Consistent snowstorms expand terrain offerings at Summit County ski areas
Thom Paxton/Loveland Ski Area
Editor’s Note: Each Thursday throughout the winter, the Summit Daily News will provide a terrain update that will inform skiers and riders on what trails are open at what mountains before they head out to the slopes.
It finally feels like the winter season has arrived in Summit County. While much of the High Country had been in a dry spell since the Thanksgiving holiday, Mother Nature delivered several powerful storms between Christmas and New Year’s.
With snow continuing to fall over the first week of 2025, more terrain is set to open across the county for the upcoming weekend.
Huge storms give way to rope drops at Loveland
Loveland Ski Area could not have started out 2025 on a better note.
Since New Year’s Eve, Loveland has reported nearly 20 inches of snow which has helped the ski area to open a ton of new terrain over the last week.
On Tuesday, Jan. 7, Loveland ski patrol opened up Lift 8 with all of its corresponding terrain except East Ropes. Patrollers were also able to open the Straight Flush terrain park on Monday, Jan. 6.
With all but one of Loveland’s lifts open for the season, mountain operation teams will start working on spinning the final lift on the mountain — Lift 9.
More high-Alpine terrain opens at Breckenridge
Seeing 16 inches of snow over the past seven days, Breckenridge Ski Resort has opened up a wide swath of its high-Alpine terrain as well as its Freeway Terrain Park on Peak 8.
The opening of the Imperial SuperChair on Saturday, Jan. 4, allowed Breckenridge to give skiers and riders access to Imperial Bowl and the Upper 4 O’Clock ridge. The opening of the ridge line allows guests to ski from the top of the Imperial SuperChair to Main Street.
Over on Peak 7, patrollers at Breckenridge have worked to open up high-Alpine trails off of the T-Bar like Debbie’s Alley and Vertigo on a conditions-dependent basis. Additionally, hike-to high-Alpine terrain is now open on Peak 6 with access to Serenity Bowl and Beyond Bowl.
In the next few days, Breckenridge hopes to open up Whale’s Tail which will bring the vast majority of the resort’s high-Alpine terrain online for the season.
After opening Whale’s Tail, Breckenridge will begin looking at Lake Chutes. The resort plans to work hard to get Lake Chutes open after the Peak 7 high-Alpine terrain comes online.
“The Six Senses and South Couloir still need another good storm or two before they’ll be ready, and Snow White will likely be one of the last pieces of the puzzle, so be patient and check our social media channels for updates,” senior specialist in communications Sarah McLear said.
Arapahoe Basin begins working on Montezuma’s west bowls
Over the last week, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area successfully opened several trails off of the Pallavicini Lift on the front side of the mountain. Most notably, A-Basin was able to get My Chutes online as well as Christmas Trees and Janitors Only.
All three trails are double-black runs with Christmas Trees and Janitors Only serving as hike-back trails.
A-Basin is currently working on opening the west bowls in Montezuma Bowl, but the ski area is not sure it will be open in time for the weekend.
“Last week’s storm and hopefully a little refresh on Saturday, are making things look pretty good around here,” vice president of marketing and skier services Jesse True said.
Keystone opens fifth and final high Alpine bowl
With Erickson Bowl officially opening earlier this week,Keystone Resort has officially opened up all five of its high-Alpine bowls.
The newest terrain offering gives skiers and riders access to over 1,400 acres of high-Alpine terrain spanning from the more mellow Bergman Bowl to the rock drops in Erickson Bowl.
The additional openings come just in time for Keystone’s Women’s Weekend celebration, which runs from Friday, Jan. 10 through Sunday, Jan. 12. The event will feature everything from parade ski downs, apres events, specialized clinics and more.
Due to Keystone’s snowmaking, grooming and patrol teams, Starfire is also on track to open for the upcoming weekend. The steep, black-diamond run is a fan favorite and allows guests to easily rack up vertical feet.
The teams at Keystone have also started to open up terrain on the lower portion of the Windows. According to communications manager Max Winter, the expert gladed terrain needs a little more snow before it can be fully open for hiking, but the Keystone teams will be ready the moment conditions allow.
In the coming weeks, Keystone will focus on getting the Go Devil, Richter and Last Hoot trails online as well as larger features in the A-51 terrain park.
Copper Mountain fully open for the season
As currently the snowiest resort in Colorado with over 168 inches of snowfall, all of the terrain at Copper Mountain is fully open.
Minus a few trails that may be subject to temporary closures due to changing conditions and competitions, guests can explore Copper from East Village all the way over to West Village. Copper marks the first resort in Summit County to fully open all of its terrain for the 2024-25 season.
Outside of terrain updates, the Copper Snow Maze is expected to open on Saturday, Jan. 11. The free maze is located in Copper’s East Village.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.
Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.
Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.