Copper Mountain's once snoozy village is finally catching up with the resort's world-class mountain. Canadian resort powerhouse Intrawest took charge of Copper in 1997 and went back to the drawing board. Guests have been wallowing in construction dust for the past three years, as three new base lodges were built (one for each village: East, Main and West), numerous condominium buildings were added, and several lifts were upgraded to high-speed quads. A new six-passenger flying couch even zips you from base-to-summit in just nine minutes. Getting around the 2,433-acre mountain has never been easier. "When buildout is complete, Copper will be a premier mountain resort," chirps one happy reader. Not everyone endorses the upgrades. "It's becoming like all other resorts on I-70. They should just combine them all," groans another. "If they keep building, they will totally ruin it." One agreed fact: This easily accessed resort (just 75 interstate miles west of Denver) is annually praised for its natural "segregation" of terrain, with the toughest slopes at the far east, and increasingly easier skiing as you head west. "The mountain is perfectly arranged for all levels of ability," coos one reader. "Thank you, Mother Nature!" For the ultimate in bumps, hit the runs serviced by A-Lift and Resolution Bowl. As one reader sums it up: "I've owned season passes at six Colorado mountains and still ski Copper 90 percent of the time."
(-) "Lodging is too expensive for size of rooms." "Too many cheap ski passes and too many people on weekends."
