Industry News
Within hours of the season ending, Eldora, CO received final approval from the United States Forest Service for a 62-acre expansion. The expansion will take place in the Jolly Jug area and will consist of five new trails covering some 27 acres, and a further 35 acres of tree and gladed skiing. Additionally, a new 4 or 6 seat high-speed lift, with a capacity of 3,000 skiers an hour, will provide access to the area. As of yet, there is no schedule for the installation of the chair lift. The terrain in the new area is mostly intermediate and is considered a good addition to the family-oriented ski area.
The expansion into Jolly Jug comes at the expense of the proposed expansion into the Placer and Moose glades on the northwestern side of the mountain. Eldora abandoned the proposed northwestern expansion in order to win local approval of the Jolly Jug expansion. Local environmental groups rallied vociferous opposition to the proposed northwestern expansion, citing potential harm to the watershed of the middle fork of Boulder Creek, and disruption of a wildlife migration corridor.
While trying to win approval for the northwestern expansion Eldora has completed many infill projects within the existing ski area boundary. Facilities at the base have been improved, new runs have been cut, and the old Cannonball and Challenger lifts were replaced with Alpenglow, a single six seat high-speed detachable lift.
