Some 26 inches of snow fell on Wolf Creek Pass in Mineral County, Colorado between October 17th and 20th, allowing Wolf Creek Ski Area to be the first to open and kick off the 2024-2025 ski season in the state. Enough cold weather followed to allow mountains across the state to ramp up snowmaking, and a subsequent squall allowed Arapahoe Basin to join the fray and open on November 2nd.

The first full week of November has already seen one significant storm begin to pound the central mountains of Colorado. Breckenridge, which announced it will open on Friday, November 8th, saw some 16 inches of snow dumped upon them on Sunday night into Monday morning.

While that 16 inch blast was enough to get the opening date set, it’s not the last that Summit County will see this week. A Tuesday storm has a Winter Weather Advisory in place, with some 3 to 8 additional inches due to fall across the region – with deeper totals at the higher elevations.

Nearby Keystone Resort is now open for the 2024-2025 season, while Copper Mountain will share the November 8th opening date with Breckenridge. November 15th will see lifts begin to turn at both Vail and Nederland’s Eldora Mountain, with Purgatory Resort outside Durango set to follow on November 16th.

Winter Park Ski Resort on the north side of Berthoud Pass has yet to commit to a concrete date as they evaluate conditions, but with 3 to 8 inches forecast to hit them in Tuesday’s storm there’s reason to anticipate their opening day being on November 15th.

Steamboat Ski Resort will join them in opening the day before Thanksgiving on November 23rd, with Crested Butte (November 27th), Aspen (November 28th), Snowmass (November 28th), and Telluride (November 28th) also slated to spin chairs before the first of December.

Meanwhile, it appears we’ll have to wait until somewhere around December 4th to see Monarch Mountain’s new No Name terrain expansion.

Colorado has been lucky enough this year to get the ski party started a little bit earlier than in neighboring states, but rest assured they aren’t too far behind. Wyoming’s Jackson Hole is slated for a November 29th opening day, while New Mexico’s Taos Ski Valley is currently on schedule for a November 27th start.

If you’re looking to ski at any point this winter, now’s the time to get your lift tickets and passes now before prices begin to spike.

Vail’s Epic Pass – which includes access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte, Utah’s Park City, and Tahoe’s Heavenly – as well as its other more limited passes have a price increase scheduled on November 17th. Meanwhile, the Ikon Pass (& its more limited variations) will only be available until early December, so jump on their current rates if you’re looking to ski the likes of Aspen, Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Steamboat, Winter Park, Copper, Taos, Montana’s Big Sky, Deer Valley, Alta, & more.

Wax & tune the skis in your quiver, get in your lunges & wall sits, and act like ski season has arrived…because as of this week, it officially has!

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