As crews have begun making snow at three Front Range ski areas, ski season is just around the corner.
Here is a list of projected opening dates for Colorado resorts. All are subject to change, depending on weather conditions. The Know will keep this list updated until all areas are open.
Arapahoe Basin: Oct. 11
Aspen Highlands: Dec. 7
Aspen Mountain: Nov. 28
Beaver Creek: Nov. 27
Breckenridge: Nov. 8
Buttermilk: Dec. 7
Copper Mountain: Nov. 8
Crested Butte: Nov. 27
Echo Mountain: Nov. 29
Eldora: Nov. 15
Granby Ranch: Dec. 13
Hesperus: Dec. 21
Howelsen Hill: Nov. 30
Kendall Mountain: Dec. 14
Keystone: Oct. 12
Loveland: Mid-October
Monarch: Nov. 22
Powderhorn: Dec. 13
Purgatory: Nov. 23
Silverton: Dec. 26
Ski Cooper: Dec. 7
Snowmass: Nov. 28
Steamboat: Nov. 23
Sunlight: Dec. 13
Telluride: Nov. 28
Vail: Nov. 15
Winter Park: Nov. 13
Wolf Creek: Nov. 1
Updated at 1:40 p.m. on Oct. 11: Two hours after Keystone announced it would open for the season on Saturday to become “the first ski resort to open in North America,” Arapahoe Basin said it would open Friday from 3:30- 5:30 p.m.for its earliest opening since 2009.
In the wake of a significant snowstorm and cold temperatures that kicked its snowmaking operations into high-gear, Keystone will open for skiing and riding on Saturday, Oct. 12, the resort’s earliest opening since 1995.
Arapahoe Basin seems poised to open as well. There hasn’t been an announcement yet, but that area’s chief operating officer, Alan Henceroth, hinted in a blog post Friday that their opening day trail was being groomed, adding, “It’s going to be a fantastic weekend.”
At Keystone, skiers and riders will take the River Run Gondola to the summit, skiing three trails to mid mountain, then taking the Montezuma Express back to the top. At the end of the day, they will have to download on the gondola from the summit to the base.
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“With Keystone’s early opening, and Breckenridge’s plan to operate through Memorial Day, the two resorts will offer one of the longest ski seasons in the country, providing even more value for our Epic Pass holders,” said Jody Churich, Keystone’s new vice president and general manager. “Our mountain operations team put in a tremendous amount of hard work to get our new snowmaking system ready for Keystone’s early opening.”
A-Basin has been the first in the Front Range to open for seven of the last eight years, tying with Loveland in 2015. Wolf Creek in southern Colorado beat them both in 2011, opening on Oct. 8. Two years ago, Arapahoe Basin opened on Oct. 13.
Keystone hasn’t even attempted to open in October since 2002, conceding the battle for opening day honors to A-Basin and Loveland, but Vail Resorts significantly upgraded Keystone’s snowmaking system this year. Company officials made no secret of their desire to compete with Arapahoe Basin to get open first. The two ski areas are four miles apart.
On the other side of Loveland Pass, Loveland spokesman John Sellers said it will be a few more days before that area opens.
“With the new snow we got and the cold temperatures, we’re hoping for a productive weekend,” Sellers said. “Hopefully we will have more information early next week. Next week is not out of the realm of possibility, but we’ll have to see how the weekend goes.”
Sources: Colorado Ski Country USA, Vail Resorts. All dates subject to change
