Arapahoe Basin set to open for the season on Friday; Loveland still waiting

By
October 19, 2016, 11:44 am

After another small dose of winter weather on Tuesday night, Arapahoe Basin ski area on Colorado’s Continental Divide announced on Wednesday that it will open for the 2016-17 ski season on Friday, Oct. 21.

a-basin-opening-on-friday

Snowmaking at Arapahoe Basin, which opens Friday, Oct. 21.

“We just had a cold and snowy night. Right now the snowmaking system is still cranking at near capacity,” A-Basin COO Alan Henceroth wrote on his blog Wednesday. “Mother nature delivered 4-5 inches of natural snow at mid-mountain. The forecast for tonight is mostly clear with temperatures in the teens, perfect for snowmaking. The reservoir is still almost full. It is time.”

Loveland Ski Area, just over Loveland Pass from A-Basin, announced Wednesday that it will open sometime next week.
“Congratulations to our friends at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area on their opening day news!” Loveland posted on its website on Wednesday. “We will not open this weekend, but we will keep making snow and expect to be open at some point next week.”
Loveland and A-Basin typically battle to open first in Colorado. Vail doesn’t open until Friday, Nov. 18, and Beaver Creek opens the following Wednesday, Nov. 23.
Forecasters are calling for the weather to warm up and dry out through the weekend, with another storm system moving in early next week.
“Temperatures will be cooler on Wednesday and Thursday, which should help the snowmakers do their thing,” Opensnow.com meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote on Wednesday. “We’ll stay dry through the weekend, with the next storm likely arriving early next week.”
Copper Mountain plans to open Friday, Nov. 11, and like Vail will host early race training for the U.S. Ski Team and other top athletes. Loveland also occasionally hosts ski team training.
The World Cup racing season kicks off Saturday with a women’s giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, where Eagle-Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin will compete. Vail’s Lindsey Vonn will not be in action for the opening GS, which is followed by a men’s GS on Sunday.

Related Posts:

The following two tabs change content below.

RMP Staff

The Rocky Mountain Post covers science, tech, land, energy, health, outdoors, environment and real estate news from around Colorado and the intermountain West.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login