Brighton announces Crest 6 project

Doppelmayr will build the first D-Line lift in Utah this summer, a six-pack replacing the aging Crest Express at Brighton Resort. The replacement lift will feature 90-degree loading with a conveyor and video screen. Riders will enjoy a 5.3-minute ride time with a capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour. Crest will serve mountain bikers in the summer with three bike clips on each chair. The lift won’t have bubbles or heated seats.

Brighton also announced the construction of a new mid-mountain restaurant and the implementation of a parking reservation system for next season.

Crest 6 is the ninth new lift project Brighton owner Boyne Resorts announced for the 2023–24 ski season. Construction is expected to begin in May.

Alterra Mountain Company plans to invest nearly $500 million in transformational changes in the year ahead

On March 21, Alterra Mountain Company announced a nearly $500 million capital investment program focused on enhancing the guest and employee experience across its destinations over the next year.

Alterra will invest almost $400 million in lifts, snowmaking, summer adventures, additional guest amenities and resort infrastructure; $50 million dedicated to employee housing; and $40 million for technology upgrades to better connect and streamline the guest experience.

In the past year, Alterra has completed three projects, including the opening of the new Base to Base Gondola that remade Palisades Tahoe into the largest ski area in California, the opening of Steamboat’s industry-redefining Greenhorn Ranch Learning Center and the first stage of its Wild Blue Gondola, which will ultimately become the longest gondola in North America and the fastest in the country.

“In our first five years, Alterra Mountain Company has established itself as a proven leader in the outdoor industry, and we intend to continue to innovate by investing in large-scale projects that will deliver differentiated guest experiences,” said Jared Smith, president and CEO at Alterra Mountain Company. “These projects, and our investments in the years ahead, demonstrate our unwavering commitment to evolving our destinations to better serve our guests and to improving the experience our employees can expect when living and working in our mountain communities.”

Elevated guest amenities

To provide guests with options that suit their tastes, Alterra has committed to transforming its base areas and on-mountain amenities, including food and beverage and skier service offerings.

• In winter 2023–24, Steamboat’s three-year Full Steam Ahead project concludes with adding 655 acres of expert terrain in Mahogany Ridge and Fish Creek Canyon, making Steamboat the second-largest ski resort in Colorado. Wild Blue Gondola will become the longest gondola in North America and the fastest 10-person gondola in the country. Throughout Full Steam Ahead, Steamboat has transformed Steamboat Square and reimagined the resort experience by adding an escalator to eliminate stairs, moving the Steamboat Gondola on snow to make room for a larger Steamboat Square featuring Skeeter’s Ice Rink, the Mountain Stage and the Range Food & Drink Hall, and introducing Greenhorn Ranch, a dedicated beginners’ area on-mountain. This concludes the company’s initial $220 million and three-year investment in Full Steam Ahead.
• Crystal Mountain’s new 25,000-square-foot skier services facility, Mountain Commons, will bring new guest services and ticketing experience, retail, dining and an expanded slope-side beach area for the 2023–24 winter season.
• Snowshoe is planning for the new design concept replacing Shavers Center, featuring enhanced skier services, including food and beverage, après offerings and other year-round activities.

In addition, the company plans to enhance the base area offerings at Deer Valley Resort, Winter Park Resort, Palisades Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain in the years ahead.

Increased lift and terrain capacity

Alterra will invest in eight additional lifts, including new or replacement lifts at Steamboat, Mammoth Mountain, Winter Park Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort and Snowshoe Mountain.

• The completion of Steamboat’s much anticipated Wild Blue Gondola will nearly double out-of-base capacity, whisking skiers and riders to the top of Sunshine Peak at 10,397 feet in about 12 minutes. Steamboat will also add 655 acres of expert terrain in Mahogany Ridge and Fish Creek Canyon, serviced by the new Mahogany Ridge Express high-speed quad lift, making Steamboat the second-largest ski resort in Colorado.
• Snowshoe will replace the Powder Monkey lift with a fixed-grip quad to increase uphill capacity in the Basin area and improve access to its Western Territory.
• Pioneer Lift at Winter Park Resort will become a six-pack and benefit from a mid-station loading point for better return skiing.
• Canyon Express at Mammoth Mountain will be upgraded from a quad to a high-speed six-pack to boost uphill capacity by 25 percent and allow faster reopening after weather events.
• A high-speed six-pack lift will replace Eagle Express at Solitude Mountain Resort.

