With the sale last month of Copper Mountain from Intrawest to Powdr Corporation a direction is certain for Copper Mountain Ski Resort. It could not come at a better time as ski resorts are needing to reexamine the future and how they do business. The baby boomers have begun to hang up their skis and snowboards and we are only at the beginning of that trend. Snow riders between 45 and 54 make up nearly 20% of the market and that number is getting bigger. The ski industry needs to cultivate a younger demographic if it wants to survive. Copper had already established itself on the cutting edge with its state of the art training center The Woodward.

 

The Woodward at Copper first opened The Barn on February 28th, 2009.  The Barn is the first indoor ski and snowboard training facility with 19,400 square feet of terrain park and pipe progression.  The facility allows year round training in doing all the airial flips and tricks that young people are thriving on now. Additionally, Copper hosted The Grand Prix Snowboarding Event. This was an Olympic qualifying event and all the biggest names in the sport participated. Needless to say the resort was packed with the vast majority of attendees under thirty. Copper was also the first resort in Colorado to open their halfpipe for the season.

Powdr’s business strategy centers on the mountain. According to a statement released after the sale; Powdr really focuses on providing an unparalleled on-mountain experience, and everything else is a bonus. Why do people live in or choose to visit the mountains? To ski and ride. That's why they focus on making that experience the best it can be. This is certainly a change from the Intrawest focus on the village and real estate development which resulted in Copper suffering from a lack of on-mountain improvements in recent years.

 

At this time you can purchase a ski-in/ski-out two bedroom in Copper Mountain for about the same as a one bedroom in Breckenridge. With the focus on the future that Powdr brings this may not last forever. Best of all, with all the growth going on in Breckenridge, Copper still has the feel of a small resort. It’s easy to find your way around and get around.