Vail, Breckenridge, Loveland and Wolf Creek will open this weekend, bringing to eight the number of Colorado ski areas welcoming skiers and snowboarders. For Vail, it will mark the earliest opening since 1998.
Colorado ski areas that previously opened include Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Eldora and Winter Park. Copper Mountain is scheduled to open on Monday.
Vail, Breckenridge and Loveland open on Friday. At Vail, both gondolas will be running. The Eagle Bahn from Lionshead will serve a beginner area at Eagles Nest, and Gondola One will be running from Vail Village to Mid-Vail. Two Mid-Vail trails will be open, Ramshorn and Swingsville, served by the Mountaintop Express lift to the summit.
“Swingsville is a green run, but it’s a little bit of an advanced beginner run,” said Vail spokesman John Plack. “Ramshorn is an intermediate run. We’re expecting at least 55 acres to be open. If we can make more snow, and we get a good natural snowfall, we’ll open what we can on top of that. We’ll know more after (Wednesday), with this storm coming in, and colder temperatures.”
All of Vail’s open terrain is at the top of the mountain, so skiers and riders will have to take a gondola back to the base at the end of the day.
Breckenridge will open two trails on Peak 8, 4 O’Clock and Springmeier. Two lifts will be running, the upgraded Five Chair, which is now a high-speed quad, and the Colorado SuperChair, a six-person high-speed lift.
Loveland will open Friday with one top-to-bottom run, served by the Chet’s Dream chair, and a small terrain park.
“We had some curveballs thrown at us with the warm weather, but we’re ready to turn the lifts for the 2023/24 season,” chief operating officer Rob Goodell said in a news release. “Our dedicated snowmaking team has been working around the clock to take advantage of the cold temperatures, and Mother Nature helped out with some natural snow as well. We anticipate excellent conditions on opening day and are excited for another exceptional season at Loveland ski area.”
Wolf Creek in southern Colorado will be open Saturday and Sunday, after which it will be closed until next Friday. At that point the area will be open for daily skiing and riding.
