Photo: Joshua Sukoff//Unsplash
A number of ski resorts across the West have kicked off their seasons this month, including places like Mt. Hood, Lookout Pass, Mt. Bachelor, and the list goes on. The earlier-than-planned opening days have a way of creating the sense that the coming season will be a bountiful one, even if November storms and cooler weather don’t guarantee we’ll be pummeled with powder through March. It’s arguable that no state is beating Colorado in this early-season race, however.
Aspen Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, and Steamboat will be added to the list of Centennial State resorts with chairlifts in operation this weekend, bringing the grand total to 15, according to On The Snow. The November 23 opening is significant at Aspen and Aspen Snowmass because both were originally scheduled to open five days later.
“We look forward to welcoming guests and the community as we kick off the ski season early together this Saturday,” said Geoff Buchheister, Aspen Skiing Company CEO. “The mountains are a space for inspiration, challenge and reflection for so many of us, and we’re excited to open our lifts and reconnect to that unique feeling that time spent on our mountains provides.”
Meanwhile, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, Telluride, Granby, and Howelsen Hill (Steamboat’s town hill) all are reportedly scheduled to open next week. That will make 20 Colorado ski resorts up and running for the 2024-2025 season by Thanksgiving weekend.
When Aspen Co. announced the early openings for Snowmass and Aspen last week, the company didn’t clarify which lifts and trails would be operational. In a Friday press release, it shared that Aspen Mountain will open with 132 acres while Snowmass “will open with 109 acres of terrain, with skiing and riding across Max Park, Lunchline, Upper Scooper, Lower Hal’s Hollow, Fanny Hill and the Meadows Beginner area at Elk Camp.” Those are sizable openings. Breckenridge is the largest of Colorado’s resorts open thus far and it has 15 of 35 lifts operating and just seven percent of its trails open as of Friday. Wolf Creek Ski Area, one of the smaller resorts in Colorado and a base elevation around 10,500 feet, has all 144 trails open already and all but one lift operational.
With several resorts reporting above normal base depths and more snow on the way, Colorado skiers and riders seem to be getting the best of the early-season spoils. OpenSnow is forecasting between one to two more feet over the next week with several resorts across the state in line for as much as 16 inches just in time for Thanksgiving.
