Winter Park Resort

Last updated
Winter Park
Winter Park Base Area.JPG
Winter Park Village
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Winter Park
Location in the United States
USA Colorado relief location map.svg
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Winter Park
Location in Colorado
Location Grand County, Colorado,  U.S.
Nearest major city Winter Park,
Denver
Coordinates 39°53′13″N105°45′45″W / 39.88694°N 105.76250°W / 39.88694; -105.76250
StatusOperating
Owner City and County of Denver [1] [2]
Vertical  3,060 feet (933 m)
Top elevation12,060 feet (3,676 m)
Base elevation  9,000 feet (2,743 m)
Skiable area3,081 acres (12.5 km2)
Trails 167 total
Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg 8% beginner
Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg 18% intermediate
Ski trail rating symbol-square diamond.svg 19% advanced
Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg 52% most difficult
Ski trail rating symbol-double black diamond.svg 3% expert
Lift system 23 total
- 1 Gondola lift
- 9 High-speed chairs
- 9 Fixed-grip chairs
- 3 Surface lifts
- 1 Rope tow
Snowfall 370 in (30.8 ft; 9.4 m)
Website winterparkresort.com

Winter Park Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado at Winter Park. Located in Grand County just off U.S. Highway 40, the resort is about a ninety-minute drive from Denver.

Contents

History

The mountain opened for the 1939–40 season as Winter Park Ski Area [3] and was owned and operated by the city and county of Denver until 2002, when Denver entered into a partnership with Intrawest ULC, a Canadian corporation headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, which operated the resort until Intrawest was acquired by Alterra Mountain Company in 2018. [4] [5] For nearly 70 years, a popular way for Denver residents to arrive was via the Ski Train , which arrived at the resort's base area through the Moffat Tunnel. Ski Train service ended in 2009 but returned as the Winter Park Express in 2017. [6] Winter Park Resort is home to one of the world's largest and oldest disabled skiing programs, the National Sports Center for the Disabled.

During Intrawest's stint operating the resort, they made several changes to the mountain's infrastructure, renovating the food services in the West Portal base lodge, opening new lifts in 2005 and 2006, and a new base village with hundreds of condominia, a parking structure, a "Village Pond," retail space, and an open-air gondola known as "The Village Cabriolet." [7] The historic 1955 Balcony House was listed as one of Colorado's Most Endangered Places by Colorado Preservation, Inc. [8] [9] This historic building was designed in the Googie style of architecture, which was a popular style in the 1940s to the 1960s.

The resort consists of three interconnected mountain peaks — Winter Park, Mary Jane, and Vasquez Ridge — which share a common lift ticket. Mary Jane, opened in 1975, has a separate base area and is known for its moguls, tree skiing, hidden huts, and generally more difficult terrain. It encompasses the above-tree line terrain of Parsenn Bowl. Vasquez Ridge, opened in 1986, offers intermediate terrain and mogul runs. In 1997, 435 acres (176 ha) of backcountry terrain in Vasquez Cirque were opened to skiing, although access required hiking from the top of Mary Jane; [10] the 2006 relocation of the former Outrigger triple chairlift to the backside of Parsenn Bowl (now called Eagle Wind) provides an easier escape back to Mary Jane after descending Vasquez Cirque.

Beginning with the 2013-14 season, the resort was divided into seven "territories". [11] The three peaks — Winter Park, Mary Jane, and Vasquez Ridge — are each considered their own territories. Parsenn Bowl is now considered its own territory separate from Mary Jane. The remaining three are Vasquez Cirque (the backcountry terrain behind Parsenn Bowl), Eagle Wind (the glade below Vasquez Cirque), and "Terrain Park" (the various terrain parks across the mountain). [12]

Winter Park is a year-round resort; the resort operates the lifts during the summer months for mountain biking, hiking and sightseeing. The Arrow chairlift also services an alpine slide in the summer, and the base area features miniature golf, a climbing wall, and other diversions. While the Winter Park area is also a popular destination for golf, there are no golf courses located at, or operated by, the resort itself. Winter Park boasts the most extensive lift access summer mountain biking trails in Colorado.

In 2018 Winter Park Resort was named "Best ski resort in North America" as voted by the readers of USA Today. [13] In 2019 Winter Park Resort was named "Number 1 Ski Resort in North America". [14]

Winter Park hosted the NCAA Skiing Championships in 1956, 1959, 1972, and 1977. The team title went to Denver in 1956 and Colorado took the latter three.

Statistics

View looking north from the top of Parsenn Bowl prior to the construction of the Panoramic Express. Parsenn Bowl.jpg
View looking north from the top of Parsenn Bowl prior to the construction of the Panoramic Express.
View looking east at Parry's Peak from near the top of the Mary Jane. Winter Park.jpg
View looking east at Parry's Peak from near the top of the Mary Jane.
Panoramic view of the Zephyr Express and Zephyr Mountain Lodge. Winter park base.jpg
Panoramic view of the Zephyr Express and Zephyr Mountain Lodge.
A panorama taken on Whistlestop run at Winter Park Resort. Panorama Whistlestop Run (Winter Park Resort).jpg
A panorama taken on Whistlestop run at Winter Park Resort.

