Basin Will Open Thursday, Comes for Loveland’s Thunder

“After waiting out a few unseasonably warm fall weather, Mother Nature finally came through and not only brought the cold weather our snow-makers were waiting for but also brought 21 inches of natural snow over the last week”, said marketing and communications director John Sellers.

It’s the first time since the 2008-09 season that the two high-altitude resorts – which perennially vie to kick off Colorado’s ski season – have opened on the same day, according to the Colorado Ski Country US trade group.

At Loveland, riders angling for coveted first chair honors set up camp in the parking lot Monday.

Loveland will run Lift 1 from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. Thursday with one top-to-bottom run.

Henceroth added that between now and 9 a.m. tomorrow, crews will be hard at work grooming, getting ski patrol and lifts ready, and conducting “general ski area work” to ensure a smooth opening.

A-Basin won the contest previous year, opening on October 17. The trails Catwalk, Mambo and Home Run make up this Opening Day run which is over a mile long and almost 1,000 vertical feet.

Copper Mountain, originally scheduled to open November 6 and making snow for almost a month, announced on Wednesday it won’t be able to open until Friday, November 13. Vail and Beaver Creek open November 20 and 25 respectively.