DILLON, Colo. — Snow enthusiasts, rejoice! The snowmaking process began Friday at at least three Colorado ski areas.
The crews at Loveland Ski Area, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and Keystone Resort fired up the snow guns Friday morning, making snow for the first time this winter season as a cold front moved into Colorado.
"Snowmaking has begun! Early this morning, our snowmaking team fired up the snowguns for the 2024-2025 season," Loveland Ski Area said on social media. "Winter is officially on its way, and Opening Day is just around the corner."
"It’s showtime folks," Arapahoe Basin said on Facebook. "Our snowmaking team was at it early this morning to get our first snowmaking session of this storm underway. Let’s hope these temps hold over the weekend."
"Big morning!" Keystone Resort said on Facebook. "Snowmaking is officially underway as we work towards opening as early as possible."
The start to snowmaking is a little later than most years due to the warm summer-like weather Colorado has been experiencing in September and October. September was the warmest ever recorded in nearby Denver.
Last year, Loveland Ski Area was able to begin snowmaking on Oct. 3.
Located about an hour's drive up Interstate 70 from Denver, Loveland Ski Area traditionally opens with a full top-to-bottom run covered from tree-to-tree and an 18-inch base made up of the trails Catwalk, Mambo, and Home Run.
The opening day run at Loveland Ski Area is usually 1,000 vertical feet and over a mile in length. The ski area said it usually takes about two weeks for snowmakers to cover the opening day run.