Colorado Winter Park "improvements"

[Jerez]

WP is making capital improvements including a big gondola, village improvements and expanded snowmaking.

But they are also doing this, which in my mind is sad. It will sissify Eagle Wind much like they did the Parsenn tree skiing when they replaced the old Timberline lift with a six pack, cut the lift line diagonally through it and "gladed" it. The trees in Eagle Wind are dense enough to keep it an expert terrain area and to shield the snow so that you can find good, soft snow and powder there even days after a storm.


Eagle Wind is already home to epic tree skiing, but things are about to get even better! Glading is bringing new lines to this pocket of powder heaven. Not only will the work improve the gladed skiing experience in the area, but will also contribute to the overall health of the forest by removing dead and dying timber to promote forest revegetation.

 

[cantunamunch]

I see your point.

I also note that this fire season has folks wound up enough that they would be OK with any/all fuel removal, no matter the context.

 

[Jerez]

Living in the forest, I can certainly appreciate that.

But this isn't prescribed thinning for fire mitigation. The photo on the website makes it look like they are going to make quasi runs in seven places. Cant tell what the red vs orange segments mean.

 

[cosmoliu]

Not sure I like the looks of this either... There have been so many days when I've found Eagle Wind an almost purely private playground. I hope those days are not gone forever. I guess we'll know soon enough.

 

[Slim]

Yeah, does “glading” mean opening up a select stand here or there, that was completely impenetrable before, thereby opening up a new line? Or does it mean widening the gap in places where people already ski, thus creating a less dense tree-skiing experience?

 

[Freaq]

Removing 'dead and dying' sound vastly different to me than what they did to Backside Parsenn so I'm tying to stay optimistic on this one. The way the map is shown gives me hope that the shaded areas have been thinned just a bit and the unshaded left as is. That area already gets hoards when the mountain gets hoards but otherwise it's pretty lonely. The lift isn't getting any faster and the runout isn't getting any shorter

 

[Magi]

Eagle wind is Already gladed. The "yellow" sections in question are already a "gladed" experience.

My guess is they're changing the red sections to be not quite so impenetrable. Probably a net good.

 

[Chris Walker]

The little video on the website had arrows pointing to all the areas--red and yellow--with the words "New lines." Makes me think they are/were thinning all the areas. But I don't know what the difference is between red and yellow. I hope they don't thin it too much; it's really special the way it is and opening up some of the denser areas wouldn't ruin it. If they turn it into one of those areas sold as "tree skiing" when it's really just trails with a tree or two left standing here and there, I'm not a fan.

 

[Jerez]

@Magi Do you know that the yellow areas are not getting "done"? That is, are they only thinning the red ones? If so, that makes sense to me. The orange areas are still pretty thick trees, so if the red is going to look like the orange does now, I retract my complaint.

However:

True, the lift isn't getting any faster...yet. If the area becomes more user friendly and the crowds start going over there, it's just a matter of time before a new lift goes in. Just picture what the lift-line "run" and the relatively open areas left and right of the lift look like on a powder day. They turn into scraped up bumps in a couple of hours, whereas the un-gladed areas especially the further skier's left you go on the traverse, hold fresh lines sometimes for days.

 

[Magi]

@Magi Do you know that the yellow areas are not getting "done"? That is, are they only thinning the red ones? If so, that makes sense to me. The orange areas are still pretty thick trees, so if the red is going to look like the orange does now, I retract my complaint.

I have no inside information, I may be completely wrong, and what I said above is speculation (because Winter Parks "glades" have traditionally looked a lot like other areas "trees").

True, the lift isn't getting any faster...yet. If the area becomes more user friendly and the crowds start going over there, it's just a matter of time before a new lift goes in. Just picture what the lift-line "run" and the relatively open areas left and right of the lift look like on a powder day. They turn into scraped up bumps in a couple of hours, whereas the un-gladed areas especially the further skier's left you go on the traverse, hold fresh lines sometimes for days.

I think the reality of modern lift served skiing is that everything you don't have to hike to is tracked out in hours, and even the hikes I've seen don't hold fresh "lines" for days. (Hits, or a turn or two, sure - but nothing I'd call a "line").

 

[oswaldr2]

I have no inside information, I may be completely wrong, and what I said above is speculation (because Winter Parks "glades" have traditionally looked a lot like other areas "trees").




