Loveland to open Sunday, winning race to be first for 2010-11 ski season

A-Basin to open Monday as major storm moves in Sunday night

By Real Vail
Real AspenOctober 23, 2010
Loveland Ski Area, 45 miles east of Vail on Interstate 70, opens Sunday, officially kicking off the 2010-11 ski season in the midst of the first winter storm warning this fall.

The Vail Valley experienced rain starting Friday, continuing overnight and into the day Saturday, with snow above about 9,000 feet, including the slopes of Vail and Beaver Creek, which don't open to the public until the middle of next month. Beaver Creek did start snowmaking on its Birds of Prey World Cup race course this week.

Copper Mountain, just 25 miles east of Vail on I-70, opened for private racing training Saturday, and opens to the public Friday, Nov. 5, along with Vail Resorts' Keystone ski area in Summit County.

Loveland announced Saturday morning it was winning the race to be first for the second season in a row.
Catching air on Copper Mountain's Copperopolis Trail Thursday.
Courtesy of Copper Mountain
“We had to wait out some warm weather, which delayed opening day a little bit this year,” said Rob Goodell, Loveland's director of business operations. “But the good news is we will be skiing tomorrow on some really good snow. Our snowmaking team did a great job battling the warm weather and once again we are very proud to offer the first turns of the season.”Loveland will crank up Chair 1 and offer lift-served access to one top-to-bottom run. Skiers and riders will be able to access 1,000 vertical feet of terrain in a little more than a mile via the trails Catwalk, Mambo and Homerun.

“It took a little longer than last year, but I think everyone is going to be pleased with the conditions,” snowmaking and trail maintenance manager Eric Johnstone said Saturday. “We got 5 inches of snow last night, which is a nice complement to the snow we were able to make. It is still snowing hard now and opening day could be a powder day if this keeps up.”

Loveland opens at 8:30 a.m. on weekends and 9 a.m. on weekdays. Early season lift tickets cost $47 for adults and $22 for children ages 6-14. Go to www.skiloveland.com for more information.

After a full night of snowmaking and 7 fresh inches of snow overnight Friday into Saturday, Arapahoe Basin ski area officials announced Saturday afternoon that it will open Monday, Oct. 25. A-Basin will be opening with a new high speed quad chairlift – Black Mountain Express -- to take skiers and riders from the base area to mid-mountain.

Black Mountain Express will open to the public at 9 a.m. Monday. Snow riders will have an 18-inch man-made base on the intermediate High Noon run and some features in the High Divide Terrain Park. There will be no beginner skiing on opening day.

A ribbon-cutting celebration for the new lift will take place just before 9 a.m. Opening day adult lift tickets will be available for $54, youth tickets age 15-19 will be $49 and child tickets age 6-14 will be $29.

A-Basin's Bonus Passes are available while supplies last for $359. Bonus pass holder receives unlimited skiing or riding at A-Basin for the 2010-2011 ski season and five non-transferable ski days at Keystone or Breckenridge. One of those days can be used at Vail or Beaver Creek (some restrictions apply). To purchase a pass or check conditions go to www.arapahoebasin.com.

Copper is offering race training on its Copperopolis Trail unit its Lift Off opening day celebration on Friday, Nov. 5. Go to www.coppercolorado.com for more information.

According to the Denver Post, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday announced Colorado is likely to experience a warmer, drier winter because of a La Niña weather pattern that will translate to colder, wetter weather in the Pacific Northwest and the north and balmier temperatures across the southern United States.

“Temperatures [in Colorado] will tilt toward a warm winter,” Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, told the Post.

Forecasters are calling for another storm on Monday, with increased accumulation on the valley floors and up to a foot of new snow in the central Rockies of Colorado.


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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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