When Breckenridge Ski Resort and Copper Mountain Resort officially open on Nov. 8, all four Summit County ski areas will be open for the winter. Both ski areas are set to open with bluebird skiing and snowboarding due to slightly higher temperatures.
While Kyle Fredin, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, reported that there will be some snow showers in the mountains on Monday, Nov. 4, he said that “no significant accumulations are expected.”
“We’re not really in a type of environment that’s going to give us a lot,” Fredin said. “We’re looking dry and kind of windy up there for the next seven days.”
Fredin said that temperatures are warming up compared to last week’s unseasonably cold days, but will still be slightly cooler than average in the coming days.
Breckenridge currently has an 18 inch base and has accumulated 49 inches of total snowfall so far for the season. As of Sunday, Nov. 3, the ski resort reported 14 inches of fresh snow accumulated over the last seven days. Onthesnow.com predicts that the ski resort will have an opening day high temperature of 36 degrees at the base and 27 degrees at the summit.
Sara Lococo, spokeswoman for Breckenridge, said the resort will open the Peak 8 base area for their opening day and anticipates opening the majority of the lower runs on Peak 8 — approximately 200 acres. Lococo said opening day runs will be accessed by the Colorado SuperChair, Rocky Mountain SuperChair, 5-Chair and Rip’s Ride.
Participating coffee shops in Breckenridge will also be handing out free coffee mugs as part of their annual “Wake Up Breck!” tradition for opening day — coffee included.
Copper’s website reports that the resort has accumulated 36 inches in total snowfall, but does not list the current base depth. Copper is predicted to have a high temperature of 35 degrees for opening day at the base and 29 degrees at the summit.
The American Eagle lift at Copper will begin making its rounds at 9 a.m. on Friday, opening up some early season mid-mountain runs. The resort is also hosting several “Welcome Home Weekend” activities including live music, the annual Barn Bash and giveaways.
While Breckenridge and Copper gear up for opening weekend, Keystone Resort and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area continue to crank out new terrain. A-Basin opened top-to-bottom terrain on Friday, Nov. 1, and announced on Sunday that the ski area is working on getting the Beavers and the backside of the mountain ready for opening.
A-Basin COO Alan Henceroth announced on his blog that winch cats are being driven on the intermediate Davis run, which runs through the Beavers and the Columbine intermediate run — the backside’s central run.
At Keystone, top-to-bottom skiing is now open on Dercum mountain. The resort has opened a total of nine trails and seven lifts as of Saturday, Nov. 2.
Courtesy Summit Daily.
