COPPER MOUNTAIN (COLORADO)

'Copper Mountain' is a mountain located in Summit County about 75 miles (121 km) west of Denver, Colorado, right on Interstate 70. Its most notable use is as a ski resort, owned and operated by Intrawest, although it provides golf and mountain biking activities during the warmer months. It is well-known for its wide variety of naturally separated terrain. The ski area features beginner slopes on the western side of the mountain, intermediate slopes in the center, and expert terrain on the eastern side. Advanced "double black diamond" slopes are located on the two peaks above 12,000 feet (Copper and Union Peaks), including four expert-only bowls: Copper Bowl, Union Bowl, Spaulding Bowl, and Resolution Bowl. Copper Mountain Ski Resort is the largest resort in Summit County when measured by area.

Contents

Character of the Slopes

Nearby Attractions

Resort

Statistics

Elevation

Trails

Lifts

External links

Character of the Slopes

Copper Mountain is considered by some a local's mountain; although they have a ski school and beginner's terrain, Copper tends to be frequented by Coloradans rather than out-of-state tourists. Unlike resorts like Vail or Winter Park, Copper tends to have fewer lines and shorter wait times, even at the height of tourist ski season (exceptions to this rule are limited to the two quad lifts servicing Center Village, American Eagle and American Flyer, which often experience long lift lines due both to the centrality of their locations and the terrain accessible by them: a combination of green and blue runs, Copper's Superpipe, and its premier terrain park, Catalyst. Although virtually every lift at Copper can be directly skied to from the top of either the Eagle or the Flier, many tourists unfamiliar with the resort tend to funnel into Center Village). Copper's expert bowls are comparable in difficulty to the infamous bowls at Vail, as well as the lesser-known Independence Bowl at Keystone, Imperial Bowl at Breckenridge, and Vasquez Cirque at Winter Park/Mary Jane.

Nearby Attractions

Frisco, about five minutes from Copper Mountain, is the closest town to the resort proper. Silverthorne, including an array of outlet stores, is a 12 minute drive from the mountain. There are some restaurants in Silverthorne, and it can be much cheaper to lodge there than it is to stay in Copper itself. Copper is about 25 minutes from Vail, and is also very close to Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Keystone. Copper itself is about an hour and half outside of Denver.

Resort

The lodging, dining, and entertainment facilities at Copper Mountain are divided into three villages: 'East Village', 'The Village at Copper' (the main village, also known as 'Center Village'), and 'Union Creek' (west). In recent years, Intrawest has vastly improved the three villages, constructing dozens of new hotels, condominiums, restaurants, shops, and bars. This followed a similar upgrade of the lift system on the mountain.

Statistics

Elevation

★ Base: 9,712 ft (2,926 m)

★ Summit: 12,313 ft (3,767 m)

Trails

★ Acres: 2,433 acres (9.85 km²)

★ Vertical: 2,601 ft/ 793 m

★ Trails: 125 total (21% beginner, 25% intermediate, 36% advanced, 18% expert)

★ Average annual snowfall: 280 in (710 cm)

★ Snowmaking 05/06 : 380 acres (1.54 km²)

Lifts

★ 22 total

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★ 1 high speed six passenger

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★ Super Bee

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★ 4 high speed quad lifts

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★ American Flyer

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★ American Eagle

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★ Timberline

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★ Excelerator

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★ 5 triple chair

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★ Sierra

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★ Resolution

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★ Rendezvous

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★ Kokomo

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★ Lumberjack

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★ 5 double chair

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★ Alpine

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★ Blackjack

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★ Highline

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★ Mountain Chief

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★ Pitchfork

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★ 2 surface lifts

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★ Storm King

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★ Gem

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★ 4 conveyor lifts

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★ Easy Rider

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★ The Glide

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★ Rugrat

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★ Slingshot

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★ 1 tubing zone lift

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External links

★ Rocky Mountain Resort Management Homepage

★ Copper Mountain Official Website

★ HookedOnWinter's WikiWinter Article

★ 3dSkiMap of Copper Mountain