The plan is to not really use it outside of early season.
Distance-wise it's not that far either. It's the same vertical rise and distance as walking from the 5th parking lot at K-1 to the gondola.
It's a contingency plan for the times when snowmaking conditions are not favorable in the fall from the bottom of the North Ridge Triple to the K-1 Base. As we saw last year, that lower section of the mountain is very vulnerable to snow-loss due to it's aspect and lower elevation. This means that snow is harder to make and melts out much faster.
The stairset will help to mitigate the variable that is the lower mountain conditions and help to facilitate an earlier opening. The tradeoff? The loss of Heavenly Traverse, and a short walk at the end of the day for earlier skiing and riding.
I'll take it!