Steamboat Wild Blue Gondola Stage I: Not Very Useful, But Sets the Stage for Major Future Enhancements
The first leg of Steamboat’s Wild Blue Gondola opened in December 2022, with the second and final leg set for completion for the 2023-24 season.
Background
Steamboat introduced a series of upgrades for the 2022-23 season in accordance with their latest master plan. Most notably, the remote Colorado resort completed the first leg of the Wild Blue Gondola, a 10-passenger lift that will eventually extend all the way to the top of Sunshine Peak. For now, the lift only extends to a new learning area near the base of the Thunderhead chair, but the second and final leg of the project is set for completion for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
We recently had the chance to visit Steamboat and check out Stage I of the Wild Blue Gondola as it exists today. Here are our thoughts on the lift setup for the 2022-23 season.
The Wild Blue Gondola has seen minimal lines since its debut, but those looking to progress to mid-mountain are likely to face waits at the Thunderhead Express lift.
The Experience
While the second leg is incomplete, Steamboat’s Wild Blue Gondola doesn’t do much unless you’re a true beginner. But the installation has brought about some interesting circumstances.
One of Steamboat’s achilles’ heels has always been its out-of-base lift setup. Historically, access to mid-mountain areas only came from two lift routes: the 8-person Steamboat Gondola, which offered the only direct service from the base to the Thunderhead Lodge midpoint; and the Christie Peak-to-Thunderhead Express lift setup, which required a time-consuming detour between lifts but was typically less crowded.
The location of the Wild Blue Gondola Stage I (highlighted in red) on Steamboat’s trail map. Stage II will extend to the top of Sunshine Peak.
The new 10-passenger Wild Blue Gondola, which fits 20% more people per cabin than the main 8-passenger Steamboat Gondola, now provides a third out-of-base option. The lift has seen almost no lines, staying way less busy than even the Christie Peak six-pack, which serves similar terrain but at least provides access to Steamboat’s terrain park and some more difficult lower-mountain trails.
But as it currently exists, the Wild Blue Gondola doesn’t extend high enough to relieve Steamboat’s mid-mountain chokepoint, and visitors still need to take the Thunderhead chair to get to mid-mountain and above. As a result, while the minimal lines at Wild Blue may seem like a hack to avoid the waits at the main Steamboat Gondola, the waits are often fairly lengthy at Thunderhead, which just delays the bottleneck.
Steamboat’s Wild Blue Gondola cabins have incredibly nice seats, even as far as high-caliber gondolas go.
That being said, there are some positives from the new Wild Blue setup, even in its half-baked form. First off, the gondola makes the journey to mid-mountain for those who opt not to take the main gondola slightly more desirable by: (1) providing a slightly more direct route from the base to Thunderhead, and (2) allowing guests to stay insulated from the elements for the first leg of the trip up. In addition, by providing a better Thunderhead connection than the Christie Peak six-pack, the new lift also allows Christie Peak to be utilized more for terrain parks and race training.
The new Wild Blue Gondola cabins feature some of the nicest finishings we’ve ever tried, with embroidered, two-tone seats and full glass views out. In addition, the new learning area at the top of the existing gondola is well designed, with an isolated, roped-off zone that’s dedicated to learning and hard to enter if you aren’t trying to.
Steamboat’s Wild Blue Gondola will be extended to the top of Sunshine Peak for the 2023-24 season. The lift has provisions for an angle station, and a lift line has already been cut.
Ultimately, the first leg of the Wild Blue Gondola isn’t that much of a game changer for Steamboat—and would be a truly questionable installation choice if it weren’t for the resort’s future plans. But with the second leg extending the lift to the top of Sunshine Peak next season, the lift should become substantially more useful.
We’re looking forward to doubling back to Steamboat next year to check out the fully completed gondola, as well as an array of other planned projects, and seeing how they influence the resort’s overall mountain experience and place in our rankings.
Considering a ski trip to Steamboat this year? Check out our full Colorado rankings, as well as our comprehensive Steamboat review from the 2021-22 season (a refreshed 2022-23 review will be out in a few months). You can also check out our thoughts on North America’s major 2021-22 ski resort lift and terrain upgrades in video form below.
