Some Colorado ski resorts reported a few inches of fresh snow as snowmaking efforts resume
Neither Arapahoe Basin Ski Area nor Keystone Resort have announced an opening. Last year, both resorts had opened by this time.
Riley Kisser/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
A storm delivered small amounts of snow to Colorado’s highest mountain towns on Sunday night — and a number of ski resorts have announced that snowmaking has once again kicked into gear.
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area claimed 3 inches of natural snow by Monday morning, with a news release stating that the ski area had started snowmaking around 5 a.m. and was still snowmaking around 10:30 a.m.
“While fresh snow helps by getting us all excited for ski season and providing us with water, it’s really snowmaking that gets us to our early season opening,” A-Basin communications manager Shayna Silverman said in an email. “So, we are happy to welcome the fresh snow, but it does not change our TBD opening day.”
Multiple ski resorts across Colorado started snowmaking in mid-October, but warm weather paused most operations. On Monday, though, towns in Summit County woke up to a dusting of snow and Keystone Resort, which has an arsenal of high-tech snow guns, could also be seen blowing snow in preparation for the ski season.
Keystone and A-Basin are likely days away from opening. Last year, Keystone scooped A-Basin to become the first to open for the season with a same-day announcement that it would open for the afternoon on Oct. 25, just after A-Basin had announced an Oct. 26 opening.
“Last night and into this morning was our best period of sustained snowmaking since we started the previous week,” Keystone communications manager Jacob Marquardt said in a text message. “There’s still more work to be done in (order) to open 2+ miles of terrain, but this is a great move in the right direction and we’re excited about colder temperatures in the days ahead.”
Loveland Ski Area — which also plans to open as soon as possible — reported 2 inches of natural snow on Monday and restarted snowmaking. The ski area said in an email that it hopes to open in early November.
As of 11 a.m. on Monday morning, no ski resort had yet announced an opening in October.
Many other Colorado ski resorts, including Winter Park Resort, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek Resort, have also started snowmaking for the season.
Several other ski resorts, such as Aspen Snowmass, reported a dusting of snow over the weekend but have not yet begun snowmaking.
Projected 2026-27 opening dates
- Winter Park Resort – ASAP
- Breckenridge Ski Resort – Friday, Nov. 6
- Copper Mountain – Friday, Nov. 6
- Vail Mountain – Friday, Nov. 13
- Steamboat Resort – Saturday, Nov. 21
- Beaver Creek Resort – Wednesday, Nov. 25
- Aspen-Snowmass – Thursday, Nov. 26
Some Colorado ski resorts reported a few inches of fresh snow as snowmaking efforts resume
A storm delivered small amounts of snow to Colorado’s highest mountain towns on Sunday night — and a number of ski resorts have announced that snowmaking has once again kicked into gear.
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