Five ski areas are to open this weekend in Colorado, believed to be the most to open into May for some years.
It has also been snowing hard on higher slopes in the state with Breckenridge and Winter Park (pictured) resorts both reporting 30cm (a foot) of fresh snow in the past 72 hours and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area 40cm (10cm of that in the past 24 hours) and finally Loveland Ski Area over 50cm.
The fifth area to open is Purgatory Resort which will be open for the first time ever in May this weekend.
Breckenridge is open in May for the first time in more than two decades after owners Vail resort announced their plan to keep the area open to the US public holiday on the last Monday of May, the 27th.
Arapahoe Basin has said it plans to stay open a further week to June 2nd.
