Steamboat Ski Resort

Ownership

In 2017, Steamboat Ski Resort was purchased by Alterra Mountain Company from Intrawest, a Canadian resort management company. Steamboat was one of the seven resorts owned by Intrawest. Prior to Intrawest's ownership, Steamboat was owned by the American Skiing Company. Intrawest purchased the resort at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Mountain statistics

Elevation

• Base: 6900 ft
• Summit: 10568 ft
• Vertical Rise: 3668 ft

Trails

• Area: 3741 acre
• Trails: 182 total (~12% beginner, 40% intermediate, 48% advanced)
• Longest Run: "Why Not" ~ 3 mi
• Terrain Parks: 6 (including Mavericks Superpipe)
• Average Annual Snowfall: 400 in

The four lower mountain lifts (the Steamboat Gondola, the lower portion of the Wild Blue Gondola, Thunderhead Express, and Christie Peak Express) service most of the green runs, which include the long Why Not trail from Thunderhead. Blue trails can be found mostly off of these same lifts, plus the two high speed quads on Sunshine Peak, although more funnel to the Sunshine Express lift. A couple of blue runs can also be found from the Four Points, BAR-UE, and Storm Peak Express lifts, as are a few in Morningside Park.

The blue-black runs are scattered about the mountain, but most of them are located off the Pony Express lift in Pioneer Ridge. Black runs can be found off of all eight high-speed quads except Greenhorn Ranch Express, the highest concentrations are on north Sunshine Peak, most of Storm Peak, Pioneer Ridge, and Morningside Park. The double-black runs are only located directly around the peak of Mt. Werner and in Fish Creek Canyon off of Mahogany Ridge Express.

Slope Aspects

• North: 20%
• South: 23%
• West: 55%
• East: 2%

Lifts

• Steamboat has 18 lifts, with 5 Magic Carpets.

According to steamboat.com, plans are in the works to place a high-speed six-pack along the Thunderhead lift line.

The $15 million gondola replacement project lasted through the summer of 2019. Some of the helicopter-enabled tower replacements were streamed online, and the lift was extensively tested under load. It opened with fanfare on November 23, 2019, at the start of the winter 2019-2020 season, but broke the next day on November 24, when a main driveshaft sheared (possibly due to unexpected stress during transit from Austria). The manufacturer (Doppelmayr) sent a team from Austria to help with the situation, and the Steamboat lift Ops worked together around the clock to build, ship, and install the replacement part(s). The gondola reopened on December 5, almost 12 days later.

NCAA Championships

Steamboat has hosted the NCAA Skiing Championships nine times (1968, 1969, 1979, 1993, 2006, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2024).

Full Steam Ahead

The $220 million Steamboat improvement project "Full Steam Ahead" constructed new amenities, lifts, and terrain to better the resort experience for skiers and riders.

Phase I

In June 2021, the first phase of the mountain project "Full Steam Ahead" broke ground with the removal of the Steamboat Gondola building and slight improvements of the base including escalators, moving the gondola terminal closer to the mountain, and a new ski lessons building for small children.

Phase II

Beginning in summer of 2022, phase II marked the complete redesign of the base area. Construction began on an ice skating rink and restaurant to dramatically improve the feel and flow of the base area. Also, the Greenhorn Ranch learning area and the first segment of the heavily anticipated Wild Blue Gondola were built, providing swift and direct transport for beginners to a dedicated, low-mountain learning area.

Phase III

The final phase of Full Steam Ahead focused solely on the on-mountain experience for the 2023-2024 ski season. Snowmaking was added on Sunshine Peak, alongside the completion of phase II of the Wild Blue Gondola to create a one-seat ride from the base area to the summit of Sunshine Peak. In addition, a 650 acre terrain expansion was opened on Mahogany Ridge and Fish Creek Canyon, serviced by a high speed quad. Full Steam Ahead concluded on January 15, 2024 with the complete opening of the Fish Creek Canyon area.

References

References

1. Fetcher, Bill. "History of the Steamboat Ski Area". ColoradoSkiHistory.com.
2. (January 10, 1963). "Storm Mountain ski area will open officially Saturday when lift starts". Steamboat Pilot.
3. (February 18, 1965). "Mt. Werner dedicated at impressive rites Sunday". Steamboat Pilot.
4. Silva, Kelly. (December 15, 2001). "A mountain of history". Steamboat Pilot.
5. (September 25, 1969). "LTV buys Mt. Werner in 8 million dollar transaction". Steamboat Pilot.
6. (June 18, 1970). "LTV Skiing focus on Steamboat". Steamboat Pilot.
7. (September 3, 1970). "Bill Kidd signs on". Steamboat Pilot.
8. Rand, Abby. (August 1971). "Champagne skiing on a great natural mountain".
9. (August 1971). "Steamboat's a comin'".
10. "Intrawest – Vacation Destination Resorts". Intrawest.
11. "Best Ski Resorts: Steamboat Ski Resort Terrain, Snow Quality and Mountain Ranks". ZRankings LLC.
12. (25 November 2019). "New gondola closes due to malfunction day after opening; might not be in operation for busy holiday week".
13. (5 December 2019). "Steamboat's $15 million gondola is finally working more than a week after it opened".
14. (30 November 2021). "November Construction Updates".
15. (6 April 2022). "Steamboat Moves Full Steam Ahead With Phase II".
16. (15 December 2023). "North America's Longest And Fastest 10-Person Gondola Opens Today In Colorado".
17. (3 November 2023). "Steamboat's Newest Terrain: Mahogany Ridge & Fish Creek Canyon".
18. "Full Steam Ahead Timeline".