With significant snow predicted for most Colorado ski resorts early next week, five more resorts will open this weekend, bringing the number of Colorado resorts in operation to 15.
Monarch and Powderhorn will open on Friday. Aspen, Snowmass and Steamboat will open on Saturday.
The Aspen and Snowmass debuts will be five days ahead of when they were originally slated to open. Friday will mark the earliest opening in Powderhorn’s history. It was previously scheduled to open Nov. 29.
Areas scheduled to open next week include Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, Telluride, Granby and Howelsen Hill.
Most Colorado resorts are reporting base depths that are above normal for this date. The OpenSnow forecastng and reporting service says there is the prospect of good snow early Sunday through Wednesday of next week, just in time to freshen the slopes for Thanksgiving.
“The potential/likely storm between Nov. 24-27 could deliver a lot of snow to some (or most?!) mountains of Colorado because there will be a high amount of moisture flowing from the Pacific Ocean into Colorado,” founding meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote in his daily report on Tuesday.
“Because a lot of moisture can translate into a lot of snow, I am cautiously optimistic that snow totals could be in the double digits with a legitimate powder day (or two, or three) early during Thanksgiving week,” he added.