Free skiing draws large crowds to opening day

Paradise Lift expected this weekend

Crested Buttians who hit the slopes on opening day at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) may have experienced something they’re unaccustomed to: lift lines. The resort’s birthday bash kicked off the season with free skiing on November 23, drawing 3,106 skiers and snowboarders to the mountain.

That’s more than twice last year’s opening day figures, which topped out at 1,396. During some parts of the day, that meant a 25-minute wait to get on the Red Lady lift. But for CBMR’s public relations and communications manager Erica Reiter, the crowds were great to see in spite of the wait.
“We get a little spoiled here, for sure,” Reiter said of the lines. But combine the lines with the sunshine, 40-degree weather and a host of birthday games—including limbo, musical chairs, a piñata and ski boot hot potato—and for Reiter, the full deck at Butte 66 set a festive tone for the season.
Of course, it would be nice if the ongoing beautiful weather were now interrupted by a classic winter storm. CBMR had hoped to open Paradise Lift this Friday but is now planning on Saturday instead. And the hope is to open the Silver Queen Lift one week after that, on Saturday, December 10.
“That’s definitely weather-dependent—if we get a big dump it will help,” Reiter said.
The expanded runs will open just in time for the ski season’s first groups: the National Brotherhood of Skiers arrives on December 3 and stays until December 10, and the Austrian Alpine Snowboard Team arrives on December 7 to train for four days for the World Cup in Telluride. Reiter expects both groups to bring a total of about 255 skiers and boarders to the mountain.
From there, Reiter says, everyone is psyched to be open and ready to gear up for the Christmas season. Projections continue to show the resort ahead of last year, with December room nights continuing to be up about 7 percent over last year at this time. Now, about that snow…