Copper Mountain on a Crusade to Provide More Snow

The loud hissing of snowmaking machines is heard a lot at Copper Mountain. The resort is known for its early-season snow. “Over the past two years, we have increased our snowmaking by 40 percent,” says Austyn Williams, P.R. Supervisor for Copper.

Williams says the goal is to open the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center and the 22-foot superpipe as early as possible and not impact the guest experience.

The Speed Center opened Nov. 1. Superstar athletes like Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn, and Ted Ligety were training at Copper.

And now the superpipe is open. “On Nov. 30 we opened the first superpipe in the country and in the world because our snowmaking worked so strategically to make that a reality,” said Williams.

She added that more than 20 national teams in every Olympic ski discipline are training at Copper. “We have mogul skiers, alpine race athletes, and we have freestyle skiers and snowboarders.” Other runs are open so you never know who might be joining you on the chairlift ride up the mountain.

The URTUR, which is a national freestyle tour, even had to change venues from Steamboat Resort to Copper for the 2012 December U.S. Freestyle Selections.

“Snowmaking is the life insurance policy for every ski resort,” added Williams.

Copper Mountain uses snowmaking machines on 335 acres. Seven lifts are running on 18 trails and over 200 acres. Every storm that blows through the Rockies, and especially Summit County, will guarantee more terrain opens at Copper, and the rest of the Colorado resorts.

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