Ahead of the Christmas holiday, Summit County ski areas are preparing to drop ropes all over the slopes, including opening up popular peaks and back-bowl terrain.

While December has remained dry with little snow accumulation, Summit County is still sitting pretty from a series of storms the week of Thanksgiving, and more snow could be on its way for the Christmas holiday. 

Steady snowmaking conditions have also allowed ski resorts to ready the mountains for the incoming influx of holiday travelers.

Copper Mountain plants to get all of its lifts spinning

Copper Mountain says its season is in full swing with all of the resort’s lifts expected to be running by this weekend.

The resort will open access to the backside of the mountain, including Tucker Mountain and limited terrain in the Copper Bowls starting Friday, according to communications manager Olivia Butrymovich.

Mountain Chief, Blackjack and Three Bears lifts will service these areas, though closures for several trails will remain in place for skier and rider safety. Butrymovich said that those closures are in place for a reason, so skiers and riders should obey all ropes and closures signs.

On Saturday, Copper will also open access to the Celebrity Ridge lift for easier access to Copper Bowl via the Sierra Lift. Pipe Dream, Copper’s 13-foot halfpipe, will also open on Saturday.

Butrymovich recommended visitors stop by the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix World Cup halfpipe and the debut of the X Games Street Style Pro on Friday and Saturday. There will also be live music on both evenings following the X Games events, with Break Science on Friday and Sunsquabi on Saturday. The X Games events and live music are free to attend.

Keystone Resort plans to open Bergman Express

Thanks to the hard work of teams working in the high Alpine, Keystone Resort says it plans to open the Bergman Express this Friday.

The entire Bergman Bowl will be open when the lift starts running this weekend, offering intermediate powder fields, advanced tree skiing and the Ten Mile Trail, a high-elevation green trail, Keystone communications manager Max Winter said.

The ski resort will also expand its offerings at its A-51 Terrain Park, with openings on Easy Street, The Alley and Park Lane over the next few days.

Night skiing will also return to Keystone starting this weekend, running each night until 7 p.m. from Friday through the end of December. After the holiday season, night skiing will continue to operate out of the River Run Base area on Fridays, Saturdays and select holidays through March 29.

“With snow in the forecast over the next few weeks, our teams will continue to open new terrain at every opportunity this holiday season and into the new year,” Winter said.

Breckenridge plans to open all five peaks

Ahead of the Christmas holiday, Breckenridge Ski Resort plans to have all five of its peaks open.

Peak 6 will open Friday with the Zendo and Kensho chairlifts running, Breckenridge senior communications manager Sara Lococo said. Peak 10 and the Falcon chair will open on Saturday.

All of the ski-to-town trails are now open for the season, connecting the mountain to downtowm Breckenridge, so visitors are encouraged to “ditch their car” while visiting the ski resort, Lococo said.

Looking ahead, Lococo said with the snow expected next week, Breckenridge will start looking at opening more of its high-Alpine terrain with the 6-Chair and Imperial chairlifts as well as hike-to terrain on Peak 6. Breckenridge is also looking to open its large terrain park on Freeway sometime over the holidays and its medium terrain park on American just after the new year, she said.

“It’s super exciting to be heading into the holiday season with all Five Peaks open at the resort,” Lococo said. “We’ll have about 2,000 acres of terrain for skiing and riding, with more likely to come online soon.”

Arapahoe Basin to open tree skiing in the Beavers

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area says that a small storm that brought three inches of snow Tuesday night helped prepare another side of the mountain to open.

Starting Saturday, Arapahoe Basin will open the Beavers with groomers Loafer and Davis as well as popular tree skiing runs, including C-Pod, Thick & Thin and Bailey Bros, A-Basin communications manager Shayna Silverman said.

“Really this gift is thanks to our patrol and mountain ops team who worked hard to get this terrain pod ready in time for the holidays,” Silverman said. “And with more snow in the forecast right around Christmas, we’re sure it’ll be skiing and riding great.”

Loveland opens six new trails

Loveland Ski Area opened several new trails this week as 5 inches of fresh snow helped refresh soft conditions on the mountain.

Loveland director of marketing Loryn Roberson said that this week Switchback, Zig Zag and Double Dip opened off Chair 3; Duces Wild and Royal Flush opened off Chair 6; and Drifter and South Turtle Creek opened off the Ptarmigan lift.

On Saturday, the mini magic carpet will open at Loveland Valley, providing a key beginner area. Then, teams will shift their focus to opening Chair 4.