Seeking Higher Ground: Western Resorts Take Skiers Where the Snow Is

06.12.2023 - 10:12 / nytimes.com / Aspen Mountain

Despite the La Niña weather pattern that dumped snowfall by the foot last winter at many mountain resorts in the western United States, global warming fundamentally threatens the survival of the ski business. In response, ski areas are increasingly investing in efficient snow-making and carbon emissions reductions. Some areas, especially in the West, are also pursuing another method: developing terrain higher up mountains where colder climes or steeper, tree-filled terrain are more likely to hold the snow.

This winter, three ski areas in Colorado — Aspen Mountain, Keystone Resort and Steamboat Ski Resort — are unveiling significant high-altitude expansions or terrain additions designed for experts, potentially delighting one of the biggest audiences of skiers and snowboarders in recent years.

While opening higher-elevation areas aims to take advantage of colder conditions to produce and preserve snow, travelers may need more time to adjust to runs cut above 10,000 feet.

In Aspen, the new 153-acre expansion known as Hero’s adds 20 percent more terrain to Aspen Mountain, one of four ski areas in the Aspen Snowmass portfolio.

“We have an uncertain future because of climate change,” said Geoff Buchheister, the chief executive of Aspen Snowmass. He stressed that the expansion — 20 years in the making — didn’t begin as an answer to global warming, but should help retain snow.

“It’s above 10,000 feet and happens to be northeast-facing so the sun is perfect for holding snow once it’s there through the winter, allowing us to ski longer in the spring,” Mr. Buchheister said. “In low snow years, it might be a nice asset for us.”

Skiers and riders will take the main Silver Queen Gondola from the village base to the top of Aspen Mountain to gain access to Hero’s — which is entirely reliant on natural snow — at 11,262 feet.

Trees were thinned in the new gladed area of the White River National Forest, offering natural obstacles to carve around on a 1,220-foot vertical drop. While there are a few access points for intermediate skiers, the heart of the terrain — including chutes, or steep, narrow sections usually bounded by rock walls — are rated double black for expert skiers.

“It’s going to make you feel like a hero,” Mr. Buchheister said.

Keystone Resort, a Vail Resorts-owned destination about 75 miles west of Denver, is opening a new lift terminating at 12,282 feet and providing access to its Bergman Bowl, formerly available to skiers and riders who hiked in for more than a mile or took a snowcat ride up.

The high-speed Bergman Express lift will offer access to roughly 550 acres — much of it above the tree line — in two adjacent bowls, Bergman and Erickson, which have been mapped with 16 new trails, most of them