Pro skiers Bode Miller and Chris Anthony ‘ski-cut’ the ribbon to officially open Snöbahn Thornton Friday.

Around 75 other people, including Founder and CEO/Owner of Snöbahn Sadler Merrill, Thornton Mayor Pro-Tem Karen Bigelow and Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann, braced cold temperatures and snow to witness the ceremony.

And the energy in the building buzzed, especially after the ribbon was cut and a few skiers stepped onto the revolving ski slopes, including Miller and Anthony.

“This has been eight years in the making, yet this isn’t where we started but it is what we always dreamed of,” Merrill said to start the ceremony inside the 40,000 square-foot facility. “We always dreamed of making action sports, initially skiing and snowboarding, more accessible, more approachable for everyone.”

Mayor Kulmann thanked the Thornton community and several others saying in part, “On a day like today when you look outside and it’s snowing, I remember taking my kids out to the mountains and wishing there was something closer that I could bring my kids to so I didn’t have to put them in all of the big snow gear and drive out in the snow.”

Snöbahn’s ability to train approximately 8,000 skiers and snowboarders annually with the new facility will help grow participation, Kulmann said, and expand the economic impact of winter sports across Colorado.

March 8 will be known in Thornton as “Winter Sports Appreciation Day.”

When all was said and done, Anthony and Miller put on their skis, took to the slope for a demonstration and some skiing fun.

Here are 5 takeaways from Anthony and Miller: 

1. One hour of skiing or snowboarding on the revolving slopes is equivalent to skiing or riding 20,000 vertical feet.

“I did the Everest challenge slope one time, the 29,000 foot peak in Nepal, and it took me like two hours to do,” Anthony said of skiing on the revolving slopes previously at the Centennial, Colorado, facility.

2. Skiing on the revolving slopes is similar to but different than snow.

“The kind of skiing you’ll do on these slopes will work out and use muscles you don’t normally work out doing other fitness. Skiing on (these) slopes gives massive benefits to ski muscle memory and lower extremities control,” Miller said of what a first-time skier or rider can expect when stepping onto the slope.

3. Getting more confident and comfortable with your skiing or snowboarding is just a reflection away.

“So what they did was they installed these mirrors at the bottom of the slope so you can watch yourself skiing. The mirrors help show what you are doing so you can see if you are doing good or bad things and get more comfortable on the slopes,” Anthony said.

4. If you are worried about prices, Snöbahn is an answer.

“When you first get on it it’s kind of scary, but even if you’ve never skied before these slopes are great for beginners all the way through experts. You can enjoy skiing for the first time, getting even the equivalent of a private full day lesson without paying $700 for an instructor,” Miller said.

5. Features of the revolving slope.

“Since you are not moving down hill, skiing or riding on the slope is a lateral movement mostly. Skiing in the wedge position but stationary is how most do it at first, but since the slope revolves underneath you, it is just an infinite descent,” Anthony said of how the feeling is underfoot and what your body will experience when skiing or riding.

“So the slope has tracking lights feature (a slalom line, with a light pattern that can change between circles, trees and snowmen) illuminated on the slope that you can follow to imitate skiing a course. It is such an exercise,” Anthony said.

Other facts:

Snöbahn Thornton also has two other sections in the facility.

A trampoline zone for tumbling and parkour exercises, and a skate park zone complete with a street skate line with rails and boxes for BMX, skateboards and scooters, a jump line for BMX, skateboards and scooters and a big air line with an air bag landing zone which can be skied or ridden using skies or snowboards with wheels attached to the bottoms.

“A lot of athletes can come here to train for freestyle comps or with their freestyle comp team when they can’t make the drive up to the mountains to ski on the snow,” Snöbahn spokesperson Sean Billisitz said.

Along with the four revolving slopes, Snöbahn Thornton also has an upstairs mezzanine where spectators or parents can relax, or watch from, while participants use the facility. It also has a bar and café area underneath the mezzanine.