NEDERLAND, Colo. – The ski season at Eldora Mountain will begin eight days earlier than planned, according to resort officials Thursday morning. Ahead of the opening, Eldora Mountain Resort unveiled its new Caribou Lounge, which also includes a new ski school for children and adaptive athletes.

The 12,000-square-foot facility has three floors, with the first operated by Ignite Adaptive Sports, a nonprofit organization for athletes with disabilities in Colorado. In previous years, volunteer Ignite athletes had to push 300 feet uphill to get to the ski lifts. The new lounge features an elevator to the third floor connected to a 100-foot bridge that takes students directly to the elevators.

“It will make it a lot easier for us to teach classes,” said Kevin Wilson, an instructor and adaptive athlete at Ignite.

Wilson has always been a powder fan and has been skiing since he was a child. But in 1990, Wilson, then 16, was involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed. It took crews six hours to free Wilson from the rubble, and it was 34 years before he tried to ski again.

Wilson began training with Ignite in 2019 and became an instructor for the program in 2021.

“I recorded two goals,” Wilson said. “My goal is to ski the entire mountain and one day work for Ignite. One down and the other close.”

Although he is enthusiastic about Eldora Ski Area, Wilson agreed that the facility needs an upgrade. Previously, Ignite athletes packed their equipment into two trailers at the resort, located several hundred feet from the lifts. Wilson said they had to turn away 20% of their students last year because they didn't have enough volunteers to push the athletes to the lifts.

“It was a lot of work,” said Keith Jimmerson, an Ignite volunteer instructor.

Jimmerson began volunteering in 2009 and said the new accessible ski lounge has been in the works for nearly a decade.

“The new place is great,” Jimmerson said. “It gives them a sense of freedom that they might not have elsewhere in their lives.”

The new lounge is located in the Eldora learning area, approximately 1,000 feet southeast of the main base. In addition to Ignite, the building has a children's ski school and kitchen on the second floor. Sam Bass, Eldora's marketing director, said one of the best features is the public restrooms, which previously barely existed.

The building also has a heated walkway at the front to prevent ice build-up. There is a terrace on the second floor where parents can watch their children learn to ski.

“This will be a huge improvement,” Bass said. “We see a lot of people who really can’t wait to be here on opening day.”

Ignite currently has more than 300 volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, you can find more information here.

Denver7 also has a ski guide with the secrets to skiing on a budget in Colorado.

Eldora Mountain Ski Resort introduces a new lounge for adaptive skiers