Work on major improvements at Winter Park ski area in Colorado will make the resort "barely recognisable" to its regular skiers as they arrive to ski there next season it has been claimed.
The resort was one of around a dozen purchased by a financial conglomerate that later became known as the Alterra group a little over a year ago.
With the giant new ski business based in Denver, Winter Park is the most 'local' of their purchases and is being lavished with a chunk of more than $500m promised in upgrade investment across the areas over the next few years by their new owners.
The biggest part of the investment at Winter Park is a new gondola with 10-person cabins, as well as an updated snowmaking system and 21 acres more gladed ski terrain at a cost of $28.2 million.
The POMA built gondola costing €18m will run from the main resort base to the Lodge at Sunspot with an increased upload capacity on the route up to 3,600 guests per hour and will decrease wait time by 15 minutes during peak season.
The gondola will replace the Zephyr Express a high-speed quad chairlift that was operational for almost three decades.
The resort says snowmaking improvements will help it open earlier and that cutting trees on 21 acres of land will improve forest health but also open up more glade skiing.
Finally $1.75 million is being spent on improving Winter Park Village to make it a more appealing base by opening up space for events, adding a stage area and a fire pit and installing a snow melt system under the walkways.