Copper Mountain (Colorado)
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Copper Mountain | |
---|---|
surface lifts - 1 tubing | |
Snowfall | 310 in (790 cm) |
Snowmaking | yes |
Night skiing | no |
Website | coppercolorado.com |
Copper Mountain is a
History
The resort opened in November 1972. The mountain has been operated by several owners. In 1980, it was acquired by
Copper Mountain hosted the
The mountain is the starting point of the Colorado's Copper Triangle, a road-cycling circuit that has been the home of the annual Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle Alpine Cycling Classic since 2005. This event benefits the Davis Phinney Foundation.[7]
Copper Mountain received its first detachable chairlift in 1986 when Poma constructed the American Flyer lift, a high speed quad running from Center Village to the summit of the I-lift. It received a companion lift in 1989 when Poma constructed the American Eagle lift, replacing the F-lift from Center Village to Solitude Station. The F-lift would later reappear at Big Sky Resort as the Southern Comfort lift, and now operates on Lone Peak as the Dakota lift.
The resort's third high speed quad came in 1994, when Doppelmayr USA constructed the Timberline Express to replace the I and J double chairlifts, servicing a pod of blue trails west of the American Flyer lift. The I and J lifts were reinstalled in 1995 and 1996 to provide lift service in the Copper Bowl area, as the Mountain Chief and Blackjack lifts.
In 1998, Poma returned to construct two detachable chairlifts for the east mountain. The Super Bee, a high speed six pack, replaced the B-1 and B-2 double chairlifts, providing a one-seat ride from East Village to Resolution Bowl. A short high speed quad known as Excelerator was also built replace the E-lift triple chairlift, running from Solitude Station to the top of Super Bee.
In February 2009, Woodward Camp opened a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2; 0.46-acre) indoor ski and snowboard training facility dedicated to terrain park and half-pipe training.
For the 2011–2012 season, Copper Mountain installed their fifth high speed quad when Doppelmayr constructed the Union Creek lift, replacing the High Point double chairlift out of Union Creek base area. The lift was later renamed the Woodward Express in 2019 to reflect the terrain park it services. Also beginning with the
For the 2017–2018 season, Doppelmayr constructed another high speed quad in the Union Creek base area. The Kokomo Express was built to replace the aging Kokomo triple chairlift and provide improved access to beginner terrain. In that same year, a
During the summer of 2018, the Center Village high speed quads, now approaching 32 years of service, were replaced with new high speed six packs built by
For the 2019 season, Leitner-Poma constructed a triple chairlift running from the bottom of Blackjack to the summit of Tucker Mountain. Named Three Bears, the lift services expert-only terrain previously only available by hiking or a weather-permitting snowcat ride available for a few hours a day on weekends.[9] Also in 2019, additional towers were added to the American Flyer to combat areas of heavy sag on the uphill line.
Location
The closest town is Frisco, 8 miles (13 km) east on the southwest shore of Dillon Reservoir. Nearby resorts within Summit County include Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin, all just west of the Continental Divide and past the Eisenhower Tunnel on the way from Denver.
The
Climate
There is a SNOTEL weather station for Copper Mountain.[10] At 10550 ft (3216 m), Copper Mountain has a subalpine climate (Köppen Dfc).
Climate data for Copper Mountain, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, 1985-2020 extremes: 10550ft (3216m) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 58 (14) |
55 (13) |
65 (18) |
65 (18) |
73 (23) |
81 (27) |
81 (27) |
80 (27) |
74 (23) |
70 (21) |
64 (18) |
54 (12) |
81 (27) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 46.8 (8.2) |
47.9 (8.8) |
54.2 (12.3) |
58.9 (14.9) |
65.7 (18.7) |
73.4 (23.0) |
76.4 (24.7) |
72.8 (22.7) |
69.4 (20.8) |
62.1 (16.7) |
51.9 (11.1) |
45.2 (7.3) |
76.9 (24.9) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 30.6 (−0.8) |
33.2 (0.7) |
40.1 (4.5) |
45.5 (7.5) |
54.0 (12.2) |
63.9 (17.7) |
68.9 (20.5) |
65.8 (18.8) |
59.7 (15.4) |
48.9 (9.4) |
37.2 (2.9) |
29.9 (−1.2) |
48.1 (9.0) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 18.0 (−7.8) |
19.9 (−6.7) |
26.2 (−3.2) |
32.2 (0.1) |
40.7 (4.8) |
49.1 (9.5) |
54.2 (12.3) |
52.0 (11.1) |
46.1 (7.8) |
36.4 (2.4) |
24.7 (−4.1) |
17.6 (−8.0) |
34.8 (1.5) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 5.4 (−14.8) |
6.6 (−14.1) |
12.2 (−11.0) |
18.8 (−7.3) |
27.3 (−2.6) |
34.4 (1.3) |
39.5 (4.2) |
38.3 (3.5) |
32.5 (0.3) |
23.9 (−4.5) |
12.5 (−10.8) |
5.3 (−14.8) |
21.4 (−5.9) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | −11.6 (−24.2) |
−11.1 (−23.9) |
−5.4 (−20.8) |
3.4 (−15.9) |
14.9 (−9.5) |
26.7 (−2.9) |
33.7 (0.9) |
32.8 (0.4) |
22.0 (−5.6) |
6.1 (−14.4) |
−7.6 (−22.0) |
−13.3 (−25.2) |
−16.8 (−27.1) |
Record low °F (°C) | −21 (−29) |
−26 (−32) |
−14 (−26) |
−8 (−22) |
3 (−16) |
18 (−8) |
24 (−4) |
22 (−6) |
8 (−13) |
−8 (−22) |
−27 (−33) |
−30 (−34) |
−30 (−34) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.94 (75) |
2.88 (73) |
3.10 (79) |
3.61 (92) |
2.44 (62) |
1.15 (29) |
1.70 (43) |
2.18 (55) |
1.62 (41) |
2.03 (52) |
2.56 (65) |
2.51 (64) |
28.72 (730) |
Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 43.7 (111) |
52.2 (133) |
56.7 (144) |
55.3 (140) |
41.1 (104) |
10.0 (25) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.1 (0.25) |
1.2 (3.0) |
8.5 (22) |
17.5 (44) |
31.8 (81) |
59.0 (150) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 14.8 | 14.5 | 15.5 | 15.6 | 11.0 | 5.9 | 8.7 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 9.2 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 138.6 |
Source 1: XMACIS2[11] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: NOAA (precip/precip days)[12] |
Resort
The lodging, dining, and entertainment facilities at Copper Mountain are divided into three villages: East Village, The Village at Copper (AKA Center Village), and West Village (formerly Union Creek). The ski area is most notable as being designated by the National Forest Service as having the most organized skier layout of any ski resort. The beginner runs are located entirely to the west and graduate evenly in difficulty as the lifts progress to the east. They are isolated from the busier and more difficult runs in a natural fashion. Similarly, the intermediate runs are located even more to the east and develop in difficulty in a smooth manner. More difficult runs are to the far east, with the most difficult runs being on the backside. The most southern Tucker Mountain provides only double black diamond runs.
