DENVER, Colo. – December 10, 2007 – With half the month still to go, many Colorado ski resorts are enjoying more than ideal December snow conditions. This latest snow storm to move through the state blanketed all 26 Colorado ski resorts with fresh snow. So much snow fell across the state that some resorts are reporting record snowfall amounts.
In the Central Rockies, 72 inches of snow fell on Monarch Mountain, allowing them to have more terrain open on Saturday’s opening day than in the past 30 years. In Southwest Colorado, Wolf Creek accumulated 53 inches of new snow bringing their summit base to more than 100 inches. Silverton Mountain, who has been 100 percent open since opening day, December 1, received more than 90 inches of snow this week, contributing to the resort’s highest December snowfall on record. The storm also dropped 53 inches of new snow on Crested Butte, bringing their weekly total to 81 inches. Claiming one of the best opening months in recent history, Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort has a combined weekly snowfall of more than 6 feet and will have 95 percent of their terrain open by this weekend.
As the weather system swept across the Colorado Rockies, it dropped four feet of snow on Aspen/Snowmass. The abundant snowfall caused them to reschedule the World Cup Women’s Downhill event – the second World Cup event to be rescheduled due to the hosting mountain receiving too much snow. Earlier this month Beaver Creek had to reschedule the Men’s World Cup Super G races because they received more than a foot of snow the night before race day. Having received 70 inches of snow in the past week, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk opened this weekend with base depths that are double the average for this time of year.
With more than 30 inches of new snow, Powderhorn joined Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, Howelsen, Monarch, and Ski Cooper to open for the 2007-08 season, bringing Colorado’s total number of open resorts to 25 out of 26. SolVista is scheduled to open on December 19.
Along the I-70 corridor, Arapahoe Basin, Beaver Creek, Eldora, Loveland, and Vail received over two feet of fresh snow while resorts like Breckenridge, Echo, Keystone, Steamboat, and Winter Park were all blanketed with up to two feet of powder.
The storm impacted every Colorado resort and brought Colorado’s statewide snowpack levels to 110 percent of normal. While resorts are still digging out from this recent storm, weather experts are predicting more snow accumulation for Colorado’s high country. According to the National Weather Service, heavy snow warnings and winter storm watches are in effect today for the majority of the state.
For more details on Colorado’s 26 ski resorts, including up to date snow conditions and resort deals, please visit www.coloradoski.com.
