Copper Mountain Report is looking to build the highest lift in North America while adding 500 acres to their ski area on the eastern face of Jaques Peak as well as the east and north faces of Rose Mountain.
In plans submitted to the U.S. Forest Service, the proposed new lift, currently named Jaques East, would spirit skiers and boarders for more than a mile up the peak, ending at above 13,100 feet in elevation. That’s several hundred feet higher than North America’s current highest lift at Breckenridge.
The proposed Jacques East Lift isn’t just exciting because of its height, but because it would provide access to both advanced and intermediate runs, explained Peter Landsman, the editor of Lift Blog—which focuses on ski lifts, gondolas and trams.
“There's nowhere else anywhere in North America where intermediate skiers can go 13,000 feet and ski down,” he said, calling the lift the “crown jewel” of Copper’s expansion plans. A second proposed lift, called Thunderbird, would also serve the east face.
Other improvements in Copper’s 122-page master plan include building its first eight-person chairlift, one of only a handful in the U.S., as well as upgrades to existing lifts. Improvements to ski runs and mountain bike trails are also in the plan, as is the replacement of two on-mountain restaurants.
Landsman has seen expansions at several ski areas across Colorado, including
Steamboat Ski Resort, which recently spent $200 million to add new terrain and lifts. Monarch Mountain is planning an expansion this summer.
Landsman believes ski resorts need to keep these improvements going, “because skiers really like new things.”
That is especially true in recent years, with guests skiing or boarding more days each winter than in the past. Multi-mountain passes make it easier for people to travel to various resorts.
And Colorado’s ski areas aren’t just vying against one another. Visitation numbers are rising faster in neighboring Utah.
This competition is nothing new. Since skiing became popular in the 1960s and ’70s, it’s been “a real race to build as fast as you could,” Landsman said.
“It kind of took a break during Covid,” he added. “But we're getting back maybe a little bit to that arms race.”
Landsman cautioned, however, that Copper’s master plan, like any master plan, is more of a “wish list” than anything else. These proposals have to go through a lengthy government review process, with more complex plans subjected to analysis that could take years as the Forest Service carefully reviews possible effects on the local environment and wild animal habitat.
While the master plan is ambitious, Landsman thinks it won’t greatly change the character of Copper.
“It's more of an evolution rather than revolution,” he said.
