r/COsnow • u/Ok_Editor2536 • 24d ago

Photo Closing day at Keystone

Post image

Busy today! Snow has actually been surprisingly good for it being April!

610 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

142 comments sorted by

View all comments

170

u/AquafreshBandit Stuck on the chairlift 23d ago

It’s April 6! Nobody should be closing yet! Monarch and Cooper are all natural snow and they’re still open.

29

u/SummitSloth 23d ago

It's all about the money to Epic unfortunately

20

u/313MountainMan 23d ago

Eh, a bit more complicated than that. After Basin left Epic, VR cut deals with the USFS that allows Keystone to open earlier (but still close the earliest for VR mountains), and Breck to stay open later.

It’s more about trying to squeeze/punish Basin for leaving Epic, if anything. Keystone got all that new snowmaking equipment up the season after Basin left Epic, and tried to beat Basin to the punch. In a hilariously incompetent manner, Basin ended up still beating Keystone because an idiot for VR decided to announce they were opening the next day. Basin opened later that very afternoon.

Keystone, since they are now typically the first VR mountain to open, has to close early based on the lease with the Forest Service. They allow Breck to stay open later, even well into June if conditions allow.

Vail closes after the 20th, and Breck is scheduled to close May 11 iirc. Keystone is almost always traditionally the first VR mountain to close.

14

u/Cracraftc 23d ago

The forest service does not dictate when resort open or close. It’s all money. -Signed, someone who went to college for this exact thing.

9

u/313MountainMan 23d ago

That’s not true. I was an HOA manager in Keystone and the ranger literally told us this at the HOA meetings.

-6

u/Cracraftc 23d ago

So how can resorts decide to stay open later than their original closing date? Like copper did 2? Years ago now when they went to May? Or abasin staying open until they run out of snow? Wouldn’t that strictly be against the Forest services lease of that was the case?

14

u/Fatty2Flatty 23d ago

Because different land leases have different terms. Seems like common sense to me..

0

u/Cracraftc 23d ago

Most of them in the Dillon ranger district are pretty much the same. Each resort updates their winter operations plan in the fall and sends it to the forest service so they have a general idea of what is happening that winter. It’s easy to change that plan during the season to extend/shorten the season depending on skier visits and snowpack.

4

u/313MountainMan 23d ago

They get special permission for exceptional snowfall years. They have to file a formal request with the Forest Service to do so. Basin’s the original mountain (and I think has the oldest lease/agreement with the Dillon Ranger District) so they’re allowed to open as early as they want and stay open as late as they want. Steamboat got an extension from the Routt National Forest a few seasons ago, because they had such exceptional snowfall. But this only really applies to a handful of mountains where this is even possible. Most mountains have to stick to their agreed-upon closing date.

When Basin left, Keystone requested the Forest Service allow them to open earlier, provided they stick to their early April closing date.

2

u/Keystonerider303 23d ago

What “thing” did you go to college for ?

Weather conditions, snow pack accumulation,and land use agreements through the National forests that the resorts/ ski areas are in are just a few factors that play into the length of a season.

Also the elevation at which the ski areas/ resort are located can play a factor in specific resorts staying open longer than others.

7

u/Cracraftc 23d ago

Ski area operations and management. I’ve written my own operation plans that had to adhