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Vail ready to rock on Opening Day

By David O. Williams
Real Aspen – November 17, 2011
In ski towns it's bigger than baseball and the advent of spring: It's Opening Day, and in Vail it's finally here.

Because of a series of fall snowstorms (another one is expected Saturday) and cold temperatures perfect for snowmaking, Vail will open at 9 a.m. Friday with access out of both Vail Village on the Vista Bahn chairlift and Lionshead on the Born Free Express and the Eagle Bahn Gondola. In all, there will be 10 trails and 160 skiable acres on opening day.

Beaver Creek opens on Wednesday, although there is no word yet on just how much terrain will be available.

Vail Ski Patrol puts the finishing touches on the mountain for Opening Day on Friday.
Jack Affleck/Vail Resorts

At Vail on Friday, early-arriving snow riders will be able to scarf down $1 breakfast burritos to benefit the Vail Veterans Program (skiing opportunities for wounded war vets) and slurp down complimentary hot cocoa. There will also be gear giveaways from Helly Hansen.

Also opening Friday is Eldora Ski Area near Boulder, followed by Snowmass on Saturday. That will bring the total number of operating Colorado resorts to 10, with Beaver Creek, Steamboat, Aspen, Telluride and a number of other resorts opening next week.

Vail Resorts' Epic Pass, with unlimited snow riding at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar and Arapahoe Basin, is on sale for $669 for adults and $339 for kids through Nov. 29.

The website Opensnow.com is forecasting 2-4 inches during the day on Saturday and another 2-3 inches Sunday into Monday. After that, things dry up a bit until Friday of next week.

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Snow Report

  24hr snow mid dpth snow cond.
A-Basin n/a n/a
Aspen n/a n/a closed
BC n/a n/a closed
Breckenridge n/a n/a closed
Buttermilk n/a n/a closed
Copper n/a n/a closed
Crest. Butte n/a n/a closed
Eldora n/a n/a closed
Heavenly n/a n/a closed
Highlands n/a n/a
Howelsen n/a n/a closed
Keystone n/a n/a closed
Kirkwood n/a n/a closed
Loveland n/a n/a
Monarch n/a n/a closed
Northstar n/a n/a closed
Powderhorn n/a n/a closed
Purgatory n/a n/a closed
Silverton n/a n/a closed
Ski Cooper n/a n/a closed
Ski Granby n/a n/a closed
Snowmass n/a n/a closed
Steamboat n/a n/a closed
Sunlight n/a n/a closed
Telluride n/a n/a closed
Vail n/a n/a closed
WinterPark n/a n/a closed
Wolf Creek n/a n/a closed
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