Vail Ski Patrol: Sun Up, Sun Down Bowls could reopen for closing week
John LaConte/Vail Daily
Vail Mountain ski patrol was forced to close all of the Back Bowls this week when wet slides occurred after hours, but Ski Patrol Director Chris Reeder said Friday that Sun Up and Sun Down Bowls could reopen in the coming days.
Vail Mountain is scheduled to close on April 23.
In a Facebook post, Reeder said the bowls closed this week after a wet slide occurred during the evening hours.
“That extreme temperature rise that we experienced, that was also coupled with, the week prior, we had dust that came in from the deserts of Utah and Arizona, and covered the mountain,” Reeder said. “That has a tendency to absorb the sun. So between that as an accelerant to the warming in the snowpack, that definitely had an impact on the instability that we saw within the snowpack in Colorado.”
While China Bowl and Teacup were originally scheduled to close this weekend, Reeder said Ski Patrol has amended that plan and will instead keep those bowls closed for the remainder of the season.
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“We are not going to be opening China Bowl and Teacup Bowl, we’re getting a head start on some of the homework we have to do tear down and get ready for next season in those areas,” Reeder said. “With this cooling trend we do foresee, however, being able to open stuff back up in Sun Up and Sun Down Bowl, and end the season with good spring skiing in those areas.”
The National Weather Service, on Friday, said moderate to heavy snowfall can be
expected at times over the Colorado high country throughout Friday evening before snow showers decrease along the northern and central Colorado divide mountains through
Saturday morning.
“Cooler and unsettled weather will return by mid next week after a short warmup Sunday and Monday,” according to a Hazardous Weather Outlook issued Friday.
