The Ski Train got its 68th season rolling by offering trips from Union Station to Winter Park Resort over the long holiday weekend and will begin its regularly scheduled Saturday and Sunday trips this weekend. Friday trips begin Feb. 1 and Thursday trips begin March 1. The final trip of the season is March 30.
For schedules, trip availability and reservations, call 303-296-4754 or visit the Ski Train website at .
NEW GONDOLAS TO IMPROVE ACCESS
Twenty-six years after opening without a gondola, Beaver Creek Resort suddenly finds itself with two. The new Riverfront Express Gondola spanning the Eagle River from Avon’s as-yet unfinished Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa to Beaver Creek Landing (a three-minute trip) started spinning Dec. 20. Two days later, the new Buckaroo Express Gondola — a similarly short eight-passenger beginner lift higher up the mountain — was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony, despite opening in November.
Regardless of its short span, hopes are high for the Riverfront Express Gondola — a free transit service designed to relieve crowding in parking lots and bus service up the mountain. Avon officials view the lift as a centerpiece of a $500 million revitalization to the town while Beaver Creek officials see the new portal as a means to improve the flow of skiers up the mountain in as little as 16 minutes when combined with a pair of high-speed quads.
On the east side of Vail Pass, Keystone announced plans to replace its existing six-passenger gondola with a state-of- the-art new eight-passenger gondola that will double capacity to 2,400 skiers per hour for the 2008-09 season. The plan includes moving the bottom terminal into the River Run Village to improve gondola access.
The upgraded River Run Gondola will follow the same alignment as the existing gondola with the top terminal in the same location at the summit of Dercum Mountain, a 12-minute ride from the base. A new mid-station will be constructed with loading and unloading in both directions, giving skiers and snowboarders an option to access the upper trails from mid-mountain and to download at the end of their ski day.
In the second phase of the project, a new skier bridge will be constructed to replace the current pedestrian bridge, allowing guests to ski directly from the mountain into an enhanced skier plaza in River Run Village. The skier bridge and plaza are slated for completion in the summer 2009.
WHITEWATER PARK TO OPEN IN MARCH
After several years of planning, work is finally underway for an $890,000 whitewater park in the Colorado River west of Glenwood Springs for kayakers, rafters and river-runners. Crews have diverted the river to one side of its bed and are using heavy machinery to install boulders and channel the river to create a standing wave. Boaters will still be able to bypass the wave.
Paddlers are expected to be surfing the park’s features by March.
AMATEURS SIGN UP TO COMPETE
The 2008 Burton Demo Tour’s Copper Mountain stop is offering amateur snowboarders an opportunity to qualify for the U.S. Snowboarding Championships held March 17-23 at Stratton, Vt. The tour, which also features Burton’s Learn To Ride (LTR) program for beginner snowboarders and test products for other riders, stops first at Vail on Saturday with demos and LTR events beginning at 9 a.m. before moving to Copper’s Burning Stone Plaza on Jan. 11-13.
The Burton AM Series event at Copper will include competitions in slopestyle and halfpipe for men and women. First- place winners in each discipline will receive a wild-card entry into the U.S. Open snowboarding championships. Halfpipe and slopestyle events are open to all USASA members competing in the Copper Series Group 2 competition.
Amateur riders should visit . or . for full details and to register online. Helmets are required and there is no day-of registration.
X GAMES STUDENT DISCOUNT
Aspen/Snowmass is offering college students an opportunity to ski or ride its four mountains for only $31 during Winter X Games 12, Jan. 24-27. The College X Pass is on sale at . or by calling the Pass Hotline at 877-282-7736 or 970-923-1227 and must be purchased by Jan. 20.
The College X Pass provides two days of skiing or riding at Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands or Buttermilk during the X Games for only $62. Purchasers must be 24 or younger and present a valid ID from an accredited four-year college at the time of pass pickup. Only one pass is allowed per person.
Up to two additional days may be purchased on the College X Pass for $43/day during the valid dates. X Pass holders also will receive a 30 percent discount for rentals at Four- Mountain Sports at the time of pass pickup.
Compiled by Scott Willoughby, The Denver Post
