Steamboat in Colorado has brought forward its opening date to 15 November 2019, its earliest in more than 50 years. Celebrations will begin at 7.30am, with the Christie Peak Express lift open to skiers and riders from 8.30am. Free Smartwool socks will be given to the first 100 snow enthusiasts on the mountain along with delicious breakfast burritos

On 23 November 2019, Steamboat’s highly anticipated new Gondola will also open. The Steamboat Gondola will take guests up the mountain almost 38% faster than the current lift. There’ll be a host of festivities in celebration, including live dance performances and complimentary mimosas and ‘champagne powder’ donuts.

The brand-new Doppelmayr gondola, replacing the resorts previous 30+ year old lift, guests will be moved out of the base area and up the mountain nearly 38 percent faster than in the past, significantly reducing base area wait times. Multiple factors play into the increased capacity including the addition of 12 cabins to the line, a more advanced machine running at 6m per second versus the previous 5m per second and better tower setup, and level, walk-in cabins. The elimination of the nearly 9-inch step into gondola cabins will allow customers to load the gondola in a seamless action preventing stumbling which previously led to gondola slowdowns. The entryway and que for the gondola will also improve with an expanded enclosed area, RFID gates moved to the entrance of the building (versus closer to the gondola loading), a new guest resolution center at the entrance and new loading/unloading mats to create a smooth transition to the walk-in cabins. The top terminal at Thunderhead Lodge will feature a new exit with easier to navigate and more guest friendly stairs. Previously the stairs to the snow were steep and narrow, now they will be wider platforms with shorter rise. Additionally, the exit terminal will receive a facelift by adding a timber gabled roof to match the main entrance to the building. The new gondola follows the same line as the previous gondola departing from Gondola Square and arriving at Thunderhead Lodge at mid-mountain. The new gondola is expected to start whisking skiers and riders up the mountain on November 23