What’s New in Snowmass this Winter

2010-2011 WINTER SEASON

For additional information on this news, contact Patsy Popejoy at pr@snowmasspress.com

An Ice Age Discovery in Snowmass!

October 14, 2010 is a date that changed Snowmass forever.  That is the day that a bulldozer operator made the startling discovery of the bones of a Columbian mammoth while working on the expansion of Ziegler Reservoir.  Since then seven different species of ancient animals have been discovered such as mammoths, mastodons, gigantic bison, giant sloths, small deer like animals along with well-preserved plant matter and ancient insects revealing an exceptionally preserved Ice Age ecosystem in Snowmass.  The Denver Museum of Nature & Science scientists will be back in Spring to continue the dig….who knows what they will find next!  This is one of the most significant finds in Colorado and possibly in the country, so stay tuned for more details!

Go to www.snowmassiceage.com for more information on this exciting discovery!

New Dining in Snowmass

  • Garnish- Local Chef Clark Church will bring his fresh new ideas of affordable Colorado Cuisine to Garnish.  Open daily for lunch, apres and dinner featuring soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch and Buffalo Sliders, Elk, Lamb and Trout for dinner. Located in the Timberline with easy access off Fanny Hill. www.garnish.com.
  • Venga Venga Cantina & Tequila Bar – Venga Venga meaning "come on, come on" is considered Modern Mexican cuisine with innovative culinary techniques.  This new restaurant opening this season, will feature fresh Mexican dishes, a 250 Tequila Bar and handcrafted margaritas. Savor Venga Venga’s acclaimed cuisine on the outdoor patio with outdoor fire pits complete with sweeping views of Snowmass ski resort making it the place to apres ski.
  • The Sweet Life, located in a landmark red barn in the new Base Village, is a two-story sweets shop and family restaurant that includes such unique touches as an 8-top S'mores table where the goods are delivered by train, over 250 flavors of ice cream hand-made on sight, and finger-lickin' creative finger food for the whole family.
  • Base Camp Bar & Grill  A newly opened restaurant and bar last ski season where "All is Welcome" located in the new Base Village.  Select from burgers, salads. daily soup specials, Dan’s famous chili to awesome appetizers and full bar menu.
  • The $9 million restaurant Sneaky’s Tavern debuted in 2008 in Base Village’s Capital Peak “A” Lodge (Building 2A) directly on the plaza at the base of Fanny Hill. With a contemporary interior design and indoor/outdoor seating this rustic but sleek new restaurant offers a modern take on the tavern.
  • Aspen’s Matsuhisa founder and former owner Jeffrey Klein opened a new restaurant in Snowmass last winter. Buchi, a 2,600-square-foot Japanese comfort food restaurant in the heart of Base Village, has an 80 seat restaurant offering a noodle bar during the day with additional menu items like sushi rolls and Kobe beef burgers.
  • Lime Restaurant  newly opened  in 2010 sits above the Snowmass Village Mall and brings fresh, casual, family friendly dining to Snowmass.
  • On-mountain: Sam’s Smokehouse is a new $9 million facility seats about 160 people indoors with another 50 seats outdoors on the deck. The 7,800-square-foot restaurant at the top of the Village Express six passenger lift and the Sam’s Knob quad features sit-down service by staff, a barbecue-style smokehouse (along with other fare), a dedicated espresso bar, and a wall of windows on the west side with spectacular views of Garret’s Peak, Mount Daly, and the surrounding backcountry.
  • On-mountain: Lynn Britt Cabin. The historic Lynn Britt Cabin is now under the management of the famed Aspen Highlands Cloud 9 restaurant and opened for lunch daily and special snowcat dinner rides.

New 12 Foot Halfpipe

  • Accompanying the 18 foot halfpipe in Snowmass is the new 12 foot halfpipe built by the Lowdown Park will welcome guests of all levels to drop in and feel the thrill of a halfpipe just like their Olympic and X Games heroes ride.  Aspen/Snowmass is one of the only resorts in the world to offer three halpipes to accommodate all skill levels.

New shopping in Snowmass

  • Four new shops opened in the new Base Village last winter, including Aspen-based Performance Ski, Aspen Sports' North Face Concept Store, Generation Snowmass (an offshoot of the Generation Aspen children’s store in Aspen), and the Beginner;s Magic store, an Aspen Skiing Company one-stop shop for lessons, rentals, and ticketing.

On-mountain Improvements

  • Sheer Bliss Lift. This $7 million lift will carry riders 2,212 vertical feet, 155 feet more than the old Sheer Bliss chair and will have a ride time of just over nine minutes. The lift can carry 2,000 people per hour.

