The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“People are really going to see a difference”
Bigger could mean better at Crested Butte Mountain Resort this winter. The Ice Bar and Twister Warming House has been completely rebuilt and now has nearly double the capacity of the old building, while the base area will feature an expanded tubing hill and a tow rope lift.
Anyone who has been hiking, biking, or riding the lift this summer may have seen a lot of activity up by Flauschink Hill. Construction crews have been busy since the spring, taking down the old Twister Warming House and Ice Bar deck piece by piece and completely rebuilding the structure.
CBMR chief operating officer Ken Stone says the new warming house will “have twice the seating and twice the size, yet it uses less than half the energy of the old building.”
Stone says some of the original timbers were re-used and the new building will retain the “rustic” feel of the old Twister Warming House. The new building will have a lounge area and fireplace by the entrance, and people will be able to use the restroom without having to walk through the regular dining area.
The deck has been expanded too, so there’s more room to sit out in the sun on those spring days.
With the Ice Bar expansion, CBMR will also run all sleigh ride dinners and Last Tracks ski and snowshoe tours from the new Ice Bar. Oh, and CBMR bought a bigger sleigh, too.
“People are really going to see a difference,” Stone says.
Down the slope at the base area, CBMR’s tubing hill will be moved to the side of Warming House Hill, next to the Crested Mountain Condominiums, and will have multiple lanes and a tow rope lift to get the big tubes to the top. Previously, the tubing hill was located between the Red Lady Express and Silver Queen lifts, had two short lanes and no lift access of its own.
The tubing hill will be included as part of the Adventure Ticket, a $10 add-on to a regular lift ticket that gives access to the tubing hill and the new Adventure Park. That’s right—the bungee trampoline, climbing wall and skating rink will be open all winter, weather permitting.
The town of Mt. Crested Butte’s Downtown Development Authority partnered with CBMR in building the Adventure Park, which opened on July 4 this summer. The park features a free-standing climbing wall with an automatic belay system, a European bungee trampoline, and a skating rink that uses a synthetic “ice” made from plastic. The Adventure Park will have a seating area and a new fire pit for the winter.
Another change is that the adult ski instruction corral will be moved in front of the Axtel building and combined with the beginner corral. The adult corral had to be moved because the new tubing hill will occupy its former space.
Also good news for beginners, some of the short runs by the Peachtree lift have been re-graded or have had brush-cutting done. “There have been a lot of improvements to the entire Peachtree trail area,” Stone says.
CBMR continues to make changes to the Outpost, the building that used to house a Gene Taylors store. The Outpost will have more lockers and a ski storage area.
“The improvements this year are focused on enhancing and adding value to the guest experience on a number of levels,” Stone says. The ski area will open for the season on November 25.
