Sitting right off the interstate at the eastern end of Vail Pass, the village and the mountain are so easily accessible that some people feel it lacks character and a sense of place. What’s even more exciting? This won’t be the roof of Copper for much longer.įor Copper Mountain, I-70 has always been both a boon and a burden. Yet here, at the roof of Copper, it feels adventurous, discoverable, exciting. But even though I can’t see it, I know that right over the ridge, just past Copper Bowl, is Interstate 70, the last vestiges of morning ski traffic trudging by. Had I been dropped here blindfolded, I might have thought I was deep in some exotic, remote mountain range. The wind whips violently-you have to shout to be heard. At 12,337 feet, most are also embracing a few extra moments to battle the thin air. There’s a small group gathered up here, everyone deciding which route will be the most felicitous. The steeps of Copper Bowl, Fremont Glades, and the gastronomically named Taco and Nacho splay out below-50-plus-degree pitches packed with cold, chalky snow. The patrol “dumpster” is the only structure-an ugly rectangular box marring an otherwise lovely view of the pyramid peaks of the Ten Mile and Mosquito ranges. We’ve hiked a quarter mile from where the snowcat dropped us and are catching our breath at the top of Tucker Mountain. A few thready clouds stretch out thin on the horizon.
#COPPER MOUNTAIN COLORADO FULL#
There are lots of non resort-operated choices for food in the village if you are willing to branch out a little and take a little more time walking.Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ The terrain and lift network is so good at Copper that we can forgive them for their crowded lodges. This area of the mountain should be even better now with the installation of the Three Bears chair on Tucker Mountain giving lift access to some steep north-facing terrain. The snow was soft with very little skier traffic. We spent some time locating some powder stashes on the 2nd day, which led us to Copper Bowl on the back side. 2,300 vertical of consistent pitch and perfect snow…it just keeps going on and on. We think “Andy’s Encore” is the very best intermediate run we have ever skied. “Super Bee” was our favorite lift with some great steeper groomers. The lift network is impressive with many high-speed quads and a 6-pack. We felt like Copper had everything we were looking for in ski terrain. With mostly north-facing slopes, wide runs cut through the trees, and several open bowls. The variety and quality of terrain is exceptional at Copper. But the numbers don’t tell the story well. On paper, Copper doesn’t seem to compete well with some of the other nearby resorts like Breckenridge and Keystone due to the smaller overall acreage and less vertical.
#COPPER MOUNTAIN COLORADO PLUS#
This is a huge plus that appeals to people like my parents who used to ski at Copper regularly because they weren’t as afraid of getting run over by more advanced skiers. Lifts by abilitiesĬopper touts its “Naturally Divided” terrain which gets progressively steeper from lookers right to left, and a nice separation of abilities on different lifts. The temps are reliably cold, so planning a late December trip is always a safe bet. They are often one of the first areas in North America to start blowing snow because they serve as a training location for the US Ski Team in November. I skied Copper 1 or 2 times in the 90’s under less ideal conditions which tested their extensive snowmaking system. The second day was a very snowy day with 9″ overnight and probably another 6″ during the day. And there were snowfalls in the 2 weeks leading up to our visit. We hit great conditions with the first day being mostly clear and cold with 1″ of snow overnight. It was the best skiing of the 14/15 season for us.
We skied Copper right around Christmas 2014. Copper Mountain Trail Map 20/21 Copper Mountain Review – Overall
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