Whats New in Steamboat?

The sale of Steamboat Ski Resort to Intrawest, a market leader in resort development, has sparked a wave of development and improvements.

$40M Mountain Improvements in next 3 years:
As we write, earth is being moved and concrete foundations poured for on-mountain additions that will include the Christie Peak Express, a high speed 6 passenger chairlift that will significantly improve uphill capacity and speed from the base of the mountain.

The new lift's lower terminal will be approximately where the lower Headwall terminal sits, with an angle station (unload capabilities only) just above the top of South Face, before continuing to the top of Christie Peak where Christie II currently unloads. Christie Peak Express will have a length of roughly 4,700 feet and a capacity to move 3,200 people per hour, which is 400 more per hour than the Gondola. The new express lift will cut the ride time to the summit of Christie Peak by more than two-thirds, from 15 to a swift 4.8 minutes.

In addition, five magic carpets (Tenderfoot, Colt, Filly, Tumbleweed and Sidewinder) located throughout the base area will be upgraded, realigned and lengthened. The new Preview lift, using the repositioned Southface lift, will be realigned to conform to the re-grading of the beginner terrain, extend further up Headwall and increase capacity from a double to a triple chairlift.

The resort has embarked on a comprehensive re-grade of the Headwall area. Currently under the plan, the Headwall amalgamation of multiple fall lines and cross traffic will be divided into three distinct and unique trails offering a grade of between 9% to 21%, with the majority falling in the 15-17% zone.

In association with the re-grade, the beginning trails of Main Drag and Boulevard, located off of Christie Peak, will be merged into one trail significantly improving the width (to 40 feet wide) while maintaining a constant 10% grade, considered ideal for beginner/novice skier/riders. A forty foot platform is wide enough to comfortably handle larger volumes anticipated from the new six-passenger lift, while giving novice skiers/riders the feeling of a mountain trail as opposed to a catwalk.

Snowmaking: Steamboat's snowmaking system will undergo more than $1 million in improvements as pipe throughout the base area is replaced extensively on Headwall, Main Drag/Boulevard as well as the resort's primary pipeline. Currently in use on Vogue, the new pipe, ultizing the latest in snowmaking technology, is lined with concrete and rated to last an average of 50 years, twice as long as existing pipe and able to handle pressure upwards of 700 pounds per square inch.

New low energy, high-efficiency snowmaking guns, which use 30 percent less energy than conventional guns while producing the same amount of snow, will be added to the resort's arsenal. The system covers 375 acres of top-to-bottom terrain (3,600 vertical feet) or a total of thirty-five trails.