MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Winter 2018

WINTER 2018 ML BLUE 21 The new run occupies the space once presided over by the Great Slide Ride and is named ‘Burner’ after the fabled friction burns that old-time Sliders were once proud to wear (the Ride closed in 1999). To make this a reality, the crew at Blue were busy removing an old retaining wall from the Slide Ride infrastructure this past fall—the attraction’s last remaining remnant. “We like to tip our hats to where we came from while always looking ahead to new opportunities,” adds Blue Mountain’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Dan Skelton. “A few of our runs have been named with a link to our history like Dr. Doug and Tranquility. Now we can add Burner to the list.” The new 14.4 acre black-diamond run follows roughly the same path as the Century Express six-pack chair from top to bottom, featuring a narrow top section on a pitch that offers a view of the Bay. The mid-section of Burner leads to a three-way fork giving riders the option to merge with either Happy Valley or Calamity. It’s not accessible at night, nor does it benefit from Blue’s expansive snowmaking regimen (yet), so Burner will represent a slice of old school, au-naturel heaven this season. –Nelson Phillips It’s hard to keep up with Blue Mountain sometimes. They genuinely enjoy treating guests to new experiences yearly, and they’ve got it down to an absolute science. The park groms of Blue entertained a moment of silence earlier this spring when the aging Badlands Double Chair was liberated from its footings and ushered to the big ski resort in the sky. The Badlands Park was relaunched in The Orchard, where it has doubled in length. The new Park is outfitted with a high-speed six-pack of its own, and meanwhile an all-new run has sprung up in the vicinity of the old chair—bringing the Blue Mountain trail count to 43 and its overall skiable acreage to 365 acres for 2018. UP FRONT BLUE MOUNTAIN INN & CONFERENCE CENTRE YAHOO SUSAN’S R E NRUB HIDE AWAY NEW TRAIL! BURNER FOR 2017/18 SEASON 43 BURNER MAKES IT The new Park is outfitted with a high-speed six-pack of its own, and meanwhile an all-new run has sprung up, bringing the Blue Mountain trail count to 43. MAP COURTESY BLUE MOUNTAIN RESORT