KUSA — All of the recent snow across Colorado means that more ski areas and resorts are able to open up earlier than usual.
On Monday morning, Beaver Creek, Vail Mountain and Monarch Mountain ski areas announced that they plan to open this week.
Monarch Mountain near Salida will open this Friday, Nov. 16. They typically try to open each season by Thanksgiving, but that doesn't always happen. A spokesperson for Monarch Mountain said the last time they opened this early was the 1996/1997 season.
In a Tweet, Beaver Creek Resort said it's also opening early on Saturday, Nov. 17.
They'll have top-to-bottom skiing on Gold Dust, Red Buffalo Park and Haymeadow Park.
Vail Mountain, originally scheduled to open on Friday, will now open on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
In a news release, Vail Resorts said a combination of some of the best early-November snowmaking conditions and more than four feet of natural snowfall last week allowed both Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek Resort to open early.
Wolf Creek Ski Area in Pagosa Springs won the race for earliest opening day this season back in early October. Closer to Denver, Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Area both opened on Oct. 16 and Oct. 20, respectively.