DENVER – All the warm weather and lack of precipitation so far this fall have pushed back opening day for at least one of Colorado’s ski resorts.
Keystone Resort announced Tuesday it pushed back its targeted opening day to Friday, Nov. 11. The resort had been set to open this Friday, but Colorado’s High Country hasn’t seen much snow in recent weeks and has seen temperatures above-freezing at night, making it hard for resorts to make snow.
“While Mother Nature has not made it easy for recent snowmaking operations, our team is ready to fire up the snow guns at every opportunity as weather gets cooler this week and next,” Keystone COO Mike Goar said in a news release. “We look forward to opening as soon as we feel we can provide our guests with a better experience and quality snow conditions.”
Arapahoe Basin was the first ski resort in North America to open when it got the lift chairs moving Oct. 21, though only one lift and one run is currently open.
Wolf Creek, near Pagosa Springs, also pushed back its opening day from this Friday because of a lack of snow.
October 2016 was the fourth-warmest on record in Denver, and highs are expected to remain in the 60s for the next week, according to forecasts.
Several other Rocky Mountain ski areas that typically open mid-November are looking at the sky, hoping for flakes.
Loveland has yet to set an opening date; Copper Mountain plans to open Nov. 1; Winter Park says it will open Nov. 16 and Vail is set to open its first runs on Nov. 18, according to the Denver Post.
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