Expanded beginner terrain & ski racing courses

Alterra continues investing in beginner terrain and racing facilities to introduce more guests to snow sports. The company’s investments include Steamboat’s new premier Greenhorn Ranch dedicated beginners’ area featuring terrain-based learning, four magic carpets and the Greenhorn Ranch Express, a detachable quad lift. In addition, enhancements are being made to beginners’ areas in Deer Valley Resort, Stratton, Snowshoe and Big Bear Mountain Resort.

Alterra is also investing in recreational ski racing infrastructure, adding free racing courses to each mountain destination in partnership with newly-minted FIS all-time World Cup record-holder Mikaela Shiffrin, U.S. Ski and Snowboard, and Outside Interactive, Inc., owner of NASTAR. Alterra and its partners hope offering these investments for free will invite and ignite the next generation of ski-race champions.

More efficient snowmaking

To help ensure a consistent season length and a quality experience, Alterra is investing in robust, multi-year snowmaking enhancement programs designed to bring higher efficiency equipment to all resorts, most notably overhauling systems at Winter Park Resort, Steamboat, Palisades Tahoe, Sugarbush, Snowshoe and Mammoth Mountain. These new systems favor increased energy efficiency and reduced water usage, allowing its destinations to improve guest experience while reducing the environmental impact.

Additional summer offerings

To provide guests with mountain adventures all year, Alterra continues to reimagine and expand its summer activities to enhance the guest experience beyond the winter season.

• Mammoth Mountain will debut the revamped Woolly’s Adventure Summit, adding one of North America’s longest mountain coasters after introducing expanded and improved winter tubing lanes this past winter. In addition, Woolly’s will break ground this summer on a permanent base lodge with food and beverage amenities. Future phases include adding a zip coaster, adventure ropes courses and the relocation of Snowmobile Adventures, making Woolly’s Adventure Summit a true year-round center for family mountain adventurers of all ages.

Additional summer offerings include a new alpine slide at Winter Park and an aerial adventure course at Crystal Mountain:

• The Winter Park Alpine Slide opened in the summer of 1980 as Colorado’s longest alpine slide, with 3,000 feet of smooth track. The track will be replaced this summer.
• Crystal Mountain’s new Flying Raven Adventure Course will feature a series of aerial challenges, including rope bridges, barrel crossings and treetop ladders and will open this summer.

Enhanced digital guest technology improvements

Alterra is committed to utilizing consumer technology to ease and enhance its guests’ journey from booking to arriving at its destinations. As a result, the company is investing significant capital in improving its digital capabilities. In the year ahead, guests will benefit from additional Ikon Pass app features, significantly streamlined booking and packaging options, new radio frequency identification gate technology at most resorts, and a more connected experience on and off the mountain.

Commitment to employee housing

With its employees’ experience top of mind, Alterra is committed to doubling its portfolio-wide employee housing capacity over the next five-year investment period. This year, the company will add almost 500 workforce housing beds with significant expansion at Palisades Tahoe, Stratton, Tremblant and Winter Park Resort. This will mark the opening of a new premier housing facility that will house over 300 employees on resort grounds. The company also plans for nearly 1,000 additional affordable workforce housing beds across Palisades Tahoe, Blue Mountain, Crystal Mountain, Sugarbush and Deer Valley Resort.

Delighted about the 1,000th PistenBully 600. From left to right: Richard Pechtl, sales representative at Kässbohrer Austria GmbH, Christoph Köll, vehicle fleet operations manager of Schiregion Hochoetz Erschließungs GmbH, Andreas Perberschlager, managing director of Schiregion Hochoetz Erschließungs GmbH, Michaela Burger, managing director of Schiregion Hochoetz Erschließungs GmbH, Christian Paar, managing director of Kässbohrer Austria GmbH, Alexander Bubik, installer at Kässbohrer Austria GmbH, Mathias Speckle, operations manager and technical manager of Schiregion Hochoetz Erschließungs GmbH.

