For two decades, the stunning terrain above timberline in Keystone’s Bergman and Erickson bowls was reserved for snowcat tours and hearty souls willing to hike for it. That changed three weeks ago with the grand opening of a lift that takes skiers high into the alpine environment at 12,282 feet, treating them to some of the most magnificent views in Colorado skiing.
Not only does the new Bergman Express lift make those bowls easily accessible, but it also serves terrain suitable for experienced beginners and intermediates. That’s rare for high-alpine skiing.
“I get so excited to be able to bring those novice skiers into the high alpine,” said Kolina Coe, Keystone’s director of mountain operations. “So often, beginner terrain or intermediate terrain is skiing to the parking lot. This opportunity to get them into the mountains and have that sense of exploration is what drove me every day to complete this project.”
Bergman Bowl has a dozen blue runs and one green trail, which resort officials say is one of the highest green runs in the U.S. Next to Bergman is Erickson Bowl, which is rated black with some of Keystone’s steepest terrain along with rock drops and extensive glades.
Glenn Schultz, who splits time between homes in Dallas and Breckenridge, followed the construction of the lift last summer from nine miles away with a spotting scope. He skied Bergman Bowl with a friend last week.
“It was a lot of fun,” Schultz said. “It’s really wide open. We’ll definitely come back over. It’s nice intermediate terrain. It’s nice that you can get the bowl experience without having to do breakneck cliff jumps.”
Schultz’s friend, Kevin McGlensey, lives in Southern California and has a condo in Breckenridge.
“I think it’s great that they opened up that access,” McGlensey said. “Easy to get to, yet it’s terrain that intermediate skiers normally wouldn’t be skiing.”
The views are spectacular. To the west are 14,266-foot Quandary Peak, Breckenridge Resort, the peaks of the Tenmile Range, Lake Dillon — eight miles northwest and 3,000 feet below — and the Mount of the Holy Cross, an iconic fourteener 10 miles southwest of Vail.
“It truly does feel like you’re on top of the world,” Coe said.
Bergman and Erickson bowls are located on Keystone Peak, which is not to be confused with the “front side” of Keystone. That’s known as Dercum Mountain, which tops out at 11,640 feet. The summit of Keystone Peak is two miles farther southeast and nearly 600 feet higher than Dercum Mountain.
Skiers can hike the final 125 feet from the top of the new lift to the summit of Keystone Peak, which reveals a 360-degree view that includes the Continental Divide and two fourteeners — Grays and Torreys — in the eastern panorama.
A mile and a half north of Keystone Peak is Independence Mountain. Beneath its 12,600-foot summit lies the vast expanse of Independence Bowl, which is accessible from the Bergman Express with a short traverse. Skiing that requires a hike out of the bowl to get back to the Bergman Express, though.
Lest beginners fret about skiing ungroomed snow, the green trail from the top of the lift to the bottom will be groomed regularly.
“I think that’s what’s going to get them addicted to this sport, to make them want to come back and have that feeling they get when they see (the views),” Coe said. “That feeling you get of excitement, while being on a green trail, is what’s going to keep them coming back. It’s going to make them lifelong skiers.”
The 555 acres of Bergman and Erickson bowls — larger than five Colorado ski areas — have been accessible by snowcat tour and hiking since 2004. What’s new is the lift, a high-speed six-person chair that was installed this past summer, along with a new ski patrol hut. Built with beetle-kill wood, the hut is heated with a wood pellet stove and is solar-powered. With more skiers accessing Bergman Bowl, Keystone added patrollers this year and increased hours for its part-time patrollers.
“Our patrol team is really excited about this expansion,” Coe said. “For the patrol shack, they had a lot of ownership in the process. They consulted on the exact location, relative to the top terminal. They helped with the design in the early stages. They finished it all off and put a bow on it by doing all the finish carpentry work on the inside. They gathered up all the scrap material from the project and used it inside the building. They are very excited about it.”
Patrolling it is a very popular assignment for them, Coe said.
“If they need a patroller for Bergman at the morning meeting, and they’re like, ‘Hey, can anyone go to Bergman?’ all the hands go up,” Coe said. “That’s the place they all want to be right now, and I don’t blame them for it.”