New lodging in Base Village

  • The brand new Vicerory Snowmass Resort opened last season and is the signature hotel in Base Village with 173 ski in/ski out hotel residences. It is designed as one of America’s first LEED Silver certified hotels.
  • As many as 91 condos/ 200 bedrooms able to accommodate more than 400 people will open up for the 2008/09 season in the Capital Peak buildings in the new base village. For more information, CLICK HERE

Off-Mountain Amenities

  • The award-winning and environmentally-friendly Snowmass Recreation Center more than doubles its state-of-the-art facilities. This completed 18,000-square-foot indoor facility now includes a state-of-the-art Matrix cardio and weight room, a gymnasium with a full-size basketball and volleyball court, a 1,000-square-foot aerobics room, and a climbing wall and bouldering cave. Outdoors, visitors will find four heated pools (with water features and slide), four new tennis courts, a basketball court, two sand volleyball courts, and a new 10,000-square-foot concrete skate park.

Getting Here: Transportation

  • Aspen Snowmass Luggage Express
    Visitors can now ship luggage, skis and boots with Aspen Snowmass Luggage Express, the first ever ski resort direct shipping program through UPS. Visitors won't have to pay airline baggage fees, save with discounted rates, and avoid the hassle of schlepping bags to and from the airport. For more information on Aspen/Snowmass Luggage Express or to ship bags, visit www.stayaspensnowmass.com/luggage or call 800-679-3146
  • Airlines. Winter service on United Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Aspen/Snowmass offers five daily flights from Denver on Frontier airlines.
  • New Ground Transportation from Denver. Gray Line of Colorado, the world’s largest sightseeing and tour operator, will offer year-round service to Aspen and Snowmass from Denver International Airport with 56-passenger luxury motorcoaches whenever possible, featuring guaranteed window or aisle seating, GPS tracking and on-board DVD systems. When demand isn’t as high, service will be from one of the smaller vehicles in the Gray Line of Colorado Fleet. Service starts Nov. 14 and will grow to up to six departures daily during peak ski season. The motorcoaches will arrive at an Aspen facility, then guests will have the option of continuing directly to where they are staying on mini-buses or vans.
  • Free Bus Service to Aspen. Public transportation between Aspen and Snowmass will be free this winter, making it easier than ever to get around the Aspen/Snowmass area.

Accolades

  • Snowmass is # 1. Readers of onthesnow.com, the oldest and most-visited snow sports portal on the Internet, voted Snowmass Village the number one family resort and the best overall resort in the Rocky Mountains.

OTHER MOUNTAIN IMPROVEMENTS

New On-mountain amenities

  • The Elk Camp Meadows Beginner Area opened a dedicated learning area with a new quad chair, two new surface lifts and a new ski school meeting area for beginners at the top of the Elk Camp gondola, giving beginners better snow conditions and a complete alpine experience that typical "bunny hills" can't provide. New trail alignments ensure no cross traffic in this area, making for an ideal learning environment.
  • The Snowmass Terrain Park and Pipe was relocated and improved. The new Snow Park Technologies layout allows for a longer, continuous line with no cross traffic. A new bridge was built over Lunchline, allowing park users the unique experience of riding over the skiers and snowboarders below. New dirt work, snowmaking, snow cats and features make for a truly world-class experience.
  • The Treehouse Kids Adventure Center : Aspen Skiing Company unveiled the phenomenal new $17 million Kids Treehouse Adventure Center last winter. The largest capital improvement ever for the ski company, the Treehouse is the new hub of ski and snowboard learning and brings the outdoors inside, inviting children to begin their alpine journey through hands-on, interactive activities. For more information, CLICK HERE

The Lodging

 

  • Lodges spent over $35 million tin renovations in 07/08 on everything from exterior work to new conference facilities to updated room interiors and over $65 million since 2005.

The Town

  • The Town of Snowmass Village spent over $30 million dollars in enhancements ranging from a new town hall to new athletic facilities to a new entryway and a visitor center and bus depot.
  • Elk Camp Gondola: The new Elk Camp Gondola features spacious eight passenger cabins that transport guests from the base of Fanny Hill to the alpine scenery of Elk Camp in 7.5 minutes. The gondola boasts an angle station at the base of Funnel which allows mid-way loading and unloading on the uphill leg only. The cabins are black with silver trim and lettering. Length: 8,583 ft.; Vertical Rise: 1,372 feet; Ride Time: 7.5 minutes; Cost: $13 million
  • Coney Terrain Park: Improvements to the the superpipe and terrain park on Coney Glade included dirt features and additional snowmaking.
  • Assay Hill Realignment: The Assay Hill chair on Snowmass was realigned to give easy access to the angle station on the Elk Camp Gondola at the base of Funnel and was upgraded from a fixed grip double to a fixed grip quad allowing beginners easier unloading.

The Entry

 

  • This $21 million project in 2006/2007 included a paved 300-plus space free parking lot with shuttle service to the slopes, the initial opening of a new recreation center with a 2,500 sq. ft. fitness facility and four outdoor pools, and a new 3,000-sq-ft transit depot building with a manned visitor information booth.

Cross Country Skiing

 

  • Aspen/Snowmass is home to one of the largest networks of free groomed trails in the U.S., and the Snowmass Cross Country Center moved to the Snowmass Club’s gorgeous new golf building, offering new amenities and rentals, better teaching terrain, a bigger shop, and three full moon evening tours,.