Press "Enter" to skip to content

Geology won’t stop Crested Butte expansion

Brief by Allen Best

Ski Industry – December 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Crested Butte Mountain Resort wants to expand its resort to a new mountain, called Snodgrass, in order to get more intermediate-level ski terrain. A report on the geology of the expansion area has been issued, and it finds nothing that sinks expansion hopes.

But the report does say that the natural instability of the slopes could be stressed by the addition of more snow, such as is created by snowmaking, which may trigger more landslides.

However, John Norton, the project consultant for the resort, believes the problem is something less than an Achilles’ heel. “With the exception of Purgatory, at Durango, there is not a ski resort in Colorado that is not built on slide terrain,” he told the Crested Butte News.