Copper Mountain

Terrain:

Copper Mountain in its entirety has terrain for almost any rider. From the perfect beginner area, to one of the best terrain parks in Colorado and fun open back bowls, Copper has it all. There is even a $20 beginner area called Green Acres and a free hike park called Red’s Backyard if you’re looking for low-cost fun. Green Acres is the perfect place to bring your kids and learn how to ski. With a small lift that accesses this terrain, this area is small and away from the rest of the resort to give beginners time to learn and have fun with their families. You do not have to worry about too big of lines or trying new things because it is just a place to learn. Then, Red’s Backyard is almost the complete opposite of green acres. Red’s is a hike terrain park right in the middle of the main base area. There are usually more advanced features for experienced park riders to hit. This is a great park to explore, but can be overshadowed by the other Woodward parks. Although, by the end of the day, if you haven’t had your fill of park riding, Red’s Backyard closes at 5:00 pm, an hour after the lifts stop running.

Woodward does an amazing job at creating terrain parks and is one of the companies I trust most, to make not only a safe park, but a fun creative park as well. This is why Copper is my go to place for a park day of skiing. Copper Mountain has a few parks throughout the mountain aimed at different levels of park riders. Thus, Copper has one of the best progression terrain parks in Colorado. This is where I learned the majority of my park riding. For those interested in improving their park skills, I highly suggest learning at Copper and utilizing their amazing Woodward instructors. The main sections of the terrain park are Central Park, Peace Park and Pipe Dream, but there are other mini parks in the beginner Kokomo area. Central park features are M, L and XL, making this park almost only for advanced park riders. They have a M jump line, which is nice to hit and throw a few simple tricks over. As one goes down the jump line the jumps get progressively bigger. Then there is the L jump line, which is less crowded due to the sheer size of the jumps. Central also contains a wide variety of rail features and large hips. These rails are for the more experienced rider and give them a large variety from kinks, waterfalls, down-flat-downs, S rails, transfers and any combinations you’d imagine.

Then Peace Park, which lies next to Central Park, has smaller features and gives rise to a different kind of park riding. This park is filled with creative features that flow which are used for more jib and butter tricks, which is usually on the skiers left side of this park. This park can be fun for families to go through. Peace Park also has a variety of smaller, simpler rails and jumps usually on the skier’s right side of this park. Since these parks are so popular, they can be very packed. Wait your turn for features, be patient and always be vigilant and watch where you and others are going. As a park rider I do suggest to please never stand under, near or in front of a feature, unless you fully plan on hitting that feature and moving out of the way (See the Park Safety Page)

The few smaller mini parks that are scattered here and there around Copper, including the Family Cross, one of my favorites, which is just a little ski course that has fun rollers. There is also Pipe Dream at the top of Woodward Express, which has my favorite easy rails to hit, a few jumps and a mini pipe. Pipe Dream is one of the best places to begin learning park riding. There is the superpipe in the main base area that is rarely used. Then there are two mini parks off of Kokomo Express which are perfect for beginners getting introduced to terrain parks. For families wanting to show their kids park, see what a jump or box feels like. These Kokomo parks are the best to go into, instead of the regular park because you don’t have to worry about park riders getting in the way.

As for the beginner terrain, there are a few great areas. The Kokomo Express and LumberJack lifts are where the Ski and Ride School mainly reside, hence the best area for beginners. These areas are low angle with wide runs, helping beginners riders feel comfortable about having enough room and not going too fast. Although, it can be a little crazy with groups of kids following their instructors everywhere. 

Wanting to advance from these lifts, there is beginner terrain off of American Flyer and Rendezvous lifts with great long greens like Coppertone, Carefree and Union Park. Advancing from the greens to the intermediate blues, American Eagle and Timberline Express lifts cater to long groomed blues. Super Bee lift also has some groomed blues, but these can be very long runs, often icy and are mainly used by ski racers for training. The rest of the mountain is for advanced skiers and boarders.

The back bowls of Copper are quite popular and have some amazing playful runs. Three Bears Chair and Mountain Chief hold some of my favorite back bowl runs. These lifts get very crowded on weekends and powder days. Since Three Bears is the newest Lift to Copper, it has become very popular. This back bowl has some good terrain but also some areas to avoid. The terrain under this chair gets wind blown and creates wind drifts. When riding up the chair you’ll notice areas that are barren of snow and areas with deep snow. Because of the wind these deep snow areas can often look untracked when the wind keeps filling in the old tracks. Thus, staying in the gullies near this lift is a great way to find good snow. The downfall to this area is the hidden creek that runs at the center of these back bowls. It is easy to get stuck in this covered creek when trying to get back to the lifts.

