Issue #11/2025-26

Skiers, here is report Part Four from our trip to Colorado in February.

We visited five large resorts in Summit County covered by Ikon Pass: Copper Mtn., Winter Park, Arapahoe Basin, Steamboat and Eldora. I sent you the photos from Copper, Winter Park and Steamboat, already.

Reminder:

To view all recent and older posts, you can use just a web page URL: LetsPolishTheSnow.com (type it in Address Bar of your browser - Safari, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox etc.), or click on it here, which leads you to: https://letspolishthesnow.com/

Back from Steamboat, we enjoyed another day in Copper Mtn.

It was a Saturday, we expected big crowds, because Colorado got finally some snow the day before. We left our car at Far East free parking lot and used the ski bus to get quickly to West Village. Why there? Why not to East Village as we usually do? We wanted to beat the crowds at getting on Sierra lift, leading to western high-alpine terrain, which is usually the last to become overcrowded. As we've heard later, it was very good decision!

So, we succeeded and enjoyed many good runs down Union Bowl (frontside basin under Union Peak) and Jupiter Bowl (under Sierra lift). We also ran around, through Gold Digger run and Union Meadows, back to Timberline Express. We managed to have fun, before the lift queue become quite a nuisance. From the top of Sierra and Rendezvous lifts we got a beautiful views of Back Bowls, we could only watch them... I explain why, in a moment.

I have to say - love this mountain! First time on highway 70, years ago, we passed it on our way to Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver Creek without stopping. But after a few years, we gave it a try... and the rest is history! Copper Mtn. is my Summit County choice number one! I enjoyed it every year since then!

But back to Copper bowls now...

Access to Union Peak is easy, from the top of Sierra, you have a direct line to the Union Peak summit (12,313 ft). From there, you can drop into the expert chutes of Union Bowl or continue toward the Back Bowls.

Unfortunately, we found out, that the Back Bowls were still closed, as was the Resolution Bowl... what a bummer!

We planned to do Back Bowls, which Copper Mountain is famous for, mainly for an experienced skier who enjoys high-alpine, open-terrain challenges. Unlike the front side, which has pretty natural division of ability levels, the "Backside" (which includes Copper Bowl, Spaulding Bowl and Tucker Mtn.) is strictly the domain of advanced and expert skiers. In general the "Back Bowls" generally refer to the expansive, south and west-facing terrain behind the main ridges.

So, the Copper Bowl (under Copper Peak 12,441) is the primary "back" area. It offers wide-open powder fields, steep drop-ins, and technical glades. Most easily reached from Central Village via the American Flyer, Sierra triple and Celebrity Ridge surface lift (T-bar) to the ridge. Be ready to get some air, jumping from cornice, to enter it.

Then, there is the Spaulding Bowl, which is technically on the upper ridges, but often lumped into the "back" experience due to its high-alpine feel. It is reached via the Storm King T-bar (from Super Bee and Excelerator lifts). It is known for steep chutes and rocky outcroppings. It’s a great place to find wind-sifted powder even days after a storm.

And the Tucker Mountain, which the ultimate expert experience. The Three Bears chairlift provides access to Tucker Mountain. I remember a few years ago, Ania was on this lift first time and she looked at this terrain and moaned ...God, how can you ski it... This was once hike-to or snowcat-only terrain only, offering some of the most intense double-black diamond chutes and glades in Colorado.

And finally the Resolution Bowl... probably the easiest of all, on the most eastern wing of mountain, but with a twist - the entry is tough! You reach it only via the single/double black diamond gates on the top of Super Bee lift. The Resolution Lift (Chair 6), which is a triple chair, brings you back to top, if it is in operation.

It is a favorite among Copper regulars because it offers a distinct "tucked away" feel compared to the more expansive Copper Bowl. Located on the northern side of the high-alpine ridges, it is primarily north-facing, which is a major advantage for snow quality.

While Copper Bowl is wide and sun-exposed, Resolution Bowl is more of a high-alpine basin characterized by steep, sustained pitches and excellent glades. It's tucked below the ridge of High Alpine and Spaulding Bowl.

It is strictly Advanced (Black Diamond) and Expert (Double Black) terrain. You won’t find any easy ways out once you drop in. Because it faces north/northeast, it holds cold, chalky powder much longer than the south-facing Back Bowls.

And at the end of the day, we got an unexpected, welcome gift. The Resolution Bowl got open! Not with its Resolution lift running, but nevertheless - open! Michał and myself - we were very happy!

The way out was down, on the steep slope and later through the long track to Oh, No! trail leading down to East Village with Super Bee six seater lift. It was fun and it was a happy ending of our day and our skiing at Copper Mtn!

I did the Back Bowls and Tucker Mtn., and Resolution Bowl before, and I will do them again, sometime in the future, for sure!

Full mountain info:

Copper Mtn. info from Peak Rankings 2021

I should also mention our skiers having fun in all these distant places:

First, Andy, skiing Val d'Isère, France:

Tignes and Val d’Isère are connected by lifts and slopes to form one of the largest ski areas in France. The winter sports area was formerly known as Espace Killy.

Another was our special Alps envoy, in many places: in Les 3 Vallées – Val Thorens/ Les Menuires/ Méribel/ Courchevel is located in the Tarentaise (France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Savoie Mont Blanc, Savoie, Albertville) and in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Also in Obereggen, Italy – on the sunny side of the Dolomites. Located in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites, Eggental in South Tyrol offers a first-class winter sports destination around the Rosengarten and Latemar mountain ranges: The two top ski resorts Obereggen and Carezza.

Then Sellaronda, Italy - ValGardena (Selva di Val Gardena)!

And Zermatt, Switzerland & Cervinia (Cervino Ski Paradise), Italy these are some of his explorations, rather not all of them... I am envious!

I also apologize to Jurek and his team from NYC for not mentioning them, skiing at Sunday River during our club ski week, which photos I sent in the previous issue of my blog.