After clocking in nearly 100 days of summer activities and recreation, Breckenridge Ski Resort is gearing up for its 2025-26 season with new entertainment additions and changes to one of the resort’s most popular bars. 

Breckenridge Ski Resort Chief Operating Officer Jon Copeland gave a season debrief to Breckenridge Town Council at a Tuesday, Oct. 28, meeting where he said his team had been discussing what the resort “once was and what it could be.” He said this season’s focus will be on “big energy,” the connection between the town and the resort and investments in mountain infrastructure with emphasis on sustainability. 

One change for the 2025-26 season will be the weekend hours of T-Bar, an apres-style bar at the base of Peak 8. Copeland said the popularity the bar saw last year led his team to extend its hours Friday through Sunday. He said there will be a new bar area, which he called an out-bar, and a new experience related to the T-Bar. He said they were looking to channel something akin to what Beaver Creek resort does, giving out free cookies at 3 p.m. each day, so they are eyeing a shot ski experience that will look “very similar.”  He said it will be called “Ullr time,” which is a nod to the Norse god of snow, Ullr. 

Mayor Kelly Owens wondered if they planned to expand the hours of the BreckConnect Gondola because of T-Bar being open later. Copeland said the current plan is to create what he called a “party bus.”

“We’re working on a lighted bus with some disco balls and everything in it to start with, (we will) see how that goes, and (maybe) a pop up DJ on that as well,” he said. 

Copeland said the resort hosting the Rockstar Energy Open Dec. 19-21 will be its “first foray back into world class snowboarding events.” The event follows the town’s Ullr Fest, and Breckenridge Tourism Office President Lucy Kay said current lodging data is showing an increase in nights booked for the middle to end of December. 

He said they are also working to host the 40th anniversary of the Snowboarding World Championships at some point during the spring. What was formerly the Helly Hansen Big International Freeskier & Snowboarders Association (IFSA) Mountain will now be the Toyota Big International Freeskier & Snowboarders Association (IFSA) Mountain Challenge on March 7-8. Copeland said the resort is looking to reimage this big-mountain event to increase engagement from spectators. 

He said the resort also plans to introduce new on-mountain music experience and concert pop ups with DJs. 

“We got a lot of great ideas, and I think I’m trying to convince my team ‘let’s walk before we run’,” he said. 

One of the infrastructure projects should reopen the warming hut at the top of 6 Chair that has been closed since around the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said the resort bought around nine new energy-efficient snowmaking guns that require less power and water. He said his team intends to swap more snowmaking guns with these energy-efficient ones. He said they already put work into improving the BreckConnect Gondola and have plans for work on the QuikSilver SuperChair and the Colorado SuperChair.