Skiers, snowboarders enjoy uncrowded Opening Day at Vail Mountain
As the 9 o'clock hour approached, those in line were surprised to see the line disperse quickly once the gondola started loading.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
The way to determine how busy an Opening Day is at a ski resort is not by what time the first group gets there — it’s what time you can get there and still get on the second gondola up the mountain.
Vail local Cesar Hermosillo, an Opening Day regular at Vail Mountain, said after getting to the resort at 3:30 a.m. to get in line for the first chair, he said the next wave of people didn’t arrive until 6:30 a.m. and were still able to get onto the second gondola up the mountain.
“I’m heading right to the Ram Charger,” Hermosillo said, referencing the Ramshorn run.
As the 9 o’clock hour approached, those in line were surprised to see the line disperse quickly once the gondola started loading.
Sasha Gros with Vista Bahn Ski Rentals watched from the base area. He said now that Vail is one of several ski areas open in Colorado, skiers have plenty of options, which may have kept crowds manageable on Friday.
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Vail joined Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Keystone, Loveland, Winter Park and Wolf Creek as the first group of ski areas to open by mid-November in Colorado.
Hermosillo was joined by Vail locals Jen Natbony, Tyler Moore, Justin Fischer, David Mansfield and Taylor Parris on the first gondola of the season.
Once on the mountain, skiers and snowboarders were able to disperse between Chairs 2 and 4, keeping the bottleneck areas from getting too crowded.
The mountain has seen nearly 2 feet of natural snowfall in November, which mixed in well with Vail’s manmade snow to create a comfortable base.
Ramshorn, Swingsville and Meadows made up the bulk of the options, but the bottom of the Avanti run, below the Upper Lions Way catwalk, offered a wide swath of terrain, as well, with some ungroomed areas off to the sides of that run.
Sunny skies and warm temps greeted skiers and snowboarders, with an occasional wind serving as the only slightly unpleasant condition to be found.
The National Weather Service said winds could pick up Saturday and may hit 45 mph in places ahead of an approaching storm system. A Hazardous Weather Outlook for northwest Colorado has been issued.
“Light mountain snow showers will occur tomorrow as much colder air arrives with a passing cold front Limited moisture with this system,” the National Weather Service’s Grand Junction office said on Friday.
That moisture is expected to bring only light accumulations to areas mainly near or above timberline.
“Cool conditions remain in place well into next week with another light snow maker arriving by late Monday,” according to the outlook issued Friday.
