: mwallace@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mark Wallace)
Subject: WHATS NEW FOR 92 AT COLORADO SKI AREAS - EDITION 2
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 00:46:28 GMT

Subject:  WHAT'S NEW FOR 92 at Colorado Ski Areas

Greetings from THE COLORADO SKIER

Following is an updated list of changes/improvements at Colorado
ski areas for the 1992/93 season based on information as of late
August. 


WHAT'S NEW FOR 92 - EDITION #2


ASPEN HIGHLANDS  -  Will continue with the highly successful $30
  lift ticket (Aspen and Snowmass charged $42 last season).


BEAVER CREEK  -  Will add snowmaking on Grouse Mountain, which 
  last season was known as "Gravel Mountain" (and the skiers were
  doing the "grousing").


BERTHOUD PASS  -  Bad news.  The NFS, noting that 3 of the last 4
  operators have gone bankrupt, concluded that the ski area is
  not viable, should be closed forever, and ordered the lifts
  removed by Gary Schulz.  Then a creditor group went to court
  and claimed first rights on the lifts - the bankruptcy judge
  agreed.  The group plans to remove and sell the lifts to pay
  off what is owed them.  The NFS has given the creditor group
  until 30 Sep to accomplish this.  Schulz still wants to open. 
  Meanwhile, the alleged new buyer from Great Gorge hasn't been
  heard from.  It doesn't look good.  


BRECKENRIDGE  -  One of our faithful readers reports that Breck 
  plans to add 250 acres of above timberline skiing on the north
  side of Peak 8 and on Peak 7.  This is probably due to some
  agreement with the Forest Service.  Breck doesn't like skiers
  riding their lifts, skiing into unpatrolled out-of-bound areas
  and then returning to the area to ride the lifts back up.  The
  Forest Service, however, says that anyone has a right to access
  NFS land (however dangerous - it's the American way). 
  Expanding the permit area makes almost everyone happy as Breck
  will patrol the terrain, control avalanches, etc., and maybe
  save a few lives. 

  Keystone is planning to do the same thing with some Outback
  acreage, but not until next season.


CONQUISTADOR  -  Good News: The area has been sold by the SBA to
  a private owner and will reopen in December.  Conquistador is
  now the closest ski area to Pueblo and Colorado Springs.  The
  stats:

     Vertical drop:  1200 ft     Top:  10,100    Base:  8,900
     Lifts:  1 triple chair, 1 double chair, 2 pony lifts


COPPER  -  Looking at chairs for Copper Bowl on the back side of
  Union Peak, but not until 1993/94.


CRESTED BUTTE  -  The "Silver Queen" bubble-top double chair 
  which runs from the base to Paradise Bowl will be replaced by a
  Poma brand high-speed detachable quad chair.  It will be very
  fast, rising 2058 feet in eight (8) minutes.  Initial capacity
  will be 1800 skiers per hour.

  Comment:  This chair will be really fast.  In the old days we 
  used to think a double chair was fast if it could rise 120 feet
  per minute; example, rise 1200 feet in 10 minutes.   The new
  C.B. chair will lift skiers at 250 feet per minute!  They
  already plan to speed it up the second season.  A chance to get
  in a lot of vertical. 


CUCHARA VALLEY  -  Good News:  The area has been sold by the RTC
  to the owner of a Dallas-based aerospace company and will
  reopen this December.  He apparently wanted something for his
  family to do in the winter, near their summer vacation home. 
  This will be the closest ski area to residents of Walsenburg
  and Trinidad.  However, no one there knows about it as no one
  is reading this - there are no networks in southern Colorado -
  probably no computers either.  Due to the New Deal and the REA,
  we think the region may have electricity.   The stats:

     Vertical drop:  1562 ft     Top:  10,810    Base:  9248
     Lifts:  1 triple chair, 3 double chairs, 1 pony lift


GENEVA BASIN  -  Rumors of a sale have died off.  Note that the 
  last ski area permittee "walked", leaving all of the physical
  improvements in place.  That means that those improvements
  (e.g., lifts) now belong to the NFS.  If the area isn't sold or
  a management arrangement arrived at, the NFS plans to remove
  all improvements by next summer.  Too bad; it was a fun little
  area, easy to get to, not too crowded.


POWDERHORN  -  In the process of being sold to a Nevada golf 
  course development company.  If the sale doesn't close, the
  bankruptcy court will continue to operate the area for 92/93.


SNOWMASS  -  The Burnt Mountain (between Elk Camp and Buttermilk)
  expansion starts this summer.  A new base with parking lot and
  at least one lift to start.  Eventually planning a gondola and
  five high-speed chairlifts.


STEAMBOAT  -  Two high-speed quads with bubble tops will replace
  the Storm Peak and Sundown triples.  WJW chairlift, the "lift
  to nowhere", will be removed.  The Four Points chair is being
  realigned and lengthened. 


TELLURIDE  -  Construction has started on the "town to mountain" 
  gondola but it won't be operational until next season.


VAIL  -  A new triple chair in Sun Up Bowl.  Two rope tows to 
  help skiers up to the expanded Two Elk restaurant at the top of
  China Bowl.  New handle tow for the ski school at Golden Peak. 
  Wow, Vail is adding three - count them 3 - new rope tows. 
  Suddenly it's 1950!


WINTER PARK  -  A new double chair to open up 200 acres of the 
  Parsenn Bowl off the top of Mary Jane.  New restaurant at the
  top of the Zephyr, i.e., the top of the old Winter Park area.

  Comment:  We received more comments on Parsenn Bowl than any
  other improvement.  (Whassamatta?  You don't like the rope tows
  at Vail?)   First of all, it is spelled Parsenn, no trailing
  "e"  (altho, that is the way Dan Quayl spells it!).  Curiously
  enough, we have a summer trail guide from Winter Park which
  shows it as "Parsen's Bowl"!  There is a Parsenn something or
  other (once a famous ski race) in Europe.  Can anyone help on
  that?   As for Blue runs vs Greens, and type of lift:  The
  Winter Park press release says  "double chair, serving
  intermediate terrain and glade skiing".


Other Areas:

TAOS  -  New fixed grip quad to serve intermediate runs in the 
  West Basin area.

  [Note:  This is the only new lift we have heard about in the 
     Rockies, outside of Colorado - which has six new chairs.]


  Anything else?  THE COLORADO SKIER wants to know.

    ***  Keystone opens in 8 weeks!  ***


Newsgroups: rec.skiing