Alterra to spend $500 million on capital improvements at several ski resorts

Alterra Mountain Company will make capital investments of nearly $500 million in its 15 North American ski areas over the coming years. 

The investments will include nearly $400 million for ski lifts, snowmaking, guest amenities, summer activities and other resort infrastructure. Another $50 million is to be dedicated to employee housing, and $40 million will go toward technology upgrades, the company said. 

Major projects are to include the completion of a three-year, $220 million enhancement at Steamboat Resort in Colorado, as well as the completion of a new base lodge at Washington’s Crystal Mountain. 

At Steamboat, project completion will mean the opening of the second half of the new Wild Blue gondola, which will become the longest gondola in North America, covering more than three miles in 12 minutes. The first half of Wild Blue opened this year, connecting the resort base to a mid-mountain learning center called Greenhorn Ranch.

Alterra also plans to install a new quad lift at Steamboat called Mahogany Ridge Express, which will provide access to 650 additional acres of expert terrain, much of it tree skiing. The expansion will make Steamboat the second-largest ski area in Colorado, Alterra said. The largest is Vail Mountain. 

At Crystal Mountain, the new base lodge, called Mountain Commons, will encompass 25,000 acres and will offer dining, retail and an expanded slope-side beach area, as well guest services and ticketing. 

In addition to the new Steamboat lift, Alterra also said it will undertake seven other lift projects this summer, including new or replacement facilities at California’s Mammoth Mountain, Utah’s Solitude, Winter Park Resort in Colorado and Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. 

Alterra will also enhance snowmaking at Steamboat, Winter Park, Mammoth and Snowshoe, as well as at California’s Palisades Tahoe, and Vermont’s Sugarbush. 

A new mountain coaster at Mammoth will highlight the company’s investments in summer offerings. 

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