Ski, Snowboard Season Well Underway In The West
They dropped the ropes at Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Keystone in Colorado, signaling that the ski and snowboard season is fully underway in the West.
All across the western Rockies, the celebrations are on as the 2024-2025 officially begins. Colorado's Wolf Creek pulled the trigger first this season by opening on Oct. 22. It's taken more than a week for others to catch up.
One of the biggest surprises was Lee Canyon, with Nov. 2 as its earliest opening in 13 years. Tucked in a snowy notch high above Las Vegas, the day-trip mountain combined early snowfall and colder-than-usual temperatures for snowmaking to lay down a 16-inch base on one run. The lower Rabbit Peak fixed-grip quad will handle the uphill load for now.
Joining Lee Canyon was Colorado early-to-rise staples Arapahoe Basin and Keystone -- and surprise entrant Eldora. Early October snow held on until more storms rolled by later in the month to put opening dates right on schedule. A-Basin reports an 18-inch base, with single-digit temperatures and more snow in the forecast. Same for Keystone, which reports an 18-inch base natural and man-made snow on three trails. Two lifts have been cranked up for uphill transport. Eldora is set to open Nov. 7, its earliest in years.
Next on the opening list is expected to a pair of Power Pass resorts: Arizona Snowbowl early on Nov. 8, and Brian Head. The southern Utah mountain sits at the highest elevation of any ski and snowboard mountain in the state, and typically opens first. Mountain officials have set Friday, Nov. 8, to start operations.
Alberta's Lake Louise just announced it would start spinning lifts on Nov. 5. Then, it's anticipated that on the same weekend as Brian Head's opening that Banff Sunshine and Mount Norquay in western Canada will follow suit. After that, precocious Nevada's high-elevation Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe once again sets the standard for the Lake Tahoe region with a Nov. 8 opening.
