Thanks to a good friend of ours, Andrew Biggin at Breckenridge Associates Real Estate, we have an on location report from today’s 50th anniversary opening at Breckenridge ski resort! Nice report Andrew. Keep them coming!
All reports suggested a great day at Breck today. Unlike the middle of the season when the guests spread far and wide across Breckenridge’s vast acreage, things were a little busier on the slopes today. Having said that, it didn’t seem as though anyone really minded too much as smiles were abundant everywhere we looked.
True to their word, the team from Breck kicked things off with some delicious cupcakes before opening 127 skiable acres off three lifts. The park also kicked off the season with jibbers in their element. “It was like watching junkies get their fix” says Glen Yates from Denver. We understand.
Vail Looking Good For Opening Day 2011
Hot on the heals of Breckenridge and Mammoth Mountain in California kicking things off, three other major resorts are set to turn their lifts starting from next weekend.
Snowmass is expected to get the season underway next weekend with 160 acres and at the very least, the Village Express and Big Burn lifts.
It is also rumored that Vail will start precedings with a bigger offering than usual for this time of year with both Vista Bahn and Lionshead in the mix for next week.
The other big opening is in Lake Tahoe. With a successful start to the snowmaking season coupled with some natural snow on the ground, Heavenly will make its 2011/2012 debut next weekend also with more details on terrain yet to come, though we are expecting limited lifts on the California side.
Firstly, Californian resorts are reporting that a little snow is currently falling, though they should not expect too much out of this system.
On the other hand…
Big snow has started to fall right across the Pacific North West and Western Canada and is set to continue to fall with rolling storms over the next week. Whistler should score well over a foot and the interior resorts such as Revelstoke and Kicking Horse will also receive a significant top up. The best news is that the snow should fall light and dry to low levels. Resorts already open in the Rockies should also get a nice top up, though the significant snow will fall on the coastal range and around Revelstoke.
Colorado should score out of this storm as well with snow starting Saturday morning and continue into Sunday, with lingering snow showers for a day or two after that. Expect to see up to two feet in some areas, though most resorts should score up to a foot of fresh.
At this stage it looks as though most of the moisture should be further north in Colorado, so the southern resorts that have scored so well from previous storms will have to take the back seat on this one. Winter storm warnings and blizzard warnings cover Colorado’s northern mountains, whilst a winter weather advisory covers most of the rest of the mountains as well as the resort areas of Utah.
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Enjoy the resort openings, fresh snowfall and we’ll see you on the mountain.
Pete Kvist began skiing in Australia over 20 years ago and has been addicted to skiing and all things snow ever since. He has worked several seasons on the mountain as a lift operator and has also spent some time in ski resort media departments (so yes, he knows the tricks of the trade).
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