Under a blanket of new snow, Vail unveils Snow Days lineup

Vail Resorts reported four inches of new snow on Vail Mountain Thursday morning, but at least a couple of more inches had fallen after that report, with snow continuing throughout the morning and Interstate 70 shutting down briefly over Vail Pass.

Earlier in the week the ski company reported it would likely begin snowmaking operations at Vail’s Golden Peak depending on the weather, and temperatures Thursday were hovering in the low 20s.

Vail is using the fall snowstorm to drive interest in its season pass products, saying on Facebook prices are set to go up on Sunday, Oct. 13. Go to Epicpass.com for more info. And the ski company is also predicting Keystone Resort in Summit County will be opening very soon.

Vail Resorts also announced the lineup for its annual Vail Snow Days free concerts to kick off the ski season:

“Modest Mouse will perform on Friday, Dec. 13, and The Head and the Heart will take stage on Saturday, Dec. 14. For more info visit www.vailsnowdays.com/”

Vail is actually set to open a month earlier with an expanded snowmaking system allowing access out of both Lionshead and Vail Village on Friday, Nov. 15. Beaver Creek is scheduled to open on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

This is a brief blast of winter for the Vail Valley, with conditions warming up and drying out until late next week.

“It’s Thursday and it’s snowing!” Opensnow.com meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote Thursday. “The northern and central mountains have received 1-5 inches as of sunrise and we should see another few inches of snow during the day on Thursday from a narrow band of intense snow in the morning and snow showers in the afternoon.

“Friday will be cold but dry, then we’ll start a warming trend on Saturday through early next week. The next chance for a storm will be between Friday, October 18 and Tuesday, October 22.”

Here’s an email blast from Vail on Thursday:

“Good morning: What goes better with fall colors than a fresh coat of white? We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning, with all of our Colorado resorts receiving snow last night, including the first snow of the season at Vail and Beaver Creek. We’re getting excited to kick off winter in Keystone soon (like, really soon!), and our other resorts aren’t far behind!

“With sustained cold temperatures, a new automated snowmaking system, and a little help from Mother Nature, Keystone is getting ready to kick off the season any day now. Stay tuned for more announcements coming soon!”

Scheduled opening dates for Vail Resorts’ Colorado ski areas:

·         Keystone: October TBD (as early as possible)

·         Breckenridge: Friday, Nov. 8

·         Vail: Friday, Nov. 15

·         Beaver Creek: Wednesday, Nov. 27

·         Crested Butte: Wednesday, Nov. 27