Day 52
Location: Copper Mountain, CO
Resorts: 25 out of 50
Copper Mountain takes the honor of the twenty-fifth ski area in our epic journey. We couldn’t have been happier. We love this mountain.
We Snow Junkies have always been big fans of Copper’s deals. Here are a few we’ve come across during the 2009-2010 season. This is by no means a complete list. The big bonus: Most of these deals are good at Winter Park as well.
- 2 for 1 Lift Tickets from Shell When You Buy 10 Gallons
- Free Ski Lift Tickets to Copper/Winter Park By Buying a Descente Jacket
- 2 for 1 Tickets @ Winter Park/Copper When You Fly Frontier
- Buy 10 Vitamin Waters, Get a $10 Ticket to Winter Park/Copper
- $39 Tickets With a Season Pass from Another Mountain
Copper Mountain is laid out in a fairly straightforward manner. Their terrain is naturally divided by ability levels. This means that experts hang on one part of the mountain, beginners are over on the far side, and the intermediates claim the middle.
During our early season trip, we got to know the frontside groomers too well. The upper stuff hadn’t opened yet. This time we had only one goal in mind — Copper’s High Alpine Bowls.
Five inches fell overnight, making just about a foot since we’ve arrived in Summit. We headed straight to the top of Copper Peak (via the always entertaining Storm King poma). There’s a large bowl back here with two lifts for access.
The Mountain Chief Double is where we staked ourselves for most of the day. After the pow was shredded under the lift, there was more than enough hiking to keep us happy all afternoon. We took a longer jaunt around lunchtime to near untouched Copper Bowl. Coco dropped in first and I could hear her whoops from the ridge.
Then it was my turn. Coco managed to snap some pictures. Yeah, it was fun.
Another spot that made us smile was the lower section of Union Meadows. There’s a bunch of cut runs back here, more than we could explore in one outing.
And check this out. Copper has FREE snowcat access. Yeah, that’s right. They’ll drive you up Tucker Mountain. Too bad they only run this bad boy on the weekends. Maybe we’ll have to stick around…
Apres-Ski Report
We found our perfect place to end the day. Two hot dogs and beer for five dollars? It’s slopeside, it’s easy, and we’re hooked.
The Cheat Sheet:
Copper Mountain
209 Ten Mile Circle
Copper Mountain, CO 80443
Copper Red Hots
At the base of the American Eagle Lift
Copper Mountain Stats
| Snowfall | 282 in (716 cm) |
| Top Elevation | 12,313 ft (3,753 m) |
| Bottom Elevation | 9,712 ft (2,960 m) |
| Vertical Drop | 2,601 ft (793 m) |
| Area Size | 22 lifts | 126 trails | 2,450 acres (992 ha) acres |
| Night Skiing | No |
| Terrain Park | Yes |
| Halfpipe | Yes |
