Winter Park Resort

Winter Park/Mary Jane Resort

Winter Park Village
Location Grand County, Colorado, USA
Nearest city Winter Park, Colorado
Coordinates 39°53′13″N 105°45′45″W / 39.88694°N 105.76250°W / 39.88694; -105.76250 (Winter Park/Mary Jane Resort)
Top elevation 12,060 feet (3,676 m)
Base elevation 9,000 feet (2,743 m)
Skiable area 3,081 acres (1,247 ha)
Runs 143 total
8% beginner
18% intermediate
19% advanced
55% expert
Lift system 25 total (9 high-speed chairs, 10 fixed-grip chairs, 6 surface lifts)
Snowfall 370 in (940 cm)
Website http://www.winterparkresort.com

Winter Park Resort is an alpine ski resort in Winter Park, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains. Located just off U.S. Highway 40, the resort is about a 90 minute drive from Denver, Colorado.

The mountain opened for the 1939–1940 season as Winter Park Ski Area[1] and was owned and operated by the city and county of Denver until 2002, when Denver entered into a partnership with Intrawest ULC, a Canadian corporation headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has operated the resort since then.[2] For nearly 70 years a popular way for Denver residents to get there was via the Ski Train, which arrived at the resort's base area through the Moffat Tunnel. (The Ski Train was terminated by the railroad in spring 2009.) Winter Park Resort is home to one of the world's largest and oldest disabled skiing programs, the National Sports Center for the Disabled.

The resort consists of three interconnected mountain peaks (and 7 "territories") — Winter Park, Mary Jane, and Vasquez Ridge — which share a common lift ticket. Mary Jane, opened in 1975, has a separate base area and is known for its moguls, tree skiing, hidden huts and generally more difficult terrain. It encompasses the above-tree line terrain of Parsenn Bowl. Vasquez Ridge, opened in 1986, offers intermediate terrain and mogul runs. In 1997, 435 acres (176 ha) of backcountry terrain in Vasquez Cirque were opened to skiing, although access required hiking from the top of Mary Jane;[3] the 2006 relocation of the former Outrigger triple chairlift to the backside of Parsenn Bowl provides an easier escape back to Mary Jane after descending Vasquez Cirque.

Since taking over operation of the resort, Intrawest has made several changes to the mountain's infrastructure, renovating the food services in the West Portal base lodge, opening new lifts in 2005 and 2006, and publicly announcing plans for a new base village to include hundreds of new condominia, a parking structure, a "Village Pond," and a "family swim center," all accessible via a new open-air gondola known as "The Village Cabriolet."[4] However, while this change has been great for the economic development of the town and the resort, it has also been a threat to the existing historic resort base. The historic Balcony House remains under constant threat of demolition. This historic building was designed in the Googie style of architecture, which was a popular style in the 1940s to the 1960s. This building is a standing memory to the original history of Winter Park.

In an attempt to make Winter Park into a year-round resort, Intrawest operates the lifts during the summer months for mountain biking. The Arrow chairlift also services an alpine slide in the summer, and the base area features miniature golf, a climbing wall, and other diversions. While the Winter Park area is also a popular destination for golf, there are no golf courses located at, or operated by, the resort itself.

Statistics

Elevation

Trails

View looking north from the top of Parsenn Bowl prior to the construction of the Panoramic Express.
View looking east at Parry's Peak from near the top of the Mary Jane.
Panoramic view of the Zephyr Express and Zephyr Mountain Lodge.

Slope Aspects

Lifts[6]

25 total (manufacturer, year installed)

Ski trail near the top of Winter Park Resort.

Former lifts[3]

Historic Trails

During Winter Park's 75-year history, many individuals have made significant contributions to the development and image of the ski area. Several ski trails have been identified on the resort's website as "historical trails," and even more exist on the mountain. A commemorative sign, with a brief narrative about the individual's contribution to the ski area, has been installed along each historical trail. Listed are both the run and in parentheses the lift that reaches them:

Winter Park Resort nestled in with the Continental Divide

Notable People

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Winter Park". Winter Park Resort - Official Ski Resort Website - Winter Park, Colorado. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  2. ↑ "Who We Are". Intrawest. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
  3. 1 2 TCSP. "History of the Winter Park Resort". Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Winter Park". Winter Park Resort - Real Estate – Winter Park, Colorado. Winter Park Resort. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  5. ↑ "Best Ski Resorts: Winter Park Resort Terrain, Snow Quality and Mountain Ranks". ZRankings. ZRankings, LLC. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  6. ↑ "Colorado Chairlift Locations". Colorado Ski History. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
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