Elevation

Trails

Slope Aspects

Lifts

Lift NameTypeManufacturerYear BuiltTerritoryNotes
The Gondola Gondola 10 Leitner-Poma 2018Winter Park
Village CabrioletGondola 8Leitner-Poma2008n/aDoes not serve any terrain, used as transportation between Vintage parking lot to Winter Park Village.
Panoramic Express Six Person Detachable Leitner-Poma2007Parsenn BowlWhen opened, it was marketed as being the highest high-speed six pack in North America, a title it retained until the Kensho SuperChair at Breckenridge Ski Resort was built in 2013.
Super Gauge ExpressSix Person DetachableLeitner-Poma2005Mary Jane
SunnysideSix Person DetachableLeitner-Poma2019Mary Jane
Explorer ExpressHigh Speed Quad Poma 1999Winter ParkFormerly called the Eskimo Express. Name was changed in late 2020.
Gemini ExpressHigh Speed QuadPoma1993Winter Park
High Lonesome ExpressHigh Speed QuadPoma1991Mary Jane
Olympia ExpressHigh Speed QuadPoma1996Winter Park
Wild Spur ExpressSix Person DetachableLeitner-Poma2023Vasquez RidgeArea formerly serviced by Four Person Detachable called the Pioneer Express. New lift installed in 2023. Only lift to contain a mid way loading station
Prospector ExpressHigh Speed QuadPoma1994Winter Park
ArrowTriple Yan 1979Winter Park
Eagle WindTripleYan2006Eagle WindFormer Outrigger chair
EndeavourTriplePoma1993Winter Park
ChallengerDoubleHeron-Poma1974Mary Jane
DiscoveryDoubleHeron-Poma1984Winter Park
Galloping GooseDoubleHeron-Poma1974Mary Jane
Iron HorseDoubleHeron-Poma1974Mary Jane
Looking GlassDouble Riblet 1966Winter Park
Pony ExpressDoubleHeron-Poma1974Mary Jane
Lariat Rope Tow Poma2002Winter Park
Spirit Platter surface lift Poma2004Winter Park
CometConveyorMagic Carpet2019Winter Park
MeteorConveyorMagic Carpet2019Winter Park

Former lifts

Winter Park Colorado [16]

Lift NameTypeManufacturerYears of OperationNotes
SunnysideTripleCTEC1989-2019Replaced with high-speed, detachable, Six-Pack lift
ApolloPlatterLeitner-Poma2004-2009
ApolloDoubleRiblet1969-1998
Comet T-Bar 1957-1977Replaced with Arrow triple
EskimoDoubleRiblet1963-1990Replaced with Eskimo triple
EskimoTripleYan1990-1999Replaced with Eskimo Express; Relocated from Zephyr
GeminiDoubleMiner-Denver1969-1993Replaced with Gemini Express
High LonesomeQuadPoma1985-1991
HughesDoubleRiblet1962-1993
MeteorT-BarSwiss1957-1977Replaced with Outrigger triple
OlympiaDoubleHeron-Poma1971-1996Replaced by Olympia Express
OutriggerT-BarSwiss1948-1978
OutriggerTripleYan1978-2005SBNO from 2003 to 2005; relocated to Vasquez Ridge and operates as Eagle Wind
Pioneer ExpressHigh Speed QuadPoma1986-2023Replaced with Wild Spur Express
ProspectorDoubleRiblet1963-1994Replaced with Prospector Express
Summit ExpressHigh Speed QuadPoma1985-2005Replaced with Super Gauge Express.
TimberlineDoubleHeron-Poma/Thiokol 1992-2007Relocated from Sol Vista Basin (Ski Granby Ranch); replaced by Panoramic Express
ZephyrTripleYan1983-1990Replaced with Zephyr Express
Zephyr ExpressHigh Speed QuadPoma1990-2018Replaced with ten-person The Gondola
Bob WoodsT-bar1940-1969Replaced with Apollo double

Historic Trails

Ski trail near the top of Winter Park Resort. Winter Park Trail.jpg
Ski trail near the top of Winter Park Resort.

During Winter Park's 75-year history, many individuals have made significant contributions to the development and image of the ski area. Several ski trails have been identified on the resort's website as "historical trails," and even more exist on the mountain. A commemorative sign, with a brief narrative about the individual's contribution to the ski area, has been installed along each historical trail. Listed are both the run and in parentheses the lift that reaches them:

Winter Park Resort nestled in with the Continental Divide Fraser Valley zoom.jpg
Winter Park Resort nestled in with the Continental Divide

Notable people

See also

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References

  1. "Account: R037481". Assessor's Office of Grand County, Colorado. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  2. "IRS Form 990 - Winter Park Recreational Association" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  3. "Winter Park". Winter Park Resort - Official Ski Resort Website - Winter Park, Colorado. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  4. "Who We Are". Intrawest. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  5. Jason Blevins (January 11, 2018). "The new name in ski resorts you need to know: Alterra Mountain". The Denver Post . Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  6. Danika Worthington (January 7, 2017). "Winter Park Express brings back train service between Denver and Winter Park". The Denver Post . Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  7. "Winter Park". Winter Park Resort - Real Estate – Winter Park, Colorado. Winter Park Resort. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  8. "Winter Park's Balcony House, Red Cliff Bridge Join the List of Colorado's Most Endangered Places".
  9. "'Remarkable' Winter Park Balcony House Placed on This Year's Colorado Endangered Places List". 12 February 2021.
  10. TCSP. "History of the Winter Park Resort" . Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  11. ICNDadmin (2013-11-04). "The Seven Territories of Winter Park". Winter Park Lodging Company. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  12. "Explore All Seven Territories at Winter Park Resort". www.winterparkresort.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  13. "Best ski resort in North America? Readers vote Winter Park Resort". USA Today . 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  14. "Voted #1 Ski Resort In North America Two Years In A Row". Winter Park Resort. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  15. "Best Ski Resorts: Winter Park Resort Terrain, Snow Quality and Mountain Ranks". ZRankings. ZRankings, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Landsman, Peter (28 August 2016). "Winter Park, CO". LIFTBLOG. Retrieved January 7, 2019.