The terrain parks at Beaver Creek are great, but they are missing something crucial that would make them more accessible and improve the traffic flow on the mountain, something that many other terrain parks with far less resources around the country already have, that being a rope tow! 

If you don't already know, the current configuration requires riders to go all the way down to either the red buffalo or cinch lifts, both of which are very long and busy lifts, to hit the park again, leading the the majority of the day being spent on the lift, in the lift line, or outside of the park on beginner terrain. This leads to unnecessary crowding and riders of higher skill level taking up valuable space on beginner runs. Along with this, because riders are not spending as much time in the park as they could, they are unable to consistently practice on features without large gaps in time between laps. All of this leads to a higher risk of injury for everyone involved, especially beginner and intermediate riders who don't have much experience in the park, or who may encounter riders of a higher level in otherwise beginner terrain.

A rope tow would solve these problems. It is a simple, cost effective solution that would keep us park rats in the park, allow riders of all skill levels to practice consistently on features. Say that in a day a rider lapping the terrain park would be able to hit a specific feature 10 to 15 times in a day with the current configuration. Installing a rope tow would easily double, triple, or quadruple that number, leading to more confident riders. This is especially beneficial for anyone learning new things, beginners and experts alike. It would reduce traffic on the Cinch and Red Buffalo lifts as well as the terrain below the park requires to get to said lifts. It would be a net positive for everyone involved.

I reached out to the VP of operations at Beaver Creek last winter with this proposal, and despite all of the positive impacts this would have, he responded with this.

Respectfully, I disagree. I don't think this current configuration aligns with the brand of Beaver Creek as family friendly, bourgeois, and accessible to all skill levels. Unless said brand is all about inefficiency, lack of safety, and inaccessibility. The fact that a resort so close to Vail, one of the biggest resort conglomerates on the planet, can't seem to afford a rope tow, something that small independent resorts have had since the dawn of skiing, is embarrassing and disappointing. Despite what he said, what I read here is, in fact, a need for a petition, since the people making decisions are unwilling to make these necessary changes on their own. Since they did not provide a number of signatures they would need to install a rope tow, I am going to start with the relatively lofty goal of 5,000. If somehow we can make that goal and they still refuse, I will raise it.

Please share this petition with anyone you can! The more signatures, the better, obviously. Thank you!