Statistics
Elevation
- Summit: 12,313 ft (3,753 m)
- Base: 9,712 ft (2,960 m)
- Vertical: 2,601 ft (793 m)
Slope Aspects
- North: 55%[13]
- South: 5%
- East: 25%
- West: 15%
Trails
- Trails: 150 total (25% beginner, 24% intermediate, 34% advanced, 17% expert)
- Acres: 2,490 acres (10.1 km2)
- Average annual snowfall: 310 in (790 cm)
- Snowmaking 05/06 : 380 acres (1.5 km2)[14]
- Bowls: 5 (Resolution, Spaulding, Copper, Jupiter, Union)
- Peaks: 3 (Copper, Tucker, Union)
Lifts
Copper Mountain has 19 chairlifts,[15] and 6 magic carpets.[16]
Name | Type | Builder | Built | Vertical (feet) |
Length (feet) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Eagle | Chondola | Leitner-Poma | 2018 | 1484 | 6211 | Chondola, with six pack chairs and eight passenger gondola cabins |
American Flyer | High speed six pack | 2018 | 1904 | 9886 | Longest bubble chairlift in the world | |
Super Bee | 1998 | 2293 | 8870 | Main lift out of East Village basin. | ||
Excelerator | High Speed Quad | 1998 | 846 | 3216 | ||
Timberline Express | Doppelmayr | 1994 | 1129 | 4926 | ||
Kokomo Express | 2017 | 362 | 2923 | |||
Woodward Express | 2011 | 1006 | 4819 | Main lift for the Woodward terrain parks. | ||
Three Bears | Triple | Leitner-Poma | 2019 | 1158 | 3166 | |
Lumberjack | Poma | 1981 | 702 | 4300 | ||
Resolution | 1985 | 1417 | 4381 | |||
Rendezvous | Yan | 1982 | 502 | 3367 | Doppelmayr chairs and sheaves | |
Sierra | 1983 | 773 | 3108 | Doppelmayr chairs and sheaves | ||
Alpine | Double | 1979 | 1726 | 5586 | Return station replaced by Doppelmayr in 2022 | |
Pitchfork | 1979 | 66 | 535 | Reused Heron-Poma chairs and towers. | ||
Blackjack | 1995 | 744 | n/a | Relocated from Copper’s front side. Return station replaced in 2019 with a new supplied by Skytrac. | ||
Mountain Chief | 1995 | 814 | 2365 | Relocated from Copper's front side. Modified with Doppelmayr sheaves. | ||
Storm King | T-Bar | Doppelmayr | 2013 | 463 | 2034 | |
Celebrity Ridge | Platter | 2013 | 263 | 879 | ||
Gem | Heron-Poma | 1972 | 70 | 618 | Oldest remaining original lift at Copper Mountain. |
In popular culture
The resort was the central location for the 1983 film Copper Mountain.
The ski scenes in the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber were filmed at Copper. The chairlift used was the E-Chair, which has since been replaced by the Excelerator High Speed Quad.[17]
References
- ^ "Overview - History | Copper Mountain Resort Chamber". Archived from the original on 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
- ^ "Ski". 1 November 1988 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Intrawest Acquires Whistler and Copper Mt. Resorts". www.mountainzone.com.
- ^ "Copper Mountain being sold to Utah's POWDR". 17 November 2009.
- ^ "World Cup in Colorado". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. March 5, 1976. p. 28.
- ^ "Rosi has run named for her". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. March 8, 1976. p. 20.
- ^ "Copper Triangle Bicycle Tour". Colorado Summit Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ "Empty gondola falls off new Copper Mountain ski lift". www.vaildaily.com. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ "Copper Mountain Resort announces new Woodward Peace Park, Tucker Mountain lift, mid-mountain lodge". www.summitdaily.com. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ "Data of Meteorological Station Copper Mountain, Colorado". geographic.org. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "xmACIS2". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "Copper Mountain, Colorado 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "Best Ski Resorts: Copper Mountain Terrain, Snow Quality and Mountain Ranks". ZRankings. ZRankings LLC. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ "Copper Mountain Resort: Take a snow day at Copper". Summit Daily. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ "Copper Mountain, CO". 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Winter Trail Map 2018-2019" (PDF). Copper Mountain. Copper Mountain. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ Adventure-Journal Archived 2014-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, Adventure-Journal 10 Mountains Misrepresented in Movies