Eldora's Parking Decision Leads to Epic Faceplant

The leadership team at Eldora just managed to pull off the most  

On an especially glorious powder day last ski season, my wife, Sandy, and I got a late start on our way to our favorite ski area, Eldora, about an hour away in Nederland, Colo.

Eldora's lifts start spinning at 8:30 am, and as much as we had hoped to get out the door by 7, we were slow to get going and didn't leave until almost 8. We knew we were at risk of not finding a place to park, and a few miles up Boulder Canyon—the main road to Eldora—we got caught in the mad rush of other latecomers. The traffic moved slowly and when we finally got into cell range, just outside Nederland, we read on Twitter that Eldora's parking lots were full and they were no longer letting in cars.

We were bummed, of course. Powder days always make skiers and snowboarders giddy. But we also had no one to blame but ourselves. We knew a weekend powder day would draw huge crowds, but we were hopeful that the threat of slow traffic and long lift lines might deter other Boulderites from venturing up that way.

We were wrong. But we accepted it and moved on. Eldora is too charming, too affordable and too different from the I-70 resorts to give up on it. We chalked it up as a learning lesson about vowed to get going earlier the next powder day.

Over the last few seasons, we've skied Eldora about a dozen times each season. We also ski Copper, Winter Park, Steamboat Springs and Crested Butte, but Eldora is our clear favorite because it's the closest and has a non-corporate vibe, even though it's owned by Utah-based Powdr Corp.

But Eldora's recent move to charge $20 for parking—for any car with fewer than three people—on weekend, holiday and "peak" (i.e., powder) days has us rethinking our commitment to the ski area.

Do we understand the need to charge for parking? Absolutely. The lots are small and there

But Eldora's decision to implement the parking fee a month into the season and not exempt Ikon Pass holders from the fee is a monumental mistake. The ski area's leaders are getting crushed on social media, and for good reason.

The  

We spent $599 x 2 for our Ikon Passes, plus the insurance