Keystone Resort and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area open for the winter
Katie Young/Keystone Resort
Ski season is underway in Summit County after two resorts, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and Keystone Resort, began spinning their lifts Saturday morning, Nov. 2 — a slightly later start to the season than in some years.
The Black Mountain Express began running at 8:12 a.m., making A-Basin the second ski area in Colorado to open for the 2024-25 winter season. Wolf Creek Ski Area near Pagosa Springs came in first when it opened on Oct. 22.
As a DJ played, skiers — some of them in goofy costumes — slid down High Noon. Meanwhile, the line at Keystone Resort’s River Run Gondola was electric as guests waited to get out on the 45 acres of skiable terrain when the resort opened at 9 a.m.
“The start of every ski season is always an amazing experience,” Keystone Resort communications manager Max Winter said, “but there was something really special — with the sun shining, the music going — that made this just an incredible start to the season.”
Denver residents Rob Kowalski, Andrew Hudgen and Jake Clapp hopped in the car around 5 a.m. to make it up to A-Basin for opening day. While conditions in the morning started out “crusty,” Hudgen said the drive was worth it for “good snow, good friends and good times.”
Support Local Journalism
University of Colorado Boulder students Jake Rambke and Miles Kilingveil finished the first run of their season while grinning widely and hooting and hollering. The two had just purchased their Ikon Passes for the year and decided at the last minute to make the trip for opening day.
“I’m so excited,” Rambke said. “I’m so glad to get out here today and just work on my form and all that, but I cannot wait until we get some of that powder — some of that waist-deep stuff. You know?”
A-Basin Chief Operating Officer Alan Henceroth said that skiers and snowboarders started lining up for the first chair of the season even before the A-Basin announced its opening day. Noting the smiles on people’s faces, Henceroth said that A-Basin is ready for a good season.
“The energy is hot,” Henceroth said. “The people that come out on opening day are the most committed skiers anywhere. They just want to have fun and they just love sliding down the hill, having the wind in their face and just enjoying themselves.”
A-Basin plans to focus its snowmaking efforts on trails that make up the Lenawee Face front side of the mountain with a learning area expected to come online in a few weeks as conditions allow. Keystone — which on opening day offered a hike-to terrain park, learning area and 2 miles of green trails via Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon — is focusing its attention on top-to-bottom skiing on its front side and also opening up its Mountain House base area before moving its attention from Dercum to North Peak.
With a series of storm systems heading to Colorado and bringing a cold front with it, conditions are looking good for allowing ski areas to open up for the season and growing skiable terrain.
“Natural snow is always exciting, but for us, what we’re really looking for in this early season is those cold weather windows,” Winter said. “That’s what allows us to build layers and make as much progress — as quickly as possible. … The fact that we’ve already had so much progress on our lower terrain gets us really excited.”
Both resorts will be open seven days a week. Keystone will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and plans to switch to 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. later in the season. A-Basin is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
For more information, visit KeystoneResort.com and ArapahoeBasin.com.
