The higher elevation peaks in and around Summit County saw the first significant snowfall of the season last week on Sept. 5, bringing excitement for the upcoming winter season. Although afternoons have continued to remain relatively warm in the High Country, the cold chill in the mornings has made it abundantly clear that the summer season is almost at its end.
As outdoor enthusiasts savor some of their final warm-weather mountain bike rides and hikes of the season, Summit County ski areas have begun turning their focus towards preparing for the 2024-25 winter season. One of the first steps in the ski areas’ prep for the upcoming season is planning and eventually beginning snowmaking operations. With Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, Loveland Ski Area and Keystone Resort often battling for the honor to be the first ski area to open in the state of Colorado, the trio have sketched out snowmaking operation plans for this fall.
On the same day Summit County saw snow on higher elevation peaks, chief operating officer at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area Al Henceroth announced on his blog that teams at the ski resort had started placing fan snow guns on High Noon. Attempting to open as soon as possible, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area will start blowing snow the moment the weather allows. According to communications manager Shayna Silverman, last season A-Basin had its first snowmaking test during the ski area’s Oktoberfest celebration.
This year’s annual event is set to take place from Sept. 21-22. In terms of the specific weather A-Basin looks for in order to start blowing snow, the snowmaking team tries to target 26 degrees wet bulb or lower.
“Wet bulb takes humidity into account along with temperatures and 26 or lower is the sweet spot to get good snow that sticks around,” Silverman said. “The snow guns are prepped to fire as soon as those colder temperatures hit. The process takes a lot of time and layers of getting the ground wet and cold and then building up from there, so natural flurries and cold temperatures help a ton during this time too.
” Both Keystone and Loveland also target similar temperatures for their snowmaking operations. Although the weather feels chilly in the morning, snowmaking operation teams at all of the ski areas in Summit County have to see a steady trend of cooler temperatures in order to start putting a base layer down across the slopes. “Around this time of the year, when we look at the forecast and temperatures are dropping and the conditions are right for a few days in a row, that’s when our snowmaking team gets to work for the season,” Silverman said.
“They jump on those key moments and windows all early season to help us get to winter faster, and doing what we love — skiing and riding — faster.” According to the OpenSnow founding meteorologist Joel Gratz, temperatures could be cold enough for snowmaking, but the sustained cooler temperatures needed to keep blown snow on the ground will likely not occur for a couple more weeks. “We’ll see cooler temperatures next week and overnight wet-bulb temperatures will likely be cold enough for snowmaking,” Gratz said.
“But the beginning of snowmaking is not just about overnight temperatures as usually, mountains wait a little while until they are confident that a lot of the snow that is made will not melt during the day and that requires cool daytime temperatures and a lower sun angle.” With a tentative plan to open for the season in late October or early November, Loveland intends to begin blowing snow in the first few weeks of October. “It typically takes about two weeks of continuous snowmaking to get the mountain ready,” Loveland Ski Area marketing manager Dustin Schaefer said.
“Our snowmaking team will begin at the top of Chet’s Dream and work their way down to the base.” Like in previous years, Loveland is expected to have Catwalk, Mambo and Homerun all open for the first day of the season. Up and over on the other side of Loveland Pass, Keystone is aiming to open as early as possible and is looking for a consistent weather window for the start of its snowmaking operations.
“Over the next handful of days, we’ll be checking our equipment and pressure-testing our lines to ensure that we are good to hit the ground running,” Keystone communications manager Max Winter said. Even though the current weather outlook still has the start of Keystone’s snowmaking season a few weeks away, Keystone has automated equipment which allows the resort to begin making snow at a moment’s notice. Keystone is expected to offer 2-miles of skiing and riding on its eventual opening day.
Breckenridge Ski Resort and Copper Mountain Resort will both begin the 2024-24 winter season on Nov. 8. With a designated opening day, both ski areas have the luxury of waiting a little while before tackling snowmaking across the mountain.
Breckenridge Ski Resort plans to launch snowmaking operations in mid-October with Copper Mountain Resort beginning at the end September in order to welcome back the U.S. Ski Team for preseason training.
At all the resorts, snowmaking is a fundamental in ensuring that a solid base lasts deep into the warmer-weather, spring days. “Snowmaking is integral to our early season operations at Breck and getting the resort open in November,” Breckenridge communications manager Sara Lococo said. “It also helps us to build a strong base on key trails and connectors across the mountain that will help take us into May with our late spring operations.
” The most up to date information on snowmaking operations and opening days will be posted on the ski areas’ social media channels..
