We’ve always loved Winter Park but haven’t been able to spend much time there the last few years. We made the free parking lot F our home for the weekend, and were reminded of how much we enjoy Winter Park! When we’re not skiing powder, we are trying to not get ourselves killed in the terrain park. The terrain park at Winter Park is so much fun and very much more on our level of skill. There’s a ton of medium features and lots of opportunity to improve your skill.
Views for days! Looking north.
We were getting ready to leave on Sunday evening when all of a sudden, it started puking snow! We checked the forecast and while Steamboat (our next stop) and Winter Park were both supposed to get snow, we figured we would stay at WP because we could see the giant flakes falling. Sometimes the decision can be hit or miss, but this time we made the right one! We woke up Monday morning to 6 inches of fresh powder (and Steamboat only got 2 inches).
While we’ve skied Winter Park many times, it’s mostly been for the terrain park and we had never really explored the amazing terrain that the resort has to offer. We were simply in awe. Since it had been a while since the area had gotten snow, plus it had been very warm in recent weeks, we really weren’t expecting a whole lot. We’re not bump skiers, so the bumps that we could see from the parking lot, frosted in that 6 inches of snow, were not overly appetizing.
Pretty views from the top of the Zephyr looking east.
It was an extremely busy weekend at WP because of the holiday (President’s Day) so instead of riding the Zephyr up (the main lift from the base area), we decided to ride up Gemini Express and head over to the familiar territory of the Eskimo and Prospector Lifts. The terrain off of Prospector barely looked tracked so we did a few short runs there and then headed back to Pioneer Express.
Tyson and I literally didn’t even know the Pioneer Lift existed and we hit it at the perfect time. While it’s not the most extreme or steepest terrain, it was so much fun! We could’ve stayed there all day. We also didn’t realize that the Cirque was inbounds terrain and knew that by the end of the day, if it was open, we’d have to go check it out.
2nd and 3rd tracks!
The trees off of Pioneer Express.
The whole day we were just in awe of how expansive Winter Park is. After some time on the Pioneer lift, we went in search of the Cirque. It took quite a while to get there, as you have to ski/catch a lift/ski catch a lift a couple times but it was worth it for sure!
To access the Cirque, you ride up the Panoramic Express in the Mary Jane Territory. There is then an access gate where you hike up a few yards, then ski down for about ¼ of a mile. After the ski down, you can either jump on the Cirque Sled, which hauls you out to the Cirque, or you can make the +-1 mile hike. It’s not a straight uphill hike, but would definitely take a bit of time. You do need a pass to get on the Cirque Sled and while it is not free, it only costs $20 for the entire season. Definitely worth it if you are skiing pow days at WP a lot! The conditions weren’t ideal and the 6 inches that they received the night before had been pretty sluffed off in places from bombing, but on deep, consecutive days, the Cirque would be so amazing!
Eyeing the Cirque from the top of Pioneer Express.
The Cirque Cat (We’re on the sled).
We ended the day on the Cirque it made for both beautiful views and reminders of how life can be… Sometimes you hike around for a long ass time only to slide down the chute on your side (Cally). Still worth it.
Looking down one of the chutes on the Cirque. You can see Cally (cloud of snow).
We can’t wait to head back to Winter Park in the future when they are getting hit with consecutive storm cycles. There’s so much to explore and a ton of opportunity for some extremely fun days.
Teacup rides with Hank.
With the MAX Pass, you receive 5 days of skiing at all 39 participating resorts! They even have options like add-on passes, which is what we did for our Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus. For more information, visit the MAX Pass website.
