New ski lift in Telluride

Posted by: Erin Eddy

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Revelation Lift Nears Completion

Written by Martinique DavisOct 23, 2008

Ski Area’s Vertical Drop Now 4,425 Feet

TELLURIDE – The dusting of white shrouding the uppermost reaches of the Telluride Ski Area serves to remind us that winter – and all its snowy spoils – is on the way. The only thing more enticing to a skiers and boards than a pristine, white vista is perhaps the sight of a new ski lift stretching up the mountain.

Construction of the Revelation Lift is steadily moving forward as evidenced by the now-visible top terminal that sits high on the Gold Hill ridge. The lift will access terrain that falls dramatically from the Gold Hill ridge onto northeastern aspects. These snow-magnet slopes had previously been the focus of powder day reveries only, but that will change with the opening this winter of Revelation Bowl and its corresponding Leitner-Poma quad lift.

Situated above tree line, Revelation Bowl offers advanced and expert terrain in a setting that, with its far-reaching mountain views and wide-open, treeless expanse, evokes a European ski experience. Skiers and riders will be able to choose ridgelines in either direction offering steeper pitches and rock features, or rolling groomed terrain down the middle.

Last winter’s opening of Black Iron Bowl, Palmyra Peak and Gold Hill Chutes 6-10 significantly increased the resort’s selection of hike-to terrain, and with the opening of Revelation Bowl this winter, the Telluride Ski Resort will have undergone a nearly 400-acre growth spurt in just two years.

The resort’s vertical drop is now one of the largest in North America at 4,425 feet, with 3,845 vertical feet lift-served.

To handle all of that new terrain, the ski resort recently purchased three new Prinoth Snowcats. The additional cats will provide greater nightly coverage and consistent grooming of signature runs like Plunge and See Forever.

Additionally, two WWII vintage 105mm howitzers, with their own stationary bunkers, have been installed for avalanche control, enabling Gold Hill, Palmyra Peak and Black Iron Bowl to open sooner on powder days.

“The patrol is very excited about what this will do in terms of the speed and effectiveness of their work – moreover, the safety it’s going to provide their staff,” Telluride Ski and Golf CEO Dave Riley said of the new Howitzers in an interview earlier this fall. “It’s going to speed things up while making things a lot safer.”

Telski is also opening two new restaurants on the mountain this winter. Keeping with the theme of a European ski experience, Alpino Vino is a European-styled hütte near the top of Gold Hill that will offer fine wines, cheeses and appetizer plates. Alpino Vino will be located in what many locals refer to as the Trommer House (a private home built by Eric Trommer), which has sat idle since the Ski Area purchased the property nearly a decade ago. Crews recently began remodeling the stone and wood chalet, and the restaurant’s doors are slated to open to the public for the first time this winter.

For après ski, the new Hop Garden in Mountain Village will offer the ambiance of a traditional German beer garden, with 10 specialty beers on tap and craft beers from around the world highlighted daily, as well as a menu of hot and cold fare. The Hop Garden is located in the space previously occupied by the Skier’s Union, at the base of Lift 4.