Steamboat Resort is a major ski area in the Western United States, located in northwestern Colorado at Steamboat Springs. Operated by the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation, it is located on Mount Werner, a mountain in the Park Range in the Routt National Forest. Originally named Storm Mountain ski area, it opened on January 12, 1963.

The ski area has 297 named trails spread over . Of those, 14% are classified as beginner-level, 42% as intermediate, and 44% as advanced. It also contains the Mavericks Superpipe, one of the premier half-pipes in North America. Limited trails available for night skiing began to be offered in the 2013–14 season.

In honor of local Olympian Buddy Werner (1936–1964), Storm Mountain was renamed Mount Werner in 1965, and the ski area's name was changed as well. Dallas-based conglomerate LTV purchased Mount Werner ski area in the fall of 1969, rebranded it as "Steamboat" the following summer, and hired world champion and Olympic silver medalist Billy Kidd as director of skiing.

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: Summit: Vertical Rise:

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

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.

Name Type Manufacturer Built Vertical Length NotesWild Blue GondolaGondola10Doppelmayr2022 (stage 1)2023 (stage 2)590 (stage 1)2782 (stage 2)4267 (stage 1)12243 (stage 2)Two-stage gondola running from the base area to the summit of Sunshine Peak, with a midway turn station serving the Greenhorn Ranch. Constructed over a two year period, the lower stage opened in 2022 and the upper stage opened in 2023. Steamboat Gondola Gondola 8 Doppelmayr 2019 2176 8849 Replaced an older Doppelmayr gondola that was built in 1985. Bottom terminal was moved uphill in 2021 to make room for Wild Blue. Christie Peak Express High speed six pack Leitner-Poma 2007 1102 4636 Has a mid-unload turn station, and is open for night skiing. Lower segment was realigned in 2022 to make room for Wild Blue Gondola Stage I. Storm Peak Express High Speed Quad Doppelmayr 1992 2159 6885 Former bubble lift Sundown Express High Speed Quad Doppelmayr 1992 1936 5418 Former bubble lift. Provides access to "Shadows" off skiers right. Shadows is widely renowned as the most difficult glade skiing in the continental United States Thunderhead Express High Speed Quad Doppelmayr 1997 1641 5530 Pony Express High Speed Quad Garaventa CTEC 1998 1653 5003 Sunshine Express High Speed Quad Poma 2006 1280 5647 Operated from 1997 to 2006 as the Tombstone Express at Canyons Resort Elkhead Express High Speed Quad Doppelmayr 2016 726 2411 Greenhorn Ranch ExpressHigh speed quadDoppelmayr20222301206Learning lift, with auto-locking safety bars Mahogany Ridge Express High speed quad Leitner-Poma 2023 1868 6329 South Peak Triple Yan 1984 305 1700 Retrofitted with Doppelmayr chairs from the former Sunshine tripleFour PointsTripleYan199213653986 Morningside Triple Garaventa CTEC 1996 545 2685 Main lift outside of the Morningside bowl. Burgess Creek Triple Leitner-Poma 2004 939 3490 Bashor Double Yan 1974 305 1505 Oldest lift on the mountain, and dedicated terrain park and race training lift. Bar-UE Double Yan 1977 1352 4820 Wildhorse Gondola Pulse Gondola 6 Leitner-Poma 2009 104 1942 Does not serve any skiable terrain, built to connect Wildhorse Meadows (Housing development) to the base area.

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

External links

Steamboat History Full of Western Lore, Pioneering Spirit at skifederation.org