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What’s New at Every Destination Ski Resort: 2023-24 (Vol. 9)

Welcome to the latest PeakRankings newsletter! In this series, we round up the best news and deals from the ski industry.

✨ Our Recent Features

Thanks to the following outlets for highlighting PeakRankings!

CNN

The best skis of 2023, according to shredders

https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/outdoors/best-skis

Unofficial Networks

PeakRankings Ranks Colorado Ski Resorts – Worst to Best

https://unofficialnetworks.com/2023/10/16/colorado-ski-resorts-ranked-worst-to-best/

SnowBrains

Power Ranking the Top 7 Colorado Ski Resorts

https://snowbrains.com/power-ranking-the-top-7-colorado-ski-resorts/

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What’s New at Every Destination Ski Resort: 2023-24

The Scoop 👓

Over the past few years, ski resorts have absolutely exploded with new investments. And this upcoming season is perhaps the craziest one yet—across the North American ski scene, more than 30 major ski resorts are in for some sort of serious upgrade.

But not all upgrades are created equal. So which ones are solely “nice-to-haves”, and which ones are true game changers? In this piece, we’ll go through the scheduled upgrades at each of these mountains for the 2023-24 season, and we’ll detail the implications if you’re planning a trip there.

To break everything down, we’ll tier each suite of improvements into four different categories:

• Minor Investments: smaller-scale changes that aren’t intended to have huge front-facing experience impacts

• Noteworthy Investments: important changes that aren’t the most prominent, but have the potential to bring palpable experience improvements

• Substantial Investments: changes that we expect most guests will prominently notice

• Game-Changing Investments: changes that will not only be noticed, but have the potential to expand the resorts appeal to a meaningful new clientele

And if we didn’t cover a mountain, it means that no serious investments have been made for the upcoming season—or at least as of this recording, haven’t been announced yet.

Several ski resorts are seeing upgrades in snowmaking, parking, employee housing, and RFID lift access.

Minor Investments 🔧

Starting out, we have some more under-the-radar investments that won’t exactly make a splash, but are intended to keep resorts operating to their fullest potential for the foreseeable future. And there are a ton of resorts getting these small-scale upgrades.

General Upgrade Initiatives 🪛

Before we jump into specific projects, we want to highlight a few general upgrade initiatives that have made their way to dozens of resorts around the continent. A large chunk of the North American ski scene has announced investments in snowmaking, employee housing, parking access, and RFID compatibility for the upcoming season, and it’s possible that others are continuing to invest in these areas in an under-the-radar fashion:

SNOWMAKING UPGRADES:

• Alta, Utah

• Brian Head, Utah

• Brighton, Utah

• Copper, Colorado

• Eldora, Colorado

• Gore, New York

• Killington, Vermont

• Mammoth, California

• Panorama, British Columbia

• Pico, Vermont

• Powder Mountain, Utah

• Steamboat, Colorado

• Sugarbush, Vermont

• Sugarloaf, Maine

• Sun Peaks, British Columbia

• Sunday River, Maine

• Whiteface, New York

• Windham, New York

NEW EMPLOYEE HOUSING:

• Big Sky, Montana

• Lake Louise, Alberta

• Mammoth, California

• Palisades Tahoe, California

• Winter Park, Colorado

INCREASED PARKING:

• Heavenly, California/Nevada

• Schweitzer, Idaho

• Silver Star, British Columbia

• Snowbasin, Utah

• Sundance, Utah

NEW RFID ACCESS:

• Crystal, Washington

• Magic Mountain, Vermont

• Stratton, Vermont

• Silver Star, British Columbia

• Tremblant, Quebec

Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Breckenridge are piloting a gear subscription program for the upcoming season.

Vail Resorts Initiatives 👨‍💼

My Epic Gear

Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Breckenridge will be the first mountains to pilot My Epic Gear, a new Vail Resorts-run subscription program that will allow guests access to the same model of skis, snowboards, and boots throughout the season at any of these four resorts. This idea might sound crazy—and we’re definitely a bit skeptical on how the shared boots will work—but Vail Resorts has a ton of customer data, and it would be foolish to underestimate them here.

