The Dirt From the Stockman Dig Is Building This Winter's Halfpipe
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Since late August, trucks have been hauling soil out of a hole at 1965 Ski Time Square Drive and driving it uphill. They drop it in Bashor Bowl, where crews are building it into the new base of Maverick's Halfpipe. The hole is the foundation of The Stockman. The pile at the top is the reason the pipe should open earlier this season.
The Stockman's hotel rooms and residences won't open until 2030. Its first effect on the mountain, though, arrives this winter, and it lands in the terrain park. The foundation of a nine-story building has been reused as the foundation of the resort's most advanced freestyle feature.
Groundbreaking took place on August 27, 2026, between the T-Bar and Slopeside, as Steamboat Radio reported. The plans call for nine stories, 59 guest rooms and suites, and 95 private residences under the Auberge Collection name. Steamboat Pilot & Today reported in February that the building sits on a sloping site. One side of its U shape rises seven stories and the other nine, and a pool deck on the second floor opens toward the slopes. The city's permit records show two levels of parking below grade.
Those two underground levels explain the haul. A building with two stories of parking beneath it needs a deep excavation, and on most job sites that soil is a disposal problem. Here the resort had a use for it about two-thirds of the way up the hill.
Speaking to Steamboat Radio at the groundbreaking, Steamboat Resort President Rob Perlman tied the project to the resort's larger capital program:
"It's a part of Full Steam Ahead. It's the continuation of the investment we've made on the mountain for this community, for the resort."
Bashor Bowl is the first place on the hill where that link shows up.
Alterra Mountain Company's winter preview, released September 24, 2026, lists the project among Steamboat's new offerings for 2026/27. It says the raised base "will reduce snowmaking and natural snow required to build the halfpipe and allow the facility to open earlier in the season."
On October 1, FREESKIER published the dimensions it attributes to the resort, which give a clearer picture:
The snow figure is the one that affects timing. FREESKIER notes that skiers "usually have to wait about halfway through the season" for Maverick's to open. A pipe has to be built up from snow before it can be cut and shaped. Each foot of dirt that now sits under the walls is a foot of snow the crews don't have to make or wait for, so the pipe isn't tied as tightly to how fast early-season snow piles up.
The same report says the dirt work leaves room for a 600-foot pipe down the road. That length would give the resort a venue for competitions if one is ever needed. For now, the confirmed change is the longer, steeper pipe on a raised base.
Maverick's is part of the Maverick Terrain Park, Steamboat's largest and most advanced park. Rabbit Ears is the intermediate park, and Lil' Rodeo is the beginner park with the Mini-Mavs pipe. The announced rebuild covers only Maverick's.
Anyone who rode or hiked the lower mountain in September has already seen this project, even without knowing where the trucks were headed. The resort's weekly operations update, last revised September 30, 2026, listed the effects of the Stockman build and the dirt haul to Bashor:
The weekday closures and weekend reopenings follow the haul schedule. Trucks ran during the work week, and the trails reopened when they stopped. The same update also confirmed that the summer season ended October 4. Since October 5, the gondola, bike park, and base-area dining and retail have been closed, while hiking and biking trails stay open until snowmaking and grooming begin. The resort says impacts can change from day to day, and the mountain report and the Ikon app carry current status.
The September 30 update also noted that a new water ramp and trampoline training facility is going in at the bottom of the Park Smalley Freestyle Complex. To make room for the build, Huckleberry Trail is closed for the season, and Gunsmoke is closed weekdays and open on weekends.
The facility is a partnership between Steamboat Resort and the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. According to the resort's blog, Steamboat Resort donated land at the base of the Park Smalley Freestyle Complex and led the planning, design, permitting, and development. Native Excavating is partnering on construction, and the club will manage operations. The club's capital campaign page puts the total budget at $1,000,000, including a maintenance reserve. It says $500,000 was already committed, with a $400,000 contribution from the MacArthur family and gifts from local businesses. The new ramps replace the club's current facility at Bald Eagle Lake, which the club said would close after summer 2026.
Public access is the key difference from the halfpipe. The city's July 9, 2026 Planning Commission packet describes summer and fall use for "Winter Sports Club athletes and approved visiting teams," and states, "There's not going to be any public access." Steamboat Pilot & Today reported in July that construction was expected to start in late July or early August. No completion date has been published. Taken together, the two projects split this fall's freestyle investment. The pipe in Bashor is open to anyone with a lift ticket. The ramps at Park Smalley are a club training venue.
Three questions remain unanswered in the published sources.
When Maverick's opens. Neither Alterra nor the resort has named a 2026/27 opening date for the pipe. The only public commitment is "earlier in the season."
What happens to the Wrangler lift. Steamboat Pilot & Today has described the Stockman site as the spot "where the ski resort's Wrangler small-surface lift currently is located." The resort's lift directory still lists Wrangler alongside Buckaroo Carpet, Easy Rider, and Two Whoops 1 and 2. No source says whether Wrangler will be removed, moved, or replaced for this season. Group lessons, apart from the Young Kids program, meet at Greenhorn Ranch, which is reached from the base by the Wild Blue Gondola.
How construction affects winter access at the base. City permits confirm a laydown and storage yard across from the building site, plus right-of-way work between the building and Ski Time Square. Neither the resort nor the city has published how skier routes, walkways, or drop-off areas around that block will work once lifts start turning.
Lifts start turning on Saturday, November 21, about forty days from now. Steamboat's Opening Day listing has festivities starting at 7:30 a.m. and lifts opening at 8:30 a.m. Ikon, Ikon Base, and Steamboat passes are all valid from the first day. Complimentary donuts, coffee, and mimosas will be served, and the first 100 people on the mountain receive a limited-edition Ohana tee and Smartwool socks.
If you own near the base and want to know what The Stockman's four years of construction could mean for your block, The Zopf Team follows these projects closely. Contact us anytime for a conversation about what's changing at the foot of Mt. Werner.
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