Vail, Beaver Creek see more snow, open more terrain

Light snow was falling in the Eagle River Valley Monday morning, with Vail reporting 5 inches new overnight and Beaver Creek reporting 6 new. Both mountains are now at or over 100 inches so far this season.

That means more terrain keeps coming online. Beaver Creek opens Upper Beaver Creek Mountain Express Lift today (Tuesday), bringing available terrain to nearly 1,000 acres.

“This will bring our total operating lifts to 15 (including magic carpets) and our total terrain to just under 1,000 acres on 70 trails,” Beaver Creek officials wrote in an update Monday. “Starting Wednesday, 12/14, all lifts will spin at 8:30 am for the remainder of the season. Uphill Travel is now open! Please remember to call the uphill travel hotline for conditions, designated routes and safety information prior to access: 970-754-5907. Always follow designated routes, both up and down the mountain. The full uphill travel policy is linked here.”

Vail, which opened Chair 3 over the weekend (the Wildwood area is still being impacted by new lift construction), plans to open portions of the Back Bowls soon.

“This is a BIG week for everyone at Vail Mountain!” Vail posted Monday on its Facebook page. “Want to know what’s up with snow, the Legendary Back Bowls, the Birthday Bash, NEW lifts and more? Check out our latest blog https://bit.ly/3YfR4ce“

And more snow is in the forecast for the rest of the week.

“On Monday, the southern mountains saw 5-10 inches of snow, then on Monday night, other mountains saw 2-11 inches of snow,” Opensnow.com meteorologist Joel Gratz posted Tuesday morning.

“From Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening, snow will continue to fall, especially in the northern mountains,” Gratz added. “On Thursday and Friday, most accumulating snow will be over but there could be some flakes in the air. Then the next storm will be around Dec 21-22.”