If you want to avoid some crowds on powder days I would suggest skiing the Resolution and Alpine Lift. There are moguled runs off of these lifts and most people either avoid these areas or don’t really know about them, so minimal lift lines. Although the runs off of Alpine are very long and the Lift takes even longer, since it is one of the oldest lifts on the mountain, which is also a fun orange color. Near Resolution Lift is Resolution Bowl, which has the best snow on a powder day and is the first place I go after a storm. This bowl can only be accessed from the Storm King T-bar and takes some effort to consistently take laps in. Past the Storm King T-bar is Lower Enchanted Forest, another area I immediately check on after a big storm. Upper Enchanted will get tracked out quickly and due to the wind exposure will have less powder than Lower Enchanted. 

Another great advanced area are the trees below Union Meadows, known as lower Union Meadows. Upper Meadows is a wide open bowl that needs a lot of snow to be open and fun to hit. This area is hidden past Celebrity Ridge lift. You can almost always find fresh tracks even if it has not snowed in a few days. Just head over to Celebrity Ridge Lift, ski around the lift towards the skier’s left of the mountain and you’ll see an opening in the rope to ride through. These trees can be untracked in areas if you know where to look. This is another advanced area that takes multiple lift rides and sme effort to take consecutive laps on. Although the further left you follow the trail, the more cattrack you’ll have to traverse at the end. Which after a deep tree run can be very exhausting trying to skate or push your board out of. If you don’t like hiking out, drop into the trees sooner, the run will be longer as well. These tree runs lead to a catrack trail that goes back to the Timberline lift. One part of this track is called the waterfall, which is where the trail seems to drop off like a waterfall. This drop off is almost always icy and very steep. As always, use caution and know your ability when adventuring in these advanced areas. 

Base Elevation – 9,712 ft

Peak Elevation – 12,441 ft

Number of Lifts – 24

Number of Trails – 150

Total Terrain – 2,527 acres

Easiest Terrain (Greens) – 25%

More Difficult Terrain (Blues) – 24%

Most Difficult Terrain (Blacks)  – 34%

Expert Terrain (Double Blacks) – 17%

Resort Hours – 9am-4pm Daily

Atmosphere and Locals:

Copper mainly has condos, homes and townhouses, with minimal hotels, so most locals are people who live on the mountain or are renting and visiting for long stretches of time. This creates a small community at Copper, so people do truly call it their home. Copper also brings in a local crowd from Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillion and the front range. This combination of locals is mainly people who are passionate about skiing and boarding. They love the mountains and will be there for the first chair on a powder day and those last park laps on a warm day.

Due to Copper’s amazing Woodward parks, you can often see professional skiers and boarders. Most are happy to talk to you and impressive to watch. I have run into a few of my favorite skiers and struck up a conversation with them. They are quite friendly and it can be an amazing experience riding through the park with them. Keep your eyes open in the park and be friendly but respectful while they are training. Also due to this famous park, there are huge crowds of ‘Park Rats’. They mainly stay at the Woodward Express Lift. They truly are a large group of goofballs, but can get sassy when those not actually hitting features get in their way. With this can be an air of them thinking they own the mountain.

Other than the Park Rats, you’ll find your regular Resort goers. Copper has become quite popular over the seasons, so expect longer lift lines on weekends as usual. Then the employees, especially the lifties, are some of the friendliest and most helpful people. 

Accessibility and Parking:

There are a variety of parking options near the base, but they all cost money ($15-$40). There are two huge free lots; Alpine lot and Far East lot. These free lots will bus you to any section of the resort, which makes it easy to get anywhere on the resort. This bus shuttle is free and runs from 6am-11pm which gives you plenty of time to enjoy Copper’s nightlife.

Since Copper is right off of I-70, there will always be unavoidable traffic to deal with, especially on weekends. Stick to week days to avoid most of the traffic and lift lines if you can. Otherwise because of Copper’s new popularity, you should arrive extra early on weekends to decrease the chance of getting turned away for parking.

Pricing: $$

Of course Copper has the usual cafeterias most resorts have, but it also has a great variety of other restaurant options. If you don’t want to eat the usual resort food of chilli, pizza and sandwiches, Copper has plenty of delicious options. I usually skip these cafeterias and head straight to Eagle Barbecue Left of the American Eagle Lift. They have delicious pulled pork sandwiches and other classic BBQ food selections. Their great outdoor bar and sitting area is a great place to chill on a warm ski day. Copper also has fun bars where locals and employees like to get drinks and relax after a day of work or riding. My favorite places to grab a midday beer or apres ski is Downhill Dukes or High Rockies Whiskey Bar.

Lift Tickets – 

Adult (13+):$129

Child (5-12): $100

Green Acres Beginner Area: $20

Associated Season Pass – Ikon Pass, Power Pass

Lesson –

Adult Group Lessons: $149

Adult Private: $899 (Full Day), $649 (Half Day)

Youth Group Lesson (3-5, 6-17): $244

Woodward Group Lesson (6-17): $299

Woodward Private Lesson: $899 (Full Day), $649 (Half Day)

Rentals – 

Adult Basic Package: $65

Adult Performance Package : $75

Adult Demo Package: $85

Junior Package: $55

For more information visit https://www.coppercolorado.com/