Crested Butte
By Randy Mink
Crested Butte Mountain Resort is moving forward with improvement projects for the 2008-2009 winter season after experiencing its snowiest winter on record last season, with a total of 421 inches of snow and an unprecedented 100-inch base on closing day. New this winter are increased airline service and facility upgrades.
American Airlines will add direct service from Chicago to complement its current Dallas daily service, and United will expand service with three flights daily from Denver, connecting to hundreds of flights worldwide.
After months of research and development, Crested Butte has a new brand positioning expressed in the tagline “Inspire your Passion.” The promise of “inspiring your passion for adventure” and its implications will be seen resort-wide. Beginning with a new marketing and advertising campaign, the brand will also be reflected in various areas of the resort, from signage to employee uniforms.
The kids ski school will see the greatest physical transformation. The new Kids Base Camp program will engage kids through exploration and adventure on and off the mountain. From a new entrance to remodeled kid-friendly bathrooms and play areas, the space will be completely revamped.
The Treasury Center building in the base area will be redesigned to improve a number of guest services. The Crested Butte Ski and Snowboard Rental Shop will be moved to a slope-side location. The rental shop and a new retail store will include top-of-the line rental skis and snowboards.
The rental shop’s former location will be transformed into a “Pizza Zone.” Fresh, pizza, beverages and snacks will be available in the lower level of the Treasury Center to eat on the run or to sit and enjoy. The Outpost building in the base area will be redesigned and opened as a day lodge.
Also new this winter will be a central ski valet and overnight ski, snowboard and boot valet service. The service is free to all hotel guests and to others for a nightly fee and will feature ski-in ski-out access. The ski valet service pampers hotel guests from lobby check-in to hotel check-out with seamless handling of ski and snowboard equipment.
The Lodge at Mountaineer Square, Elevation Hotel & Spa and the Grand Lodge were recently accepted into the prestigious Preferred Hotels group. Elevation Hotel will complete a $25-million remodel that will include all 260 luxury rooms, the spa and fitness center and new Atmosphere Restaurant & Bar.
Snow Igloos, Crested Butte’s fun addition to the mountain experience, will sprout up around the resort for après-ski cocktails and adventure play areas for the kids. The solid snow structures will be at Kids Base Camp and mid-mountain outside the Ice Bar Restaurant.
On-mountain improvements will include expanded terrain off the Headwall lift into the Teocalli bowl area in what is known as Teo-2 and Teo-2.5, adding expert terrain to the mix. Crested Butte’s commitment to providing world-class terrain park and pipe facilities continues with new features in the DC Terrain Park and the addition of a new intermediate terrain park.
Contact: (800) 810-7669; skicb.com.
