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Rockies Report: Getting Higher and Going Faster

Winter Park adds a high-speed lift to its highest point, Silverton and Snowbird install faster lifts, too, and more news from North America's ski capital.

 

The specific promotions described in this article have now passed, but it remains online so that the resources named will be of future use to travelers.


Winter Park Adds High-Elevation Six-Pack

In Colorado, Winter Park's (tel. 800/979-0332; www.winterparkresort.com) sky-high Parsenn Bowl is easier to access and easier to ski this season with the addition of the Panoramic Express, a high-speed six-passenger chair, and two new runs. The new lift rises from the bottom of Mary Jane's Edelweiss Run to the 12,060-foot top of Parsenn Bowl in just 11 minutes. Two new intermediate runs, Parry's Peek and Forever Eva, bring skiing the bowl within the comfort zone of intermediate skiers and snowboarders.

Free Early-Season Cat Skiing at Targhee

Guests booking a three-day, three-night package at Grand Targhee's (tel. 800/TARGHEE; www.grandtarghee.com) Teewinot Lodge can get one free day of snowcat skiing from the Nov. 16 season opener through Dec. 21. One thousand acres of Peaked Mountain are reserved for snowcat operations and Targhee's slopes snare an average of 500 inches of snow each season. Management is so confident of top conditions that it offers a Snow Check, enabling anyone who purchasing a lift ticket who is dissatisfied with the conditions can return it within one hour and receive a voucher good for another day of skiing any time during the season.

Silverton Mountain Speeds Up Its Chairlift

Colorado's Silverton Mountain (tel. 970/387-5706; www.silvertonmountain.com), which offers more skiing -- and more extremely challenging skiing -- with less infrastructure than any other resort on the planet, is speeding up its one lift, a double chair, to give people more runs for their money. It's not as if there are any crowds -- ever. Over the course of the long season, Silverton offers a mix of guided skiing/riding and the option going unguided and independently.

New Expert Glades at Copper

Copper Mountain, CO (tel. 800/458-8386 or 970/968-2882; www.coppercolorado.com) has a new lower-mountain glade between Rosi's Run and Treble Cliff. Called the Freefall Glade, this newly cut terrain is accessed from either the SuperBee or Alpine lifts. It will draw strong, skilled skiers and riders who love the trees. The run is ideal when visibility, winds or temperatures in the high bowls are uninviting.

Vail Resorts Restaurants Going Organic and Natural

Vail Resorts Inc. is switching to hormone-free, natural meats and poultry and organic dairy products at the 40 on-mountain food-service facilities the company operates at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone, in Colorado and also Heavenly in Lake Tahoe -- which serve a combined 2.5 million lunches a year. Brands now being served include Coleman meats, Horizon dairy products and White Wave soy products. All three purveyors are Colorado companies.

Snowbird Continues Peruvian Gulch Upgrades

Last year, Snowbird, UT (tel. 800/232-9542; www.snowbird.com) replaced the old Peruvian chairlift with a high-speed quad. They've followed up this year by improving the snowmaking system and expanding it to cover Peruvian Gulch, all 3,000 vertical feet of it.

Powder Mountain Adds High-Speed Lift

Powder Mountain (tel. 801/745-3772; www.powdermountain.com), Utah's largest ski area in terms of acreage and arguably its most retro in terms of infrastructure, takes a great leap forward with the installation of the Hidden Lake Express. It is by far the mountain's most modern lift, the others being one fixed-grip quad, one triple chair, one double and three surface lifts. These modest lifts and a snowcat dedicated to powder tours access a stunning 5,500 acres of terrain. Diamond Peaks Heli-Ski Adventures (tel. 801/745-4631; www.diamondpeaks.com) picks up the slack and flies out of Powder Mountain.

Tamarack Builds Superpipe

Tamarack (tel. 208/325-1000; www.tamarackidaho.com) is building a superpipe, one of the few in North America with the 22-foot walls that meet new Winter Olympic standards. The resort also welcomes the return of the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, America's premier snowboarding tourney, from Feb. 9-10. The Idaho resort's two new runs are far less intense. They bring the resort's census of cut trails to 41.

 

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