Record October snow has Colorado ski resorts in great early-season shape

A two-part storm blasted Colorado with more than two feet of fresh snow since Sunday, dropping temperatures to single digits Thursday morning in the Vail Valley. With a little over two weeks until opening day on Friday, Nov. 15, still no word on rumors Vail may open early.

Keystone, Loveland and Arapahoe Basin are already open for the season. Wolf Creek opens today (Thursday, Oct. 31), Eldora opens two weeks early on Friday, Nov. 1, Monarch Mountain also opens Friday and Winter Park celebrates its earliest ever opening on Saturday, Nov. 2. Next week, both Breckenridge and Copper Mountain are slated to open on Friday, Nov. 8.

But the early snow spigot looks to be shutting off for at least the next week or so.

“October has been an incredible month for snow across the northern half of Colorado with 4+ feet of accumulation,” Opensnow.com meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote Thursday. “Currently, our snowpack is well above average. Coming up, we’ll likely see mostly dry weather for the next 10+ days with a chance for a slightly more active pattern around the second week of November.”

Keystone will offer top to bottom snow riding starting Friday, Nov. 1. Here’s a press release on both Keystone and Vail Resorts’ Breckenridge, which jumps into the fray on Nov. 8:

With up to 22 inches of snowfall in the last week, the month of October is officially the snowiest on record at both Breckenridge and Keystone resorts. Breckenridge has received 48 inches of snow this month and Keystone has received 44 inches. Both resorts surpassed October snowfall records from the 2006-07 season, which were previously 46 inches for Breck and 43 inches for Keystone. Thanks to ideal early season conditions, Keystone is set to open top-to-bottom skiing out of River Run Village starting Friday, Nov. 1 and Breck is in great shape as the resort preps for opening day on Friday, Nov. 8.  

Thanks to Mother Nature and Keystone’s new state-of-the-art, automated snowmaking system, the resort is set to open top-to-bottom advanced-level access to the base of River Run Village via The Edge, Zuma East and River Run, starting Friday. Additional trail openings also include Silvermaster, Spring Dipper and Lower Paymaster, bringing the resorts total terrain offering to more than 120 acres. Spring Dipper will also open with an array of small-to-medium terrain park features on Friday.   

With incredible early season conditions, Breck set to open on Friday, Nov. 8, Vail set to open on Nov. 15 and Beaver Creek and Crested Butte set to open Nov. 27, don’t miss the last chance to secure an Epic Pass. With a variety of pass products including the new Epic Day Pass to the Epic Local and full Epic Pass, there is a pass for every type of skier and rider.  

Please be reminded that Keystone Resort requires all skiers and riders to observe all posted signs and warnings. Closed trails may contain hazards due to limited natural snow coverage and snowmaking operations. For the safety of all guests, please keep off closed trails and out of closed areas. Uphill access at Keystone is currently not permitted due to early season mountain preparations and snowmaking. Once early season operations are complete and the resort has adequate terrain to safely permit these activities, the resort will open for uphill access to guests.  

Celebrate with Keystone Kickoff – October through Nov. 24. 

Kick off a new early season tradition with Keystone Resort, which lasts throughout most of November. With activities both on and off the mountain, guests can make their first turns of the season and also revel in their favorite fall activities. Enjoy $5 pancake breakfasts every day at Summit House until 10:30 a.m. through Nov. 24. Guests are also invited to check out free music events in River Run Village from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, Nov. 9 and Nov. 16, featuring, So What Brothers, Trout Steak Revival and Frisco Funk. On those same Saturdays, guests can enter the Nature Valley bags tournament at Labonte’s for a chance to win free Nature Valley bars for a year.