With plenty of early season snow, Copper Mountain plans to open big chunks of the mountain for guests this coming week. As World Cup ski racers head for the European part of their winter-long circuit, the terrain off the Super Bee chair will open to the public Dec. 19. At the west end of Copper Mountain, the terrain in the Union Creek area, including the Union Creek, Kokomo and Lumberjack lifts, will also open Dec. 19.
Along with the holiday vibe, Copper will also be catching a taste of the Olympic spirit this week, as the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix comes to the resort Dec. 16 - 22.
Top freeskiing and snowboarding athletes from all over the world compete in both halfpipe and slopestyle events to claim last- chance qualification points towards the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The competition kicks off on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 8:30 a.m. with freeski slopestyle and snowboard halfpipe qualifiers and continues through the weekend with finals on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 20 – 22.
Guests can catch all the action with a short stroll to the Main Vein Superpipe, which is walking distance from Burning Stones Plaza, or skiing or riding to the venue via Main Vein trail. Spectators can catch the slopestyle competition in Central Park Terrain Park, accessible via ski or snowboard only by Loverly trail off of the Union Peak quad chairlift. A full event schedule is available here.