Hochoetz is not just a purely red ski area; the entire red fleet is also equipped with SNOWsat. The digital snow depth measurement returns data for targeted grooming of slopes. This conserves water, fuel and energy, contributing to environmental protection.

One thousand professional vehicles for ski slopes around the world

The success story of the PistenBully 600 is impressive: Starting with its introduction in 2005, it set a milestone in slope preparation. Even its current generation, introduced in 2018 with the “LevelRed” tag, can look back at an impressive career worldwide. Now the 1,000th vehicle of the current series has been handed over to its proud owner, the Austrian ski area of Hochoetz.

One reason why Hochoetz consistently chooses PistenBully is that, “Our ski area and the red PistenBully vehicles share the same values. They are quality products that are a testament to long-term considerations. As the operations manager of the vehicle fleet, I rely on durable machines that perform well even in extreme situations. For this reason, Kässbohrer is a great partner for us,” said Christoph Köll, operations manager of the vehicle fleet.

“We also collaborated very closely with our customers to develop the PistenBully 600. The outcome was a machine whose operating concept and features are so unique so that it has been making a statement ever since its introduction,” said Christian Paar, managing director of Kässbohrer Austria GmbH.

In addition, all six vehicles in the ski area are equipped with SNOWsat – a clear commitment to environ­mental protection.

“I am highly pleased to see this 1,000th vehicle in operation in Hochoetz now,” Paar said

The PistenBully 600 sets standards. In this first snow groomer with an European Stage V engine and standard diesel particulate filter, great importance was placed on making it environmentally friendly. The best power-to-weight ratio and, at the same time, extremely high power output embodies sustainable and efficient slope management of the highest order. The ingenious assistance systems such as AutoTracer, SlopeTracer and AutoWinch are beneficial if there is a need for extreme gradeability and pushing performance.

Big Sky Resort unveils first apartment-style employee housing, walkable to the resort

Big Sky Resort is proud to announce the opening of Levinski Lodge, the first apartment-style housing for resort team members. Levinski Lodge A is the first of three buildings in the new Levinski Lodge housing campus. Buildings B and C, a mix of dormitory and apartment-style rooms, will open for winter 2023–24.

The new units are walkable to the resort, making for a quick commute and easing the burden on local transportation infrastructure.

“We want our team members to live right here in Big Sky. It enlivens the community, and it’s better for the employee, atmosphere and climate,” said Troy Nedved, the resort’s general manager.

Levinski Lodge is the first housing for team members at Big Sky Resort. Each apartment is fully furnished, including a full kitchen, common space, spacious bathrooms, storage closets and free laundry facilities.

“Building sustainable housing is not just about location. We’ve included the best efficiency measures to further reduce our environmental impact, including low-flow water fixtures and an energy-efficient HVAC system,” said Amy Fonte, the resort’s sustainability specialist. “The complex will be partially powered by rooftop solar panels, the resort’s first net-metered solar installation, which puts clean energy directly into the grid.”

Levinski Lodge A will house 35 team members, including some moving in with their families.

“Recognizing that we need more diverse and affordable housing options is crucial to address the housing shortage in the Big Sky community,” said Nedved. “Apartment-style units address a part of the population that has not quite fit in our other housing offerings.”

The opening of the Levinski Lodge is just one piece of Big Sky Resort’s significant investment in team member housing. In the past five years, Big Sky Resort has built and opened more than 350 additional beds in Big Sky, all within walking distance of the resort. Big Sky Resort offers 826 team member beds, more than seven times the ski industry average.

“Ultimately, our goal is to reach 1,000 beds in Big Sky, which would house approximately half of our team in the winter season. We’re on track to reach that goal by the winter 2023–24 season,” Nedved said.