Night Park at Keystone
KEYSTONE UNVEILS PLANS FOR THE HUGE NEW A51 TERRAIN PARK, ONE OF THE LARGEST NIGHT PARKS IN THE NATION
Keystone, CO -Keystone Resort unveiled plans today for the A51 Terrain Park, to be located on the West side of Dercum Mountain in Packsaddle Bowl. By moving the park to the West side of the mountain, A51 will nearly triple in size, feature 3 progressive sections, an 11-foot half pipe, a 450-foot long, 18.5 foot Zaugg cut Superpipe, 51 rails and funboxes, and DMX Music throughout the park. In addition, A51 will feature the Packsaddle chair as a dedicated return lift, and the park can be accessed via the high speed Peru Express from the revamped Mountain House base area. With almost the entire park under lights, A51 will be one of the largest night parks in the United States, so boarders and skiers can enjoy the park and pipes until well after the sun goes down.
"This park is going to be impressive," says A51 Park Manager and designer Chad Ozdemir. "Keystone and Vail Resorts have given us the resources and support to design and maintain a world-class terrain park for all ability levels."
In addition to the massive upgrade of Keystone's park and pipes, the creation of A51 will have a significant impact on the traffic flow on Dercum Mountain. In years past, the majority of Keystone's terrain features were located on the East side of Dercum Mountain, running down the center of Keystone's signature blue cruisers, and funneling skiers and riders into River Run. By moving the park to Packsaddle Bowl, Keystone will achieve a natural separation between different types of skiers and riders, as well as ease traffic on the River Run Gondola and the Summit Express.
To support the relocation of A51 to Packsaddle Bowl, the Mountain House base area has been completely revamped. The entire ground floor of the Mountain House was redesigned to open up the building and allow for the creation of 3 new restaurants targeted at the youth market: Border Burritos, Bite Me Pizza, and Subfusion. In order to increase the accessibility of A51 and reduce traffic on the Summit Express and the River Run Gondola, the Pika lot will be open up as a free lot and the Rail Bus will be running from the Montezuma lot in River Run to the Mountain House.
"You'll be able to session the park from first chair well into the night without ever having leave the West side of Dercum Mountain," says Ozdemir. "With the repositioning of the Mountain House to support A51, we are changing the entire park experience. No roads, no flats, and shorter lift lines."
This summer, Keystone Resort invested $4.5 million in a massive snowmaking overhaul, resulting in a 30% increase in capacity, and through improved efficiency, greatly reducing the snow making season. As a result, A51 is targeted from limited opening on November 14, 2003, with completion expected by January 15, 2004, regardless of natural snowfall.
Keystone Resort will open for the 2003/204 season on November 14, 2003. For the complete 411 on A51, please see the attached stat sheet. To learn more about A51 and the Evolution of Keystone, or Winterfall, our 6-week opening festival go to
The Evolution Has Begun.
A51 FACT SHEET
-Size: 66 acres - three times the size of the old Terrain Park -Features: 51 rails and funboxes, half pipe, superpipe, a variety of table-top, jumps, hips, and handrail combinations changing throughout the year to ensure progressive lines and new features on a regular basis. -Pipes: 450-foot long 18.5 Zaugg Superpipe. Regular 11 foot Halfpipe. -Music: DMX Music throughout entire park. -Grooming: The addition of a Bombardier BR 350 and a BR 350 Winch, for a total fleet of 4 cats. -Crew: 16 Total: 10 person hand crew, 6 cat operators. -Snowmaking: 5 new Autonoms, for a total of 56 guns covering all 66 acres of the park. -Lighting: Increased lighting to open up 99% of the park at night. -Access: Return service provided by two lifts: Packsaddle Chair & Peru Express high-speed quad. -Difficulty: 3 progressive areas with an assortment of beginner, intermediate, and expert jumps, hips, and other features.