Skiing in October

Friday, Oct 13th: Yep, they opened on Friday the 13th. And it wasn’t even scary or unlucky or involving a murderous rampage by a Snow Yeti. Nope, it was simply that on Friday, October 13th, A-Basin became the first Colorado ski resort to open for the season, beating Loveland and everyone else for that matter. In fact, they were the first ski resort to open anywhere in the nation. So, snow fanatics everywhere should celebrate the arrival of Old Man Winter (or at least the opening of one run at one ski resort thanks to the technology of machine-made snow) and get their planks tuned up for the season.

According to the Denver Post, it is the first time that A-Basin has beat out Loveland in the competition to be the first resort to open. A-Basin only has one run open, High Noon, which has an 18 inch base. High Noon is an intermediate run, so there is nothing so far for experts or beginners. The terrain park is also open for those who are into tricks, jumps, and rails. Trailing A-Basin for the first time, Loveland opened a day later on Saturday, with one beginner trail open: Catwalk/Mambo/Homerun. Loveland also has an 18 inch base with 3 inches falling Monday night.

With a major snow storm moving into Colorado today (Tuesday Oct 17th), promising to drop 10-16 inches of snow in the north central mountains, 4-8 inches in the southern San Juans, 4-8 inches in the central mountains and foothills, and 1-4 inches in the Denver metro area, it seems like the real Old Man Winter is in the hood, giving the whole state a good taste of the white stuff, and getting the ski and snowboarding season off to a rip roaring start. Hallelujah!