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Peak season has arrived in Summit County as more ski areas inch closer to being fully open

Katie Young/Keystone Resort
A skier jumps off a group of rocks at Keystone Resort on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.
Katie Young/Keystone Resort

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.

After skiing throughout the early-season and patiently awaiting more natural snowfall, guests can finally relish in peak-season conditions at all of the ski areas in the Summit County area.

With multiple ski areas in the Summit County now fully open for the season, guests have the opportunity to explore trails of all difficulties all across the mountain.



Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
A skier traverses across West Zuma Bowl at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area on Jan. 11, 2025.
Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

Arapahoe Basin grows closer to opening final two terrain pods

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area currently has all of its terrain pods open excluding East Wall and the Steep Gullies. The two remaining terrain pods are the ski area’s most extreme pieces of terrain and take a significant amount of snow and work to get open.

Over the last week, the teams at A-Basin have specifically been working hard to get the Steep Gullies open.



“As you can imagine, with a title like that, it takes a lot of avy work to ensure safe skiing and riding,” communications manager Shayna Silverman said of the Steep Gullies. “But we’re getting closer every day, and if you’re lucky (and happen to be near our Pali Outpost patrol hut) you may be able to snag directed skiing with a patroller back there.”

East Wall will be the last piece of terrain at A-Basin to open after the Steep Gullies. The teams at A-Basin always hope to get the area of breathtaking and thrilling terrain open by the end of February or early March, but sometimes East Wall will not be safe to open until April. 

A-Basin will post updates on future terrain openings on its social media channels on Instagram and Facebook.

Breckenridge Ski Resort drops rope to Lake Chutes

JP Douvalakis/Breckenridge Ski Resort
The sun casts an orange light on the clouds that cover Breckenridge Ski Resort on Jan. 3, 2025.
JP Douvalakis/Breckenridge Ski Resort

On Saturday, Jan. 18, patrollers at Breckenridge Ski Resort were able to open the Lake Chutes on Peak 8.

With Lake Chutes open for the season, Snow White on Peak 8 and the Six Senses on Peak 6 are the only areas that have yet to open to the public this season. 

According to senior specialist in communications Sarah McLear, the Six Senses still need a little bit more snow before seeing a rope drop. The promise of snow this weekend is expected to inch the terrain area closer to an eventual opening as well as provide great conditions for the resort’s Toyota Takeover Weekend. 

The weekend of events will kick off with first tracks on Friday morning, Jan. 24, and will continue throughout the weekend with live music. A full list of event details can be found at Breckenridge.com.

JP Douvalakis/Breckenridge Ski Resort
A skier explores a pocket of powder at Breckenridge Ski Resort on Dec. 31, 2024.
JP Douvalakis/Breckenridge Ski Resort

Keystone very close to being 100% open

As of this upcoming weekend, Keystone Resort is extremely close to being 100% open for the season.

With 3,100-plus acres of terrain and 130-plus trails currently open, Keystone is offering guests of any age or ability something to explore. 

The only remaining terrain left to open is Keystone’s larger features on Main Street and Park Lane in the A51 Terrain Park. Keystone’s terrain park teams are on track to open the remaining features by next weekend which will bring the resort to the 100% mark. 

Copper nears 200 feet of annual snowfall 

So far this season, Copper has seen 191 inches or nearly 16 feet of snowfall. With snow in the forecast  for this upcoming weekend and the snowiest months of the season still ahead, Copper hopes to become the first resort in Colorado to break the 200-inch threshold. 

The heavy snowfall has allowed the ski resort to operate with 100% of its trails open for the last several weeks. Since there are no new terrain updates for the upcoming weekend, Copper is instead reminding weekend guests about its season-long scan challenge.

Anyone who has a Copper season pass, four pack or Ikon Pass can opt into Copper emails to participate in the challenge. Challenge participants can redeem rewards the more they visit the mountain, with the goal of hitting 100 days at the resort. 

Guests can earn prizes through closing day for hitting milestones from five to 100-days on the mountain. Prizes include a free hourlong session of tubing, a free day of fast tracks access, specialty Copper swag and a Yeti M20 Backpack Cooler.

Learn more about Copper’s season-long Scan Challenge and the season long challenge at CopperColorado.com.

Loveland to begin offering Ridge Cat skiing

On Saturday, Jan. 25, Loveland Ski Area is expected to officially begin offering free snowcat skiing along the Continental Divide via its Ridge Cat program.

The Ridge Cat gives guests access to some of the ski area’s most exhilarating and challenging terrain. When operating, the Ridge Cat will pick up a new group of skiers and riders just beyond Gate 1 North off Lift 9 and will drop guests off at Gate 4 North.

In order to take a ride on the Ridge Cat, skiers and riders are required to have a valid season pass or a lift ticket with a Ridge Cat Pass which can be picked up free of charge at the ticket office at Loveland Basin. Ridge Cat access is provided on a first-come, first-served basis when conditions permit.

Earlier in the week, ski patrol managed to open the Jelly Roll trail and the upper part of Over the Rainbow.


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