Biggest Upgrades At Best Resorts

Skiing and snowboarding were growing in popularity even before the pandemic, but COVID-19 gave a big boost to just about every form of outdoor recreation, including those on snow. As a result, the story of the past two winters has been crowds, often to the point that ski travelers who previously cared more about food, hotels, spas or terrain started to weigh lift lines and skier density on the slopes as suddenly important considerations.

The good news is that there are four major resort expansions coming online in the U.S. this winter, all at very popular resorts, all of which should directly mitigate crowding. With Labor Day around the corner, it’s not too early to start planning winter vacations, and when you do, take these major upgrades into consideration.

Big Sky, MT: For the past few years Big Sky has been the hottest ticket in American skiing, the place to go, and last year I wrote a detailed feature here at Forbes on all the reason why.

I put Big Sky first because it’s signature selling point was already “uncrowded,” boasting what is widely considered the lowest skier density per acre of any major destination resort in the country. That in part is because it is the country’s second largest ski resort to begin with, just huge, nearly 6,000-acres with a very impressive 4,350 foot vertical. There are 300 trails, six terrain parks, and three dozen lifts, with a way above U.S. average annual snowfall of over 400 inches. But it also has arguably the most advanced lift network, and several years of massive infrastructure investment have added new very high-speed 8 and 6-passenger chairs, including the nation’s fastest six. Even before this year’s big addition, these improvements increased uphill capacity from the base by 50%. In addition, despite a real estate boom and new hotels on the horizon (including the first ever mountain location of luxury brand One & Only, coming the following winter) it still has less rooms and capacity than a ski resort this size usually would. It also has a smaller drive market and gateway airport (Bozeman), is not near a major city, and averages more than an acre of terrain per skier, a very luxurious number. According to Zrankings.com here at Forbes, it gets less than a quarter of the skier volume of the nation’s most popular resort, Vail, yet it is significantly larger.

But the one spot that has been notoriously crowded at Big Sky is Lone Peak, with the antiquated 15-passenger mini-tram up to the summit of “America’s Matterhorn,” an experts-only mini-mountain atop the resort. While it is only for advanced skiers, Lone Peak is both locally beloved and globally iconic, and lines could grow very long. All that comes to an end this season when a new state-of-the art 75-passenger high-speed tram replaces the existing one (though capacity may be adjusted or reduced due to daily conditions on Lone Peak, and the new tram, like the old one, is not included in the basic lift ticket price). It will also feature an entirely new upper station on the summit of Lone Peak with scenic viewing platform (the new tram will also offer summer pedestrian access to the peak for the first time).

This is the first half of a new top-to-bottom enhancement that represents the final stage of a 10-year master plan remaking the resort, Vision 2025. The tram will be followed with a two-stage gondola from the base of the resort to the tram, complete with new mid-mountain learning center and multiple new dining venues. Big Sky is on Ikon and Mountain Collective passes.

Aspen, CO: By Aspen standards, this is a seismic shift, the biggest winter in decades. It is especially notable because as a ski destination, it is among the most famous and desirable on earth, but as a ski mountain, Aspen (Ajax) is arguably the least changed major resort in the world. It has not received a notable terrain expansion in the three decades since I first visited, and the last infrastructure improvement on Aspen Mountain worth mentioning was the Silver Queen Gondola – almost 30 years ago. Aspen has always been the smallest of the resorts comprising Aspen Snowmass, with the exception of family and learning area Buttermilk, while Aspen Highlands is close to double its size and Snowmass five times bigger.

This winter Aspen Mountain unveils Pandora’s, an entirely new area adding more than 150-acres and 15 new trails, plus additional glades, ranging from intermediate to advanced terrain. At Aspen this represents an expansion of nearly a quarter of the entire resort, and while that’s affected by its smaller size to begin with, it’s huge in comparison with most terrain expansions. All of this is served by a new high-speed quad, and it is all north-facing, high elevation terrain above 10,000 feet that will hold snow better. It also adds Aspen’s first intermediate glades, a big increase to the diversity of skiing, and in addition to the new trails, lengthens and connects to some existing favorites for longer top to bottom skiing, eliminating the existing hike out for more adventurous visitors.