Phone-Based Tickets and Passes

In addition, every U.S. ski resort owned by Vail Resorts has now moved to phone-based access, meaning guests now have the option to load their ticket or pass on their phone and not have to wait in line at the ticket counter.

Minor Upgrades at Individual Mountains 🏔️

Deer Valley, Utah:

• Aprés-oriented refurbishment of 2nd floor of the mid-mountain Royal Street café

• Reinstatement of an in-advance reservation requirement for Ikon Pass visitors

Park City, Utah:

• Replacement of the gondola cabins for its Canyons-side Red Pine Gondola

Powder Mountain, Utah:

• Night Skiing now at $19 per evening

• Snow making commences for the first time

• 500 acres guided backcountry expansion

Revelstoke, British Columbia:

• Learning area moves to the top of the Revelation gondola

• Relocation of the magic carpet and the ski school facility to the top of the Revelation gondola

• 20% capacity upgrade on the Ripper Chair

Silver Star, British Columbia:

• Double the number of cabins on its Schumann Summit Express Gondola

Stratton,Vermont:

• Upgraded learning area with 5 new magic carpets (including 3 covered magic carpets)

• New terrain parks, including new boardercross setup on Big Ben

Sugarbush, Vermont:

• Complete redesign of the Reverse Traverse trail, merging it with Heaven’s Gate Traverse trail

• Officialization of the Rob Royce trail off the Summit Quad

• Renovations to the Lincoln Peak base facilities

 Windham, New York:

• Renaming to the “Windham Mountain Club”

• New dining options including an “Italian Alps-style” mid-mountain restaurant, an upgraded food court, and a new Mediterranean option at the base

• Capped ticket sales to provide “uncrowded” slopes and “2-day minimum” lift ticket purchases on peak days

A rendering of the new Aerie mid-mountain lodge at Copper Mountain. Via: Copper 

Noteworthy Investments 🛠️

Next up, we have the upgrades that have significant potential to overhaul on-mountain resort experiences, although they might not exactly be headliners.

Alpental, Washington:

• Sessel Double Chair replaced with a modern, fixed-grip triple in a slightly longer alignment

• Addition of new chairs to the Armstrong Express lift, increasing capacity by 20%

Breckenridge, Colorado:

• 5-Chair becomes Five SuperChair, marking the resort’s third new high-speed quad in three years

Copper Mountain, Colorado:

• New mid-mountain Aerie Lodge, with both grab-and-go and restaurant facilities

• New beginner trails and glades off Lumberjack lift

Crystal, Washington:

• New mid-mountain lodge at the base of the Rainier Express lift

Gore, New York:

• Extensive renovations of its beginner area

• Bear Cub Platter replaced by a fixed-grip quad

Magic Mountain, Vermont:

• Black Line Quad will be completed

Mammoth, California:

• Canyon Express quad will become a high-speed six-pack

• Backside’s Melt House structure will be completed, doubling the number of bathrooms.

Mount Bachelor, Oregon:

• Skyliner high-speed quad becomes a six-pack

Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon:

• Mount Hood Express lift becomes a six-pack

Sierra-at-Tahoe, California:

• Fire recovery plan will be complete, reopening all of Sierra’s glade footprint

Solitude, Utah:

• Eagle Express high-speed quad will become a six-pack

• New remote avalanche control systems to allow for faster Honeycomb Canyon openings

Steven’s Pass, Washington:

• Kehr’s double chair replaced by a fixed-grip quad

Telluride, Colorado:

• Restored Giuseppe’s Restaurant

Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia:

• Fitzsimmons lift becomes an eight-pack - the first in Western Canada

Winter Park, Colorado:

• Pioneer Express quad becomes the Wild Spur six-pack

• New tap room at the base village

• Pop-up food shacks at various junctions

Wolf Creek, Colorado:

• New “Tumber” fixed-grip quad serving beginner terrain

A map of the Hero's expansion at Aspen Mountain this season. Via: Aspen Snowmass

Substantial Investments ⚙️

Next up, we have headliner changes that we expect the vast majority of resort guests to prominently notice.

