Copper Mountain, a resort located in Colorado's Summit County near Denver, is certainly one of the most outstanding ski areas in the Arapaho National Forest. Renowned for having some of the best powder in the world, Copper Mountain offers excellent skiing conditions, for expert, intermediate and beginner skiers. It is open for skiing and snowboarding approximately five months out of the year and averages about 280 inches of snow per season. Good snow and sparse tree cover, created by old burns, provides a tremendous opportunity to create natural type runs that blend in with the surrounding countryside.

The history of Copper Mountains takes us few centuries back, when the place used to be the home to Ute and Arapaho Indian tribes. These tribes are believed to be ancestors of the Utes and other Shoshonean groups in the West, which evolved about 600 to 800 years ago. The mountain had a huge number of elk, bear, deer and buffalo, which were enough to sustain these tribes.

About 200 years ago, few miners named the mountain “Copper” after they found out that the land was rich in copper. The miners were looking for gold, but they were not able to find it in abundance because of the elevation of the mountain. However, they managed to find some silver in few mines on the mountain.
Judge John S. Wheeler built the first town at the base of the mountain in 70s and 80s of the 18th century. The town was built on a property of 320 acre and was named as Wheeler. In the initial phase, Judge Wheeler built a hotel, general store, post office and hay ranch, which supported a large sheep herd. However, as the time passed by and population grew in the town, John Wheeler added flats and a railway station, which proved to be vital for transportation for the people.

In the course of time, people started counting Wheeler as an important destination for lumber and mining timber. These two commodities were shipped daily in large quantities, which got Wheeler’s economy moving. In the year 1900, Seth Crawford became Wheeler's first official mayor.

It was about three-and-half decades ago that talks of establishing a ski resort triggered.  Chuck Lewis, a visionary, dreamed of building a fabulous ski resort. Lewis was part of a group, Copper Mountain Associates, which had 18 investors looking to buy 280 acres at the base of Copper Mountain from Eugene Sanders. The project was largely funded by L.C Fulenwider and Paul Bailey, who later on became the majority owners of the resort.  It is said that Sanders agreed to sale the property only on the condition that Lewis will be the in-charge of the project. Finally, the Copper Housing Associates managed to 280 acres of land for $780 and started working with Forest Service to establish parameters and guidelines for the ski area. As the time went on, more and more land was acquired, and what was a little ski area in 1971 has now become a 2433-acre-premier year-round destination resort in Colorado.