Adam Aron, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts, announced Tuesday that effective immediately the U.S. Forest Service has approved the addition of an impressive 861 acres of ski terrain to the Keystone Ski Resort. The new terrain, known as Erickson Bowl and Little Bowl, will be used for in-boundary bowl skiing above treeline and tree skiing, accessed via snowcat adventure tours.
With this addition of new ski terrain, Keystone, already the fifth most visited ski resort in the U.S., crosses two important thresholds that distinguish the nation's premier ski resorts. Keystone will now have 2,722 acres of ski terrain and 3,128 vertical feet of skiing, with the highest elevation point at 12,408 feet. Having more than 2,500 acres of ski terrain and more than 3,000 feet of vertical drop creates a ski, snowboard and snowcat experience rivaled by only a very few ski mountains in all of North America.
This major upgrade to Keystone's terrain is part of a major overhaul of Keystone Resort, initiated by Vail Resorts over the past several years. Keystone has received tens of millions of dollars of recent investment in new lifts, new snowmaking systems, new terrain parks, enhanced grooming, new restaurants, new retail outlets and renovated hotels. In addition, River Run Village, a new base village developed over the past several years at the foot of the gondola servicing Keystone's Dercum Mountain, offers hundreds of attractive condominium accommodations and dozens of restaurant and retail outlets.
“Vail Resorts has been seriously dedicated to the mission of upgrading the guest experience at our Keystone Resort. With this announcement that Keystone will now offer more than 2,500 acres of ski terrain and more than 3,000 feet of vertical drop, Keystone can clearly hold its head high that it is absolutely one of the nation's premier ski resorts. Even before this terrain expansion, Keystone was the fifth most visited ski resort in the U.S., and has been ranked by SKI Magazine as one of the nation's finest resorts. Now with the expansion of snowcat-served bowl and tree skiing, combined with recent investments we have made in improved snowmaking, larger terrain parks, and the energy found in the new River Run Village, Keystone's future is brighter than ever,” said Aron.
The new snowcat adventure tours will commence at Keystone in the next several weeks, for which there will be an added fee, above and beyond the normal lift ticket or season pass.
Roger McCarthy, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Keystone Resort, said: “We are especially appreciative of all of the effort that the U.S. Forest Service dedicated to evaluating the proposed new snowcat-served bowl and tree skiing at Keystone. It opens an exciting new chapter in the evolution of Keystone Resort. We know it will be immensely popular with our guests.”
