| Keystone Resort | |
|---|---|
| Location | White River National Forest Summit County, Colorado, USA |
| Nearest city | Keystone, Colorado |
| Top elevation | 12,408 feet (3,782 m) |
| Base elevation | 9,280 feet (2,830 m) |
| Skiable area | 3148 acres (12.7km²) |
| Runs | 135 total (19% beginner 32% intermediate 49% advanced/expert) |
| Longest run | Schoolmarm - 3.5 miles (5.6 km) |
| Lift system | 19 total (2 gondola, 12 chair lifts, 5 surface lifts) |
| Snowfall | 230 in/year (5.84 m/year) |
| Snowmaking | 662+ acres |
| Night skiing | 15 trails |
| Web site | http://www.keystoneresort.com/ |
Keystone Resort is the largest ski resort in Summit County located in Keystone, Colorado, United States. It was founded on November 21, 1970 by Max Dercum. The resort is owned and operated by Vail Resorts which also operates three other resorts in the state (Vail, Beaver Creek, and Breckenridge) and Heavenly Ski Resort and Northstar at Tahoe at Lake Tahoe. Some lift tickets and passes in Keystone can also be used at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, A-basin in Colorado.
Keystone consists of three mountains named Dercum Mountain, North Peak, the Outback, and five Bowls (Independence, Ericsson, Bergman, North and South Bowls) for skiing at every level. The first three mountains mentioned connected by a series of ski lifts and gondolas. Collectively, the mountains form the largest operation in Colorado to offer at night skiing, where several trails are lit by large light fixtures, and lift operation can run until late into the night. Night skiing takes place after sunset until as late as 9 p.m. on as many as 15 of the resort's trails.
Keystone is known also for its five-acre resurfaced skating lake, sleigh rides and many Zagat-rated four- and five-star restaurants. There are over 3,000 condos in Keystone, all within a short walk or free shuttle ride to one the two base areas called River Run (newest) and Mountain House (Original, less crowded).
In summer, Keystone also is a home for lift access mountain biking, biking parks, and hundreds of miles of single-track mountain biking.
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Keystone Resort features the "A51 Terrain Park" on Dercum Mountain, which has been noted as one of the more progressive progressive terrain parks in the region.[1]
During the summer, visitors to Keystone resort oftern participate in hiking, horseback riding, fly-fishing, whitewater rafting, and mountain biking. Keystone resort is also home to two 18-hole championship golf courses.
Keystone ski area operates on National Forest System lands under special use permit to the Forest Service. The 30-year special use permit only assigns a portion of the bundle of rights to the permit holder normally associated with real estate ownership. For the privilege of using federal lands the ski area pays an annual fee of about one dollar per skier visitor to the U.S. Treasury. Twenty-five percent of those fees are returned to Summit County, Colorado, for roads and schools. The Forest Service approves all master development plan revisions, environmental impact statements, summer and winter operations plans, and construction plan prior to opening. The 1984 Land and Resource Management Plan and 2002 Revision, authored by Erik Martin, Program Manager for Ski Area Administration (1972–2003), WRNF, established the final expanded boundary perimeter for Keystone Resort, including eventual expansion of developed skiing onto Independence Mountain. The 2002 Forest Plan Revision suggested an aerial transportation corridor and south portal be constructed in the Swan Valley to provide direct access between Keystone ski area and the Town of Breckenridge to improve traffic safety, reduce vehicle congestion, decrease dust and hydrocarbon emissions, and increase skier convenience. Independence Mountain was an olympic finalist and nearly selected for the signature alpine skiing downhill event for the ill-fated '76 Winter Olympic Games initially awarded to Denver, USA. Lands owned by the Denver Water Board at the base of Independence Mountain were given serious consideration by the Forest Service as an alternative staging area for Keystone ski area to reduce vehicle and skier congestion at the existing portals, and as an alternative ski lift connection and new portal serving the backside of Arapahoe Basin ski area. Speculation about conflicts in the Snake River Valley with the lynx reintroduction program stifled further study and land allocation. Prior to formal expansion of Keystone ski area onto Independence Mountain this terrain was under permit by multiple guide and outfitters in the 1970s and 80s using snowcats and helicopters for alpine skiing.
The Teller Lift was a Yan 1000 model triple chair installed in 1984 by Lift Engineering, when Keystone expanded into the North Peak. The following year the upper bullwheel disconnected from the main gearbox shaft. Faulty welding was blamed.[2] Two people were killed and 47 injured. The lift was rebuilt by Yan as the Ruby lift, free of charge. Settlements between Yan and injured skiers topped over seven million dollars.