Aspen Skiing Co. opens $10 million Lost Forest adventure center at Snowmass
Aspen Skiing Co. opens $10 million Lost Forest adventure center at Snowmass
By Erica Robbie 06/23/2018. Originally published on aspentimes.com
Snowmass Mountain Manager Steve Sewell believes Aspen Skiing Co.’s shiny, new $10 million adventure center, which opened Friday, will be a game-changer for summer in Snowmass.
“I absolutely do,” Sewell, who has worked at the ski area in a number of roles since 1977, said recently of the Lost Forest. “It will offer interesting and fun activities for families and I think it’s going to give people a reason to stay in Snowmass a couple more days.”
Sewell and other Skico officials have said the Elk Camp-based project’s goal is for the area to serve as a hub for summer activity, and Friday it was just that, with children running around, families playing games on the lawn, diners on the restaurant patio and cyclists cruising by.
Altogether, the Lost Forest’s attractions — which include an alpine coaster, zip line, ropes challenge course and a climbing wall — sprawl roughly 30 acres around the Elk Camp vicinity, Skico spokeswoman Xanthe Demas said. (See sidebar on page A5 for more information on each of the Lost Forest amenities.)
On vacation from Knoxville, Tennessee, Rachel Hovis called the Lost Forest an “awesome” activity for her family and four children, who are between 5 and 14 years old.
“We all love it,” Hovis said after exiting the coaster, which she said she rode multiple times. “It’s our last day in town and we had heard about (the Lost Forest) and we were waiting for this day all week long.”
Skico unveiled its 5,700-foot “Breathtaker Coaster,” the only part of the Lost Forest open year-round, in time to ring in Snowmass Ski Area’s 50th anniversary.
The alpine coaster, which opened mid-December, was well received by locals and visitors alike, Sewell said. He called the attraction “an overwhelming success.”
The climbing wall, which is still being constructed, is expected to be complete by late July, Demas said. In the meantime, Lost Forest visitors can climb a 35-foot temporary wall.
Part of the Lost Forest plan also entails 15.1 miles of new bike trails, about half of which are complete to date. Demas said Friday the remaining trail construction would hopefully be complete by the end of 2019 or 2020.
Skico wasted no time in realizing its dreams of building an adventure park at Snowmass and began construction the day after the U.S. Forest Service granted the skiing company final project approval June 20, 2017.
For Skico and White River National Forest officials, the Lost Forest has been a long time coming. Snowmass was the fifth ski resort in the White River National Forest to pursue a summer recreational plan since Congress passed the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act in 2011.
But the conversation spurred at least a decade ago, beginning with Vail Resorts’ application for an alpine coaster at Vail Ski Area.
White River National Forest representatives would spend the next few years crafting such policy and determining what would be appropriate for its lands.
Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin are the other ski areas under the White River National Forest, which hosts more visits for recreation than any other national forest in the country, to add summer attractions to their resorts.