Steamboat Ski Area is Closed...What does Intrawest Have Planned for the Future?

The 2007-2008 Steamboat Springs ski season will go down in history as an epic, record breaking year. Almost 500"of snow fell this season (okay, it was really 489") and it hasn't stopped yet.

Can someone just shut the snow off??? It's been great, but now that the mountain is closed, it's time for spring. (Next year, the mountain closes on April 12th, or Easter Sunday.)

Intrawest needs lots of time to get started on mountain improvements. They have a list of things to finish from last year and plenty more to start this year.

Some of the plans/rumors going around--in order from the most likely to the most ridiculous-- are (and no, they won't all happen this year if they even happen at all):

• Widen Main Drag and Boulevard. They need to blast away a few boulders to make this a wider, gentler, green connector trail.
• Install a roundabout at the intersection of Mt. Werner Blvd and Apres Ski Way.
• Create a pedestrian promenade with Burgess Creek flowing beside it to connect One Steamboat Place with Ski Time Square.
• Take the Thunderhead lift and use it to replace Elkhead.
• Replace Thunderhead with a six-pack to match the Christie Peak capacity. Right now, it can get bottlenecked at Thunderhead if the gondola is down.
• Possible gondola from Thunderhead to Storm Peak--more ski-in, ski-out development potential.