Colorado’s 2019 ski season is gaining ground rapidly after heavy October snowfall.
Arapahoe Basin (pictured top earlier this month), then Keystone (pictured below), were the first resorts in North America to open a fortnight ago and Loveland became the third this weekend.
Two more areas have announced openings in the next week, Wolf Creek, which was the first to open last year, will open on Halloween this Thursday and Eldora this Friday, November 1st, a fortnight ahead of their planned opening date.
All are benefiting from some good early snowfalls which have seen Steamboat, although not yet open, claim it has had record October snowfall already of 1.1 metres (44 inches). A further winter storm is expected in the area over the coming 48 hours.
It’s not long until some of the state’s and America’s biggest named resorts will open with Breckenridge and Copper targeting November 8th, in just over a fortnight’s time, and Winter Park the 13th, a few days later.
Although Mt Rose has opened by Lake Tahoe in Nevada this weekend it only has two beginner trails open using 100% machine made snow.
It’s been a different picture in the East of North America though where usually a handful of ski areas in New England and Quebec manage to open, thanks to snowmaking, in October. So far it has been too warm and sometimes wet but temperatures are dipping so there’s a battle to see if any can open by Halloween.
North of the border Nakiska became the first ski area in Canada to open, this weekend, its earliest ever.