Aspen Mountain, Colorado:

• 153-acre Hero’s terrain expansion - new high speed quad and lappable intermediate and expert terrain

Attitash, New Hampshire:

• Summit Triple becomes the Mountaineer high-speed quad

Big Sky, Montana:

• 200% capacity increase, lower base terminal for the Lone Peak Tram, and a $10-”$40+” per ride price.

• New Double Blue square rating 🟦 🟦

Brighton, Utah:

• Crest Express quad becomes a six-pack

• Sidewinder Lodge becomes Brighton’s first ever mid-mountain lodge

• Paid parking policy of at least $20 (with exceptions for carpooling)

Loon Mountain, New Hampshire:

• 30 acre lower mountain expansion

• New Timbertown fixed-grip quad

Marmot Basin, Alberta:

• Knob double chair becomes fixed-grip quad, with a 400-foot higher summit terminal.

Schweitzer, Idaho:

• New 1400-space parking lot.

• Musical Chairs double becomes a high-speed quad

• Moving to unlimited access on the Ikon full and base products

Snowbasin, Utah:

• New DeMoisy Express six-pack to help the Strawberry Gondola

• New patio at the base of the Strawberry Lodge

• Expanded overflow parking and new bathrooms at the base

Sun Valley, Idaho:

• Challenger and Greyhawk lifts removed, replaced with a six-pack that has a mid-station

• New Flying Squirrel high-speed quad in new alignment

• Christmas and Frenchman teardrop lifts are to take the Challenger and Greyhawk carriers

Sunday River, Maine:

• Barker Express quad becomes a bubble six-pack similar in nature to Jordan 8

• Additional Merrill Hill triple lift to help the one from last year

• New beginner and intermediate trails to facilitate slopeside condo development

Taos, New Mexico:

• Lift 4 becomes a detachable high-speed quad

• Pioneer beginner lift becomes a more modern fixed-grip triple

• 3 new trails, 2 advanced and 1 expert

• Martini Tree Bar will reopen

Whiteface, New York:

• New Notch detachable high-speed quad lift which includes a mid-station

• Realignment of the magic carpet at the Bear Den base

A map of the Bergman Bowl Expansion at Keystone this season. Via: Keystone

Game-Changing Investments 💥

Finally, we get into investments that have the potential to be true game changers for their respective resorts. All three of these mountains are on track to see truly transformative projects this winter, with upgrades that will not only add new lifts and terrain, but may ultimately change the fundamental character of who these resorts attract.

Keystone, Colorado:

• Bergman Bowl gets a high-alpine six-pack, adding lift-served bowl terrain for the first time

• Lift served footprint increases by 550 acres, vertical drop by 300 feet, and 16 newly defined trails

Steamboat, Colorado:

• Second stage of the Wild Blue Gondola to be completed

• 650-acre Mahogany Ridge Expansion, which will add advanced and expert terrain

Sugarloaf, Maine:

• 120-acre West Mountain expansion

• 12 new trails of beginner and intermediate difficulty served by a new high-speed quad

• Agonizingly long West Mountain double lift to be shortened, eliminating the top 40%

Want to see more on these upgrades? Check out our full writeup here: https://www.peakrankings.com/content/ski-resort-upgrades-2023-24

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Thinking of visiting an upgraded mountain—and not sure how these investments will impact your trip? Try out PeakRankings Trips, our new trip-planning service. We can plan every aspect of your trip, whether it be to Keystone, Steamboat, or over 90 destination ski resorts across North America!

Any questions/thoughts on these developments? Respond to this email and we’ll get back to you!

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