Montezuma – Next winter, this breathtaking cirque – carved by glaciers and buried by winter snows for millennia – will be different.
There will be a lift here, and skiers and snowboarders by the scads where today only the wind and an occasional intrepid backcountry traveler dare to venture.
But for now, Montezuma Bowl, Arapahoe Basin’s 400-acre “backside” expansion, is still semi-wild, a place just over the hill from the crowds where those willing to hike can get away from it all.
“This is what ski-area expansions are going to look like in the future,” said Alan Henceroth, the chief operating officer at the ski area, on a recent tour. “It’s going to look natural.”
‘Zuma Bowl has long been a favorite drop-in spot for locals, many of whom ski all the way down to the burg of Montezuma before the snow melts down low.
The resort already has begun building the lift in the sun-drenched, south-facing bowl, but skiers equipped with avalanche gear still may leave the gate at the top of the ski area and drop down the steep west side or the gentler east side for 1,100 vertical feet – or more – of awesome spring corn.
The rub is anyone who goes in has to climb back out, using skins and free-heel skis, although a SnoCat track eases the ascent.
By next year, it will be different.
Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or at slipsher@denverpost.com.
