Surprise foot of fresh delivers more skiable terrain at Vail

Vail got a surprise blast of a foot of new snow Monday night into Tuesday as a cold storm over-delivered on forecast amounts of up to a half a foot.

The foot of fresh brought Vail’s total up to 47 inches for the season with a 26-inch settled base, allowing crews to open a couple of more runs after opening Bear Tree on Tuesday to deliver top to bottom turns down to the base of Gondola One.

“Thanks to a foot of natural snowfall, Slifer Express and Cappuccino are now open! Cold temps means a lot of snowmaking, and ops is out on the hill – so get ready for more!” Vail Mountain Facebook reported Wednesday morning.

More snow is in the forecast for next week ahead of Beaver Creek’s opening day on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

“Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will be dry and warmer, and then from Sunday through early next week, one or two storms could deliver significant moisture and snow to most mountains,” Opensnow.com meteorologist Joel Gratz reported Wednesday morning.