User:DReifGalaxyM31/KeystoneResort

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.

Keystone consists of three mountains named Dercum Mountain, North Peak, the Outback, and five Bowls (Independence, Erickson, 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 night skiing, where several trails are lit by large floodlights, 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.

Elevation

 * Base: 9,280 ft
 * Summit: 12,408 ft
 * Vertical Rise: 3,128 ft

Trails

 * Skiable Area: 3148 acre
 * Trails: 135 total (19% beginner, 32% intermediate, 49% advanced/expert)
 * Bowls: Independence, Bergman, Erickson, North, South, Puma, Lower Packsaddle.
 * Longest Run: Schoolmarm - 3.5 mi
 * Average Annual Snowfall: 230 in
 * Terrain Parks:
 * The A51 Terrain Park, a section of the resort with various features including for trick performance. The terrain park is the largest in Colorado to be lit at night.
 * 51 rails and funboxes.
 * 1 Superpipe (an enlarged half-pipe).

Lifts

 * 20 total
 * 2 gondolas, River Run and Outpost
 * 5 high-speed quad chair lifts, Summit Express, Montezuma Express, Peru Express, Santiago Express, Outback Express
 * 1 high-speed six person lift, Ruby Express
 * 1 quad chair lift, Wayback
 * 1 triple chair lift, Ranger
 * 3 double chair lifts, A-51, Argentine, and Discovery
 * 6 surface lifts

Terrain Park
Keystone Resort features the "A51 Terrain Park" on Dercum Mountain, which has been noted as one of the more progressive terrain parks in the region.

Summer Activities
During the summer, visitors to Keystone resort ofen participate in hiking, horseback riding, fly-fishing, whitewater rafting, and mountain biking. Keystone resort is also home to two 18-hole championship golf courses.

Forest Service
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 plans 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.

History
In 1941, local Max Dercum purchased a ranch in the Snake River valley off of U.S. Route 6, and began proposing a ski resort in the area. It would be 30 years before his visions came to light. In the 1960s, Dercum and local Bill Bergman pursued development of a ski resort on Keystone Mountain. In 1970, the first lifts and trails were opened.

In its first few years, Keystone was comprised of a fraction of what is now Dercum Mountain. Two double chairlifts, Peru and Argentine, transported skiers out of the base area (now the presnt day Mountain Housebase area). An additional double chairlift, Packsaddle, serviced intermediate terrain at the top of Peru. From Argentine, two double chairlifts - Montezuma and Saint's John - transported people to the Summit House at the top of Dercum Mountain at 11,640 feet.

The Argentine lift was rebuilt in 1977, with the Riblet double chairlift being replaced by a Lift Engineering built double. The Peru and Montezuma lifts were upgraded to triple chairlifts, while the original Packsaddle lift was replaced by two Lift Engineering doubles, the Packsaddle I and II lifts.

In the early 1980s, Keystone installed the Erickson lift, a triple chairlift that opened additional trails on the east side of Dercum Mountain, including Whipsaw, and Swandyke. The lift originated just east of the River Run Gondola's midway station, and ran to the summit of Dercum Mountain.

In 1984, Lift Engineering conducted an extensive construction project as Keystone expanded off Dercum Mountain onto North Peak. The project saw the construction of a new gondola, the first River Run Gondola, opening the River Run base area as a second access point to the mountain besides Mountain House. Two Yan 1000 model triple chairlifts were installed. The Santiago lift provided access to the North Peak trails, including mogul runs like Geronimo and Bullet, and blue cruising trails like Starfire and Last Alamo. The Teller lift provided return access to Dercum Mountain. Three trails - black runs named Diamondback and Mine Shaft - and a blue trail - Mozart - provided access into the new terrain.

The following year, disaster struck the Teller lift. That December, the upper bullwheel disconnected from the main gearbox shaft. A faulty welding was blamed. Two people were killed and 47 injured as a momentary loss of tension caused chairs to bounce violently and hurled riders off. The lift was rebuilt by Yan as the Ruby lift. Settlements between Yan and injured skiers topped over seven million dollars.

The River Run Gondola was closed shortly afterwards when failure was discovered in the cabins' grips.