Amid Tricky Winter, Keystone Ski Resort Finally Opens Bergman Bowl

At long last, Keystone Resort officially has all of its lifts open.

On January 27, the Colorado ski area opened Bergman Bowl for the season, giving skiers access to the high alpine terrain and, across the resort, more than 1,500 acres of skiing. This milestone also grants Keystone the title of "most skiable acreage" in Summit County, Colorado, according to the resort. 

Keystone advises guests that Bergman Bowl, which sits at the top of Wapiti Peak, is not fully groomed. The terrain is geared towards more advanced riders looking for a "true backcountry style experience," although the slopes are in-bounds. Guests should be prepared for variable snow conditions as well.

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Keystone, like many other mountains in the West, has had a difficult snow year. 

In total, 84 inches of snow has fallen on the ski area this season, and they currently have a 23-inch base depth. 

More than just a lack of snow, though, Keystone has struggled with warm temperatures and keeping the snow that has fallen skiable. Recent colder temperatures have played a big role in being able to expand open terrain, with less worry about snowmelt, according to Keystone's director of mountain operations, Kate Schifani. 

Schifani spoke to Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz on the company's Epic by Nature Podcast about the newly opened terrain and challenges the resort has faced in a low-snow year. 

When new snow does fall, their mountain ops teams are hard at work making decisions about grooming and terrain management that will set the mountain up for success in the short term and the long term.

“There's a whole bunch of people that are working overnight, behind the scenes, places that guests aren't going to see to make this happen, and they're all contributing to a bigger goal that we have,” said Schifani

“And we know that the success of Keystone matters to the success of the town of Keystone, to Summit County, Colorado, to Colorado in general,” she continued. "And so we carry that with us just to say that there's 500 people here on the mountain that want to make this the best ski experience in the world.”

Keystone received 8 inches of new snow over the past weekend. More snow is forecasted to return to Keystone early next week and into the first two weeks of February.