Even with warm temperatures, ski resorts fire up their snow guns

The unseasonably warm temperatures aren’t stopping Colorado’s ski resorts.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, both Loveland Ski Area and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area — located in Georgetown and Dillon, respectively — dusted off their snow guns in an attempt to defy Mother Nature and gear up for the 2024-25 ski season.

During a year with weather more typical for the season, snowmaking commences in late September — about two weeks straight of snowmaking, and the resorts can toy with opening. This year, the heat had other plans.

Arapahoe posted on its social media platforms on Tuesday to report the testing of its snow guns late the previous day and early that morning. Noting that even with the warm weather, their “snowmaking team is precise and ready to jump whenever the right condition window presents itself.”

In the 2023-24 season, the resort, often referred to as ‘A-Basin,’ started spinning some of its lifts on October 29. It’s unlikely that the Dillon resort will be open by the same time this year, although its website states “We will open as soon as possible for the 2024-25 winter season!” Beyond that, there is no specific timeframe the resort has laid out in terms of opening.

Even with the long-lasting summer temperatures, Loveland similarly put on a display of readiness by conducting water testing on its snow guns on Wednesday. This poses quite a contract to its earliest opening day, which was September 30 in 1951.

Loveland regularly posts updates on its snowmaking operations on its website, with Thursday’s update stating “Our snowmaking team is completing final maintenance on the snow guns and has conducted water tests. The team is closely monitoring the forecast and is ready to fire up the snow guns as soon as Mother Nature gives the go-ahead.”

The resort, which has a reputation of firing the starting gun sooner than the rest, plans to open some of its runs and lifts in either late October or early November. Last season, Loveland opened on November 9.

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