With dropping temps, snowmaking has been underway the past few days. Photo: Arapahoe Basin
The transition from fall to winter can be ambiguous – it means different things to different people. For surfers in California and Hawaii, winter starts when the first real north Pacific swells start rolling through. For skiers and snowboarders, it starts when the first snows begin to fall, or the first turns are had.
Both of those conditions were met over the weekend at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado. On Sunday the resort claimed the title of first to open in the state, with some early-season powder coating a base of man-made snow. Although just a single run was open, it looks like more snow is in in the near forecast. A-Basin is often one of the first ski resorts in Colorado and the U.S. to open due to its relatively high altitude, with the base at around 10,800 feet. That lets snow makers make the most of overnight temps, as well as early-season snowfall.
On Saturday, people were already getting in line for the next morning’s 8:30 a.m. start. Tom Miller and friends claim to have gotten the first chair of the season for 30 years running. “When we get this first chairlift tomorrow, it will be the 30th year in a row of being that first person on the chairlift when the resort opens for the season,” said Miller. “We actually got here 48 hours early, we’ve been here since yesterday. It’s not too bad, on nights like last night it was about 28 degrees at the coolest. In the past, we’ve had some nights that were brutal.”
That first storm that hit A-Basin on Sunday also dropped two feet on Utah, with Alta and Snowbird both reporting 25 inches of snow. No Utah ski resorts are open yet, but plenty of people are getting out into the early-season backcountry, with the first avalanche of the season (no injuries) being reported. Technically, Minnesota resorts were the first North American areas to open this year with Wild Mountain and Andes Towers Hills starting the season with a rope tow and magic carpet on manmade snow October 18, but A-Basin will be the first major resort to open its doors, and the first to get a chairlift running.
A-Basin is open. Photo: Arapahoe Basin
