Massive helping of snow spurs terrain openings at Summit County ski areas
Casey Day/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.
In a span of a couple days, Summit County has become a winter wonderland.
From Sunday, Nov. 24, through Wednesday, Nov. 27, the area has been served a massive helping of snow, blanketing ski trails in powder and improving early season conditions. With some ski areas seeing close to two feet of snow in a 48-hour span, ski patrollers are preparing to drop ropes to fresh terrain throughout the lengthy Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
A-Basin ready to drops ropes after opening upper mountain
The last week has been a big one for Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. After only having High Noon open for guests via the Black Mountain Express, A-Basin was able to open Lenawee Express on Monday, Nov. 25.
The opening of Lenawee gives access to the upper part of the mountain with skiing and riding in Dercum’s Gulch as well as limited openings on Len Parks.
The upper mountain is not the only area at A-Basin that saw terrain openings.Following limited openings over the last few weeks, Ramrod is officially open on the lower part of the mountain.
The most recent storm is expected to aid in the opening of more terrain throughout the holiday weekend. On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28, A-Basin opened up its learning terrain via the Molly Hogan lift.
With so much snow, there is a lot of terrain that is skiable at A-Basin, but is being opened periodically in order to ensure safety and that the run does not get skied off in one day. A-Basin is currently getting guests onto runs like Len Parks, Humbug and Exhibition for limited ski throughs.
According to communications manager Shayna Silverman, official openings on these runs and more are imminent.
“We’re going to have a lot more terrain on the upper and lower mountain very soon with ropes dropping left and right this holiday weekend,” Silverman said. “All of these openings are thanks to two key things: a massive snow storm and our hard working team managing all this new snow.”
Copper sees second snowiest November on record
On Wednesday, Nov. 27, Copper Mountain Resort announced that it has already surpassed 100 inches of snowfall this season. In the month of November alone, Copper has seen 81 inches of snow, marking the second snowiest November on record at the resort.
The fresh snow will allow Copper to open up several new trails and lifts for the holiday season.
On Thursday, Nov. 28, the Super Bee lift started spinning and on Friday, Nov. 29, the Rendezvous and Sierra lifts will open. Following the holiday weekend on Monday, Dec. 2, Woodward Express is scheduled to open.
With more lifts operating, guests can expect to see a lot of new terrain open on the mountain. Limited skiing will also be conducted on several trails as the resort looks to pack down the snow and establish a base for the season ahead.
Although guests may be stoked about the amount of snow Copper has received in the early season, the resort reminds guests to be aware that there are still closures in place around the mountain.
“Terrain closures, especially this time of year, are in place for your safety, communications and philanthropy manager Olivia Butrymovich said.”Snowmaking operations are still in full force, machines are out prepping and packing trails, patrol is mitigating terrain and there are hidden hazards under the snow. We want everyone to enjoy their time on the mountain but to stay mindful, ensuring they are not putting themselves or others at risk”
For the most up-to-date information about open trails and lifts, visit CopperColorado.com.
Loveland Ski Area opens Tempest
Seeing more than 20 inches of snow as of Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 27, Loveland Ski Area has opened up Tempest for the holiday weekend.
Accessed off of Chet’s Dream, Tempest is a blue-level run that leads back to the main base area at Loveland. For the rest of the holiday weekend, Loveland is planning on opening Lift 6 with access to Keno and Blackjack.
As of Thanksgiving Day, Loveland is operating under its holiday hours. Through Sunday, Dec. 1, the mountain will open up at 8:30 a.m. and close at 4 p.m.
Breckenridge opens fan-favorite trails across Peak 8
On Wednesday, Nov. 27, Breckenridge took advantage of the recent snowfall and officially opened three runs on Peak 8 including Duke’s, Northstar, and Columbine.
On Thanksgiving Day, Breckenridge will give guests lift access out of the Peak 8 base area by spinning Rocky Mountain SuperChair. A day later on Black Friday, Nov. 29, Breckenridge plans to open E-Chair for the season and its corresponding terrain.
During the weekend, Breckenridge is looking to get the T-Bar open. The lift would allow guests to access more of the resort’s high Alpine trail offerings including Horseshoe Bowl, Contest Bowl and its Back Bowl terrain under 6-Chair.
Additionally, Breckenridge is looking to get its Gondola Ski Back trail open this weekend, providing access to ski directly into town from Peak 8.
“Keep an eye out for new terrain coming online throughout the holiday weekend, and if all goes according to plan, we should nearly double our terrain footprint to offer close to 1,000 acres of terrain across Peaks 8 and 9,” senior communications manager Sara Lococo said.
Even with all of the natural snowfall, Breckenridge is continuing to blow snow on some key trails on Peak 9. The resort is expected to move snowmaking operations over to Peak 7 soon in order to get that base area ready.
“Once we complete snowmaking operations on Peak 7, we anticipate being able to pop open most of that terrain off the Indy and Freedom chairs (versus just a trail or two, which is the case most years), and that’s where the natural snow comes into play and puts us far ahead of a typical early season,” Lococo said. “From there we’ll likely start snowmaking on Lost Horizon on Peak 6 and then move over to Peak 10 as we work to get all Five Peaks open.”
Keystone unlocks North Peak
On Thanksgiving Day, Keystone officially opened up its second peak of the season, giving guests access to North Peak via the Outpost Gondola.
The Santiago Express will also be spinning for skiers and riders to lap intermediate terrain on Prospector and Last Alamo, and advanced terrain on Powder Cap and Ambush. Mozart is still closed for the season meaning that guests must take Outpost Gondola in order to access the new trails on North Peak.
Keystone soft opened additional trails on Dercum on Wednesday, Nov. 27, and expects more trails to come online as ski patrol continues to evaluate terrain throughout the weekend.
Adding excitement to the holiday weekend, Keystone’s Mountaintop Snow Tubing is now open in addition to the Dercum Square ice rink and the resort’s sleigh rides.
From Thursday, Nov. 28, through Saturday, Nov. 30, night skiing will return to Keystone. Over those three days, daily operations will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with night skiing taking place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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.