Conditions Report
This report is from Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Having spent the last 15 winters in Colorado, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to explore Copper Mountain. Having just spent the day there, I’ve been missing out.
We arrived early, around 8:20 a.m., and parked in the Alpine parking lot, second row from the front. With 15″ of fresh snow in the last three days, I expected it to be busier.
We waited for the American Eagle chondola to open. The skies were blue, no wind, and the temperature was perfect–mid-20s.
We made our way to the backside, lapping Mountain Chief and Blackjack while waiting for the Three Bears lift to open. Before the introduction of this lift, the expert only double black terrain on Tucker Mountain was only accessible by hiking or snowcat.
The conditions were incredible. We were shocked to find knee-high, untracked, fresh snow on every run. The snow was deep and soft, and the terrain was fun–a combination of steep bowls, trees, and small rock/cliff bands. Any other resort would see these skied out by 10 a.m. We were finding fresh snow all day.
Three Bears opened, and we took four or five laps here, exploring Tucker Mountain. All runs funneled into a gulley that returned you to the Three Bears/Black Jack lifts. The snow here was just as good and super fun on the steeper terrain. A couple of the runs had been blasted by patrol, and instead of fresh powder, there was avalanche debris, but it was still deep and challenging to ride.
We stopped at the brand-new Aerie mid-mountain lodge for a coffee and a bite to eat before heading back out again after lunch. We skied a couple of runs in Spaulding Bowl, finding more fresh snow, before hitting a few runs on the front side. Far East was awesome, long moguls, and 17 Glade was fun. Again, we were finding fresh snow until the end of the day.
Copper was a blast. The high-alpine terrain and great snow conditions made for a day to remember. The ski area seems much larger than the advertised 2,465 acres, and the crowds were non-existent. We didn’t wait more than a couple of minutes at any chair.
I don’t know why it took me so long to explore Copper Mountain. I do know that I’ll be back soon.
Current Conditions
Forecast
Map
Photos