Off-mountain, there is an all-new 68-room boutique hotel opening in the heart of town in December. The Mollie Aspen features a craft cocktail lobby bar by New York’s famed Death & Co., plus a rooftop bar cum nighttime lounge. While not as rare as terrain expansions, new hotel openings in Aspen have historically been very few and far between – this is the biggest since the Limelight 15 years ago. Between Pandora’s and the new hotel, this is simply Aspen’s biggest winter. Aspen is on Ikon and Mountain Collective passes.

Keystone, CO: Long beloved by families, Keystone is one of Colorado’s most popular resorts, and has managed to hang onto its reputation for value in an industry that is increasingly pushing out those without deep pockets, which is to say, most skiers. Part of this is due to the large number of rental condos and condo hotels here, and the absence of any luxury hotel brands. Part of it is by design, and as ski resort rating site ZRankings.com puts it, “Keystone is one of the flagship ski resorts for families in North America. The entire experience at Keystone is more laid back and less frenetic than those at Breckenridge or Vail, notching down the pressure on parents. Parking is free (whoa!), and gear wagons are also free, making the chore of lugging kids and skis far easier. And there’s a parade at the end of every day, starting at the ski school – free cookies!”

Fortunately, that is not changing. But what is changing is the skiing – there’s now a lot more of it, and Keystone was already big (well over 3000-acres). Technically Bergman Bowl was always part of the resort, but in the past the only way to get there was to hike a mile and a half with skis on your shoulder, not something most out of town visitors do, or pay to go on the resort’s sno-cat rides.

This winter debuts the Bergman Express, a new, high-speed 6-passenger chair that links the bowl with the rest of the resort and adds 555-acres of lift-served terrain and 16 new trails. The additions include mellow high alpine terrain for less advanced skiers that will be easy to lap for run after run, and at many resorts, skiing the bowls is off-limits to the less adventurous. But it also makes it much easier to get to advanced terrain in Erickson Bowl which connects back to the Outback Express and Wayback lifts (for visitors who still like to go under their own power and get away from it all, Keystone still has more than 1,300-acres of hike-to only expert terrain in The Windows, North Bowl, South Bowl and Independence Bowl). Keystone is on the Epic Pass.

Steamboat, CO: With its charming small town and lack of fancy big-name resort hotels, Steamboat has enjoyed hidden gem status for as long as I can remember. That may be about to change with what looks to be the biggest expansion of the year, the third and final phase of Full Steam Ahead, a 3-year, $220+ million-dollar project. This will add 655-acres of new expert terrain, a new high-speed quad chair, and complete the upper section of the 2-stage Wild Blue Gondola, the fastest and longest 10-person gondola in North America. In the process, Steamboat says it will jump from being the fifth largest ski resort in Colorado to second.

“When we started the process of Full Steam Ahead, we had a long wish list of a Master Plan that had been decades in the making,” said Rob Perlman, president and COO of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation. “To now be in the final phase and see Full Steam Ahead become a reality is beyond words. Winter 23/24 will be a new era for the resort, but we’ll always be the same Steamboat at our roots.”

The new terrain is not for the faint of heart, but that’s good because Steamboat has long been famous for its wealth of glades, including intermediate, and now also competes with adrenaline-junkie destinations such as Crested Butte and Jackson. The new acreage previously sat outside current resort boundaries in Fish Creek Canyon and Pioneer Ridge, accessible via hiking from backcountry gates. Now it will be in bounds and patrolled, accessed via a new highspeed detachable quad, the Mahogany Ridge Express. There will still be some hike-to only terrain, but shorter, and the new area will remain largely uncut, with a variety of expert terrain and conditions including rock cliffs, chutes and glades.

In the main part of the resort, the new gondola will now run all the way from the base to the top of Sunshine Peak at 10,397 feet in just 12 minutes. With 177 cabins, Steamboat’s uphill capacity will nearly double to 10,000 skiers per hour. Substantial new snowmaking is also being introduced for this season. The last two years saw a new dedicated on-mountain beginner’s area and significant base area improvements such as an escalator that eliminated numerous stairs, an outdoor free skating rink, performance stage for Steamboat’s free concert series, and new food and beverage.

Steamboat is on the Ikon Pass.