YOUR AD HERE »

Vail Mountain has now recorded more than 15 feet of snow during the 2022-23 season, with more storms on the way

Eero Tritran, 7, looks into a clearing of snowy trees on Vail Mountain on Monday. The mountain reported 7 inches of fresh snow to start the ski day.
John LaConte/Vail Daily

Vail Mountain reported 7 inches of fresh snow on Monday morning, bringing its total on the season to 183 inches.

The fresh dump of snow closed out a busy weekend as Monday’s holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. allowed many skiers to take an extra day off work.

Visitors to Vail on Thursday and Sunday enjoyed free parking as the town’s structures filled with cars during the a.m. hours.



Sunday was the busiest day of the season thus far, according to parking numbers from the town of Vail; the town on that day counted 394 cars on Frontage Road. Prior to Sunday, the busiest day this season had been Saturday, Jan. 7, when 364 cars parked on Frontage Road.

Skiers return to their vehicles on Sunday after a busy ski day saw nearly 400 cars parked on the South Frontage Road in Vail.
John LaConte/Vail Daily

The snowy holiday weekend began on Thursday, when Vail reported 6 inches of fresh snow in the morning. On that day, 161 cars parked on Frontage Road.

Support Local Journalism




Visiting from California, Randy Li said his group decided to use the extra vacation day to ski this weekend. His daughter, Chloe, took a few lessons before he got a chance to ski with her on Monday. By the end of the strenuous powder day, Randy was unstrapped, walking with his snowboard on the catwalk while his daughter charged through the trees.

“She’s getting pretty fast,” he said.

As the ski day was coming to a close, another inch of fresh snow was on the ground and CDOT had issued a warning to motorists: Expect difficult travel conditions and closures in the coming days as another storm hits the area.

Snow is expected along the I-70 mountain corridor with higher totals between Frisco and Vail starting tomorrow afternoon, CDOT reported.

Randy Li, left, with his daughter Chloe, 8, and their friend Eero Tritran, 7. The California residents enjoyed a skiing vacation in Vail during a day off work on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
John LaConte/Vail Daily

CDOT crews make continuous plow passes on the most heavily traveled, state-maintained routes first, including I-25, I-70, I-76, I-270, I-225, C-470 and other major routes.

“Once the storm subsides, crews will plow other state routes,” according to the alert issued Monday. “Motorists should be prepared for potential safety closures if conditions warrant it.”

The CDOT warning echoed similar concerns issued from the National Weather Service’s Grand Junction office, an office which is itself likely to be coated with snow after this next storm.

CDOT said significant snowfall will occur in the Grand Mesa area and along US 50, which will create treacherous driving conditions

“Snow continues Tuesday and finally lightens up Wednesday as the parent low shifts to the Front Range,” the National Weather Service said in a winter weather advisory issued Monday. “Ridging then builds in bringing a return to some dry weather until Friday when another system will drop down from the northwest giving us another chance for some snow and rain.”


Support Local Journalism