I think the reality of modern lift served skiing is that everything you don't have to hike to is tracked out in hours, and even the hikes I've seen don't hold fresh "lines" for days. (Hits, or a turn or two, sure - but nothing I'd call a "line").

ain't that the truth

 

[pchewn]

I think the reality of modern lift served skiing is that everything you don't have to hike to is tracked out in hours, and even the hikes I've seen don't hold fresh "lines" for days. (Hits, or a turn or two, sure - but nothing I'd call a "line").

That is true for the front range ski areas near Denver. But I can tell you that midweek at Mt Hood Meadows, Timberline, and Skibowl (all on Mt Hood), there are untracked lines all day long. They don't get tracked out for 2-3 weekdays, or one day on the weekend. And often get refilled when there is a several-day storm system.

 

[headybrew]

I took a look at 3 meter resolution satellite imagery from Sept 9th 2018 vs. summer of 2017. 3 meter imagery is not the best for seeing trees but is fine for forest monitoring and ski trails are easily recognizable. It does not look like they mowed down larger areas of trees to create "runs". Once we get the first low elevation snowfall I'll be able to see much more clearly what has been done.

 

[StuckonI70]

I'm all about improving flow, and those tight trees have none of that. Glade it up!
It looks like it's the lower section of the liftline, which is where all the people go anyway.
Look at the master plan. They will be putting in a new chairlift and cutting new runs in that area.

 

[clong83]

WP is making capital improvements including a big gondola, village improvements and expanded snowmaking.

But they are also doing this, which in my mind is sad. It will sissify Eagle Wind much like they did the Parsenn tree skiing when they replaced the old Timberline lift with a six pack, cut the lift line diagonally through it and "gladed" it. The trees in Eagle Wind are dense enough to keep it an expert terrain area and to shield the snow so that you can find good, soft snow and powder there even days after a storm.


Eagle Wind is already home to epic tree skiing, but things are about to get even better! Glading is bringing new lines to this pocket of powder heaven. Not only will the work improve the gladed skiing experience in the area, but will also contribute to the overall health of the forest by removing dead and dying timber to promote forest revegetation.

I haven't skied WP in years. The last time I was out there, the old Timberline lift was still in operation. Really sad to hear that those glades are gone/overly thinned. That was one of my favorite parts of the mountain!

 

[Magi]

I haven't skied WP in years. The last time I was out there, the old Timberline lift was still in operation. Really sad to hear that those glades are gone/overly thinned. That was one of my favorite parts of the mountain!

Not even close to gone or overly thinned.

If you're coming down from the MJ summit, I believe the trees are as tight as they've ever been post beetle kill.

Coming from the top of Parsenn - you get your choice of expert tree skiing if you stay "Above" the lift line (skiers right of the lift line), or you can go into blue-black and blue "gladed" tree sections for a more tame route.

If you liked it way back when, I'd bet you'll still like it now.

 

[clong83]

Not even close to gone or overly thinned.

If you're coming down from the MJ summit, I believe the trees are as tight as they've ever been post beetle kill.

Coming from the top of Parsenn - you get your choice of expert tree skiing if you stay "Above" the lift line (skiers right of the lift line), or you can go into blue-black and blue "gladed" tree sections for a more tame route.

If you liked it way back when, I'd bet you'll still like it now.

Awesome, glad to hear that. I was thinking this might the year I head back up there for a long weekend or something. It has been too long.

 

[Magi]

Awesome, glad to hear that. I was thinking this might the year I head back up there for a long weekend or something. It has been too long.

Look me up and I'll show you around if I can. At the very least I'm sure we can grab a beverage.

 

[Jerez]

@clong83 I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. They did most of the thinning when they put the lift in. If you look at the post-Timberline trail-map you will see 6 named trails in that area, not including the lift-line cut that goes diagonally through it. Those trails are blue and blue-black. If you recall the terrain, it is not steep. What made it so nice was that it was natural and you could find endless lines through there.

We have fond memories of leading a ribbon of kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews through those trees, like the Pied Piper with a tail-gunner. Here's a photo of the lift line to give you an idea.​

@Magi is right too. There are still sections that are not cut, and fun, to be sure -- but small compared to what it was like before. You can still find that wild terrain in the Eagle Wind area (which probably was not lift served when you were there last). It is considerably steeper than the Parsenn trees though, so not quite as happy-go-lucky kind of skiing as Parsenn is/was. I just hope they are spare with the thinning in Eagle Wind to keep the sense of adventure in there.

Even so, Winter Park has lots of amazing tree skiing all over the mountain(s) and worth your trip back.

 

[Jerez]

Sorry lost the photo.