Arapahoe Basin and Keystone Resort will open their slopes to skiers and boarders this Saturday — becoming the first Front Range ski resorts to open.
Wolf Creek Ski Area in Pagosa Springs was the first resort to open on Oct. 22 — beating A-Basin, which has earned the reputation of being the first Colorado ski resort to open every season.
Wolf Creek's VP of Marketing and Sales, Rosanne Pitcher says that the independent ski resort credits its early opening to a big storm. The resort received over 26 inches of powder before opening day.
"We're not trying to set any records by opening early," Pitcher said. "This year we had a storm and it made a big difference. We rely a lot on natural snowfall."
This is the second time in the last 20 years that A-Basin hasn’t had an October opening.
“We open as soon as Mother Nature allows,” A-Basin Communications Manager Shayna Silverman said. “We were really working against the weather for a while there and just had to wait until temperatures dropped and cooled down and we had some natural snow that we could work with.”
According to Silverman, despite the later opening due to lack of snow, A-Basin does not plan on adding any additional snow-makers to their fleet. They plan on being carbon neutral by next year.
“I think really what distinguishes us from other resorts is our long ski and ride season,” Silverman said. “So we are really focused on just skiing as soon as possible and skiing as late as possible to keep our skiers and riders out doing what they love for as long as we can possibly provide for them.”
Colorado’s resort communities had a lackluster year last winter due to a lack of snow early in the season. Mountain towns rely on skiers and snowboarders to fill their coffers during cold weather months as tourism is what keeps the economy humming in those areas. Businesses in the state’s resort areas are hoping things will turn around this year.
So far, advance hotel bookings in Colorado are mediocre, according to Tom Foley, a senior vice president at Inntopia, a data company that collects and analyzes lodging trends in resort communities throughout the western U.S.Visitors are pushing back against expensive room rates as years of high prices take a bite out of spending power, he said.
“Consumers are really still playing catch up … So the bookings aren’t as strong as we’d like to see,” Foley said.
Still, it’s too early to predict what will happen as the winter progresses. It’s the snowfall that really counts.
“If we get good snow, some of those economic pressures really ease, and the skier and snowboarder in people comes out instead of the budget-setter,” Foley said.
A good storm in Denver will help, too.
“Backyard snow is almost as important as snow on the mountain,” Foley said.
The High Noon trail will be open, served by the Black Mountain Express lift, opening at 8:30 a.m. This is a blue-intermediate run, so it is not recommended for beginners.
At Keystone, lifts will open at 9 a.m. and will run until 4 p.m
“It feels really great to be back home in Summit County and here at Keystone, and the team and I can’t wait to welcome skiers and riders back to the resort this winter,” Keystone Resort Vice President and General Manager, Shannon Buhler, said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Alterra Mountain Company — a Denver-based company that owns ski resorts including Steamboat and Winter Park in Colorado — announced their intention to buy A-Basin.
The deal is still underway, but according to Silverman is expected to be finalized at the end of the year. And according to A-Basin leadership, guests won’t feel an impact this season and there will be no changes to the Ikon Pass.
