A Wacky, Unpredictable Winter In Colorado Nears Finish Line
It's been a schizophrenic ski and snowboard season in Colorado, where more people come to hit the slopes than any other state in the U.S.
Conditions at the state's three dozen resorts have varied all season, depending mostly upon timing and where a mountain sits in the Rockies. A mid-winter warming trend -- temps up to 50 degrees at time -- shrunk a healthy November-December base and produced spring conditions way ahead of time.
The northernmost resorts -- Steamboat and Winter Park -- benefited from a La Nińa weather pattern that pushed Pacific storms to the upper latitudes. Southern mountains, like Purgatory, Wolf Creek and Telluride, scraped through with way below normal snowfall.
The anomaly was Copper Mountain. Taking advantage of its singular location and the whim of narrow storm tracks, the Summit County resort got hammered for most of the winter -- going over 200 inches by mid-January after bucking a month-long snowless period.
The four-mountain Aspen complex did well early, gathering more snow than most, but that severe warming period in January and early February wiped out much of those gains.
Despite its popularity, only a few of Colorado mountains stay open deep into the spring. Business falls off as eyes turn to warm weather activities, meaning fewer receipts at restaurants, bars and rental shops. And, as snow melts, it takes more work to keep slopes open and, at the same time, seasonal workers are moving on to other summer pursuits.
Regardless, expect holdovers Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Breckenridge are to keep spinning lifts on limited terrain into the month of May.
So now, it's time for slushy final runs, pond skimming and costume contests before shutting down the lifts, pulling up the stakes, storing snowcats and geting ready for mountain biking, hiking, scenic lift rides and via ferrata climbing this summer.
A number of Colorado resorts have already pulled down the curtain on 2024-2025. Here's the list of the ones that will close up shop in April:
-
April 6: Buttermilk, Crested Butte, Keystone, Powderhorn, Sunlight, Telluride, Wolf Creek.
-
April 13: Aspen Highlands, Beaver Creek, Ski Cooper, Echo Mountain, Monarch, Silverton, Purgatory (open weekend through April 27).
-
April 20: Aspen Mountain, Eldora, Snowmass, Steamboat, Vail.
-
April 27: Winter Park (Mary Jane will remain open as long as conditions permit).
