Master Plan Deep Dive: Steamboat

Welcome to a PeakRankings Master Plan Deep Dive, where we’ll be taking a look at proposed resort upgrades and assessing potential impacts. In this piece, we’re honing in on Steamboat’s USFS-approved 2019 Master Development Plan Amendment, which proposes multiple lift upgrades and a terrain expansion.

For detailed information on Steamboat as it currently exists, see our review here.

Upgrades

The lift, facilities, and terrain upgrades proposed in Steamboat’s latest master plan. Nearly every resort area is marked for an upgrade. The Steamboat Gondola upgrade has already occurred.

Terrain Expansion

The plan proposes a series of terrain expansions, most notably the Fish Creek and Pioneer Ridge expansions that would add over 600 acres of what Steamboat claims is “advanced/expert” terrain. As proposed, the Pioneer Ridge looks to consist of defined glade terrain, while the Fish Creek expansion seems to comprise natural, sidecountry-like terrain. These new areas could bring the resort’s first easily accessible expert terrain, and both have the potential to considerably diversify Steamboat’s terrain footprint.

While already one of the better Colorado destination resorts for beginners, the Bashor Bowl and Sunshine Peak upgrades would bring Steamboat up another notch for these visitors. The Bashor upgrade seems to essentially be a bunny hill upgrade, but the Sunshine II expansion has the potential to generate a unique, high-elevation beginner experience by greatly expanding the number of runs accessible to these visitors (the existing Sunshine area, while currently accessible by beginners, currently makes do with just one green run from the top).

Lifts

A quick glance at the above diagram suggests an almost overwhelming number of lift expansions at Steamboat. Perhaps the most notable is the proposed Wild Blue Gondola, which, over the course of two stages, would run all the way from the base of the resort to the top of Sunshine Peak. If constructed as proposed, this would be the longest 8-person gondola in North America. While this lift wouldn’t service any new terrain, it would provide much needed relief at the capacity-constrained Steamboat base (the resort claims a 67% capacity increase). The lift would also be downloadable, allowing a less stressful route for those wanting to avoid the Elkhead chokepoint at the base of Sunshine.

In addition to the Steamboat Gondola that was upgraded for the 2019-20 season (and we’d assume would receive a name change if the Wild Blue Gondola were built in order to reduce confusion), the plan proposes upgrades to nearly every major existing lift. Some of these are simply intended as more reliable, same-capacity replacements for older lifts, but quad-to-six-pack capacity upgrades are proposed for the Elkhead, Sundown, and Thunderhead lifts to address the substantial crowds these lifts can see. A capacity upgrade is also planned for the Pony Express for the purpose of handling Pioneer Ridge and Fish Creek traffic—the quad lift currently has quite widely spaced chairs, and we expect the resort to place a normal number of chairs on the line once it becomes the main source of ingress to these terrain expansions.

Steamboat currently has one of the worst crowd flow setups of any mountain we’ve reviewed, with major chokepoints to get on and off the mountain. Even with the upgraded gondola, it’s still pretty bad. The proposed gondola here would relieve the two worst chokepoints, at the base and at the return from Sunshine Peak, by providing a high-capacity alternative.

The proposed Elkhead upgrade makes sense too. This lift can get extremely backed up at the end of the day, and not everyone will want to ride the new gondola down the mountain. Given that this lift was just upgraded to a detachable quad only a few years ago, it’s surprising they didn’t just make it a six-pack in the first place.

One glaring omission from this upgrade list is the Morningside triple lift, which is already the only major fixed-grip lift left at the resort. This lift services what exists of Steamboat’s bowl terrain and provides the only access to all of its expert runs, becoming a major chokepoint on busy days. Given the thought put into improvements elsewhere around the resort, it’s really surprising to not even see a proposal here. Perhaps with the proposed Pioneer Ridge/Fish Creek expansion, Steamboat doesn’t feel the need to upgrade access to its existing expert terrain.

Facilities

The plan proposes two new mid-mountain restaurants: one at the top of Sunshine, where the proposed gondola will terminate, and a second adjacent to the Bashor Bowl, where the proposed gondola will have a mid-station. In addition, it looks like the Thunderhead Lodge is penned in for guest service upgrades and an elevator.

These upgrades would relieve the existing mid-mountain lodges, which, while nice, are not quite as conveniently located or large as they could be. Both new restaurants would be in beginner areas, providing substantially easier access to the indoors for a group that will certainly be taking a lot of breaks.

The snowmaking upgrades proposed in Steamboat’s latest master plan. The Pony and Sunshine areas would see the largest improvements.

Snowmaking

Steamboat proposes 193 new acres of snowmaking coverage across its terrain. Most notably, the resort plans to add snowmaking to Pony Express-accessed terrain for the first time, establishing more resilient trails that would ideally allow for more consistent openings on this lift. In addition, the entire Sunshine area will see a snowmaking revamp, with proposed top-to-bottom snowmaking capabilities in this area.

The resort also plans to add snowmaking to B.C. Skiway. This run provides the only egress from several upper-mountain areas without taking a lift, and a more reliable opening schedule and larger snow base would greatly relieve the Burgess Creek exit chair during the early and late seasons.

If all upgrades are completed as proposed, Steamboat’s snowmaking footprint will span 488 acres.

Final Thoughts

Steamboat currently has two major shortcomings compared to other Colorado resorts: its frustrating lift logistics and lackluster above-treeline terrain. The proposed improvements would go a significant way towards addressing the former. They could potentially remit the latter depending on how the new Pioneer Ridge terrain materializes; it remains to be seen how unique, challenging, and enjoyable this terrain is. However, the slow Morningside lift and frustratingly unintuitive access to existing expert terrain remain unaddressed by this plan.

Still, Steamboat’s proposed plans suggest major improvements from its current setup. These extensive upgrades will almost certainly take years to materialize, and we believe the resort will benefit most from prioritizing the Wild Blue Gondola. We look forward to returning to the mountain as these projects progress and reassessing the overall experience.