Slowly but surely Colorado’s ski resorts are closing in on the 100 percent open mark. Thanks to two weeks of good, steady snow bases are building and conditions are getting closer to what we’d expect mid-winter heading into the Spring Break season.
As we understand it, the biggest difficulty has been opening the steepest terrain, but it’s not because of the snowpack, or lack thereof. The problem is avalanche danger due to a very weak early season snowpack followed by a more average or above-average snowfall on top of it, causing slides due to the different and thus competing snowpacks.
You see this issue reflected in the terrain reports below. For instance, at Loveland and A-Basin each is reporting just below 50 percent open, though each has a mid-mountain base at or around 50 inches. That seems rather anemic at first blush, until you consider that much of each ski area’s total terrain is steep and above timberline (The Ridge at Loveland and Montezuma Bowl at A-Basin).
And so it goes elsewhere as well at places like Crested Butte, where the resort is 98 percent open, but the terrain labeled Extreme is only 27 percent open. The resorts show great restraint and caution to ensure a safe inbounds experience, and for that we thank them.
So, if you’re an expert skier who loves the steeps, hang on, we’re getting there. If you’re beginner, intermediate or advanced, you’re good to go across the state. All the bad press from the lack of snowfall earlier this season still lingers, but it’s simply not true anymore.
More good news… Snow is falling in the southwest corner of Colorado this morning and will spread throughout the state through the course of the day and into the night. Accumulations should be pretty decent this time around, so check back early tomorrow morning for the totals. Then, there’s a chance for snow every day through Wednesday.
Without further adieu, here’s the latest four-day snow report and terrain update from around Colorado…
Arapahoe Basin: 0”, 8”, 11”, 16” (6 lifts, 49 trails, 430 acres, 48% open, 44” midway base)
Aspen Highlands: 0”, 0”, 2”, 6” (5 lifts, 108 trails, 99% beginner/intermediate, 87% advanced/expert, 938 acres, 39” midway base)
Aspen Mountain: 0”, 0”, 0”, 4” (7 lifts, 76 trails, 100% open, 675 acres, 37” midway base)
Beaver Creek: 0”, 0”, 2” (25 lifts, 145 trails, 95% open, 1720 acres, 37” midway base)
Breckenridge: 0”, 1”, 3” (31 lifts, 135 trails, 89% open, 2093 acres, 47” midway base)
Buttermilk: 0”, 0”, 1/2”, 3 1/2” (5 lifts, 42 trails, 99% beginner/intermediate, 100% advanced/expert, 462 acres, 32” midway base)
Copper Mountain: 0”, 4”, 6”, 10” (21 lifts, 120 trails, 1729 acres, 70% open, 44” midway base)
Crested Butte: 0”, 0”, 0”, 6” (13 lifts, 86 trails, 770 acres, 100% beginner/intermediate, 100% advanced, 27% extreme, 41” midway base)
Echo Mountain: 0”, 0”, 0”, 0” (3 lifts, 100% open, 58” base)
Eldora: 0”, 4”, 4”, 7” (10 lifts, 100% open, 52” base)
Keystone: 0”, 4”, 5”, 8” (19 lifts, 114 trails, 2791 acres, 89% open, 35” midway base)
Loveland: 0”, 5”, 9”, 12 1/2” (7 lifts, 60 trails, 47% open, 788 acres, 50” base)
Monarch: 1/2”, 3 1/2”, 9 1/2”, 12 1/2” (6 lifts, 61 trails, 100% open, 45” midway base)
Powderhorn: 0”, 0”, 0”, 3” (4 lifts, 100% open, 1600 acres, 43” base)
Purgatory: 0”, 0”, 0”, 1” (9 lifts, 88 trails, 100% open, 55” base)
Silverton: 2”, 2”, 2”, 13” (73” base, open Thursday through Sunday with guided skiing)
Ski Cooper: 0”, 1”, 2”, 5” (100% open, 39” midway base)
Snowmass: 0”, 0”, 1”, 6” (16 lifts, 89 trails, 100% beginner/intermediate, 90% advanced/expert, 3028 acres, 37” midway base)
SolVista Basin: 0”, 3”, 6”, 7” (5 lifts, 100% beginner, 100% intermediate, 85% advanced, 26” base)
Steamboat: 0”, 4”, 11”, 13 1/2” (15 lifts, 160 trails, 100% beginner, 100% intermediate, 96% advanced, 44” base)
Sunlight: 0”, 1”, 2”, 5” (3 lifts, 61 trails, 100% open, 35” base)
Telluride: 0”, 0”, 0”, 7” (18 lifts, 100% beginner, 97% intermediate, 92% advanced, 56” base)
Vail: 0”, 5”, 7”, 11” (31 lifts, 185 trails, 5122 acres, 97% open, 36” midway base)
Winter Park: 0”, 4 1/2”, 8 1/2”, 12 1/2” (23 lifts, 120 trails, 8 parks and pipes, 1566 acres, 51% open, 50” base)
Wolf Creek: 3”, 3”, 3”, 3”(6 lifts, 100% open, 1600 acres, 76” midway base)
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