Ski Resorts Open Their Doors To Summer Tourists
KEYSTONE RESORT, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado ski resorts are aggressively trying to cash in on summer tourism possibilities. Most are reopening for summer recreation this weekend.
"We definitely have a lot of work to do clearing the snow especially years like this when we have so much great snow, and late snow, but this Colorado sunshine comes out and melts things up pretty quickly," Keystone Resort spokeswoman Laura Parquette said on Thursday. "The base area is completely cleaned up and ready to go for tomorrow."
Parquette said their summer activities continue to grow in popularity. They will be open for non-ski activities this weekend along with other resorts like Copper, Steamboat, Crested Butte, Breckenridge and Vail. Aspen will open up the following weekend.
"We see lots of guests who want to come up to the mountains and get out of the heat, both from down in Denver as well as from Texas, Missouri and Illinois," she said.
With the increase in summer tourism, resorts are constantly looking to provide new options for visitors.
"The crew has been hard at work. We have done a ton of work in two weeks," said Jeff Lehmann, who oversees the Keystone Bike Park.
"This year we have put in a progression skills park," he said. "We're trying to make it more progressive, make it good for beginners, intermediate and all the experts that we've really had in the past."
Some bike trails will take more time before they are ready for riders.
"We've been digging trails out. We're taking machines up this afternoon to try and get some of our other trails open," he said. "We're going to be open midstation down because of all the snow."
There's still one resort that's open for skiing, and it's only 5 miles up the road from Keystone - Arapahoe Basin.
