It takes about two weeks to put down enough snow to open, and the race is on between Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Area as as to which Colorado ski area will open first.
If Mother Nature joins in (the forecast is looking pretty good!), then both Continental Divide mountains are expected to have a run or two open by mid-October. Last year, Arapahoe Basin won the informal competition by opening Oct. 13. Loveland followed on Oct. 17.
A-Basin officials say they are focusing on intermediate High Noon off the Black Mountain Express high-speed chair and, if weather is willing, will then move the guns to neighboring Ramrod and Sundance runs.
“The truth really is that we open once we have a solid base of snow on High Noon and once we open, we are committed to being open seven days a week through our budgeted operating season,” Arapahoe Basin’s Adrienne Saia Isaac told SnoCountry.com. “If we can open first again – awesome! – but we won’t open if the snow’s not there.”
At Loveland, the goal is to get 1,000 feet of skiing and riding terrain open as soon as possible. Crews began snowmaking at the top of Chair 1 and expect to work their way down to Home Run and the base.
“While most people dream of a white Christmas,” Loveland’s John Sellers told local media, “here at Loveland we are focused on a white October.”
Here’s the complete list of opening dates as reported by Colorado resorts:
Mid-October: Arapahoe and Loveland
Oct. 31: Copper Mountain, Keystone
Nov. 7: Wolf Creek, Breckenridge
Nov. 12: Winter Park
Nov. 26: Crested Butte, Monarch, Beaver Creek
Nov. 27: Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Steamboat, Telluride
Nov. 28: Durango/Purgatory
Nov. 29: Howelson Hill
Dec. 5: Sunlight
Dec. 11: Powderhorn, Ski Granby Ranch
Dec. 13: Buttermilk, Ski Cooper
Dec. 20: Silverton
Photo: Loveland fires up the snowmaking guns for a hoped-for mid-October opening (Loveland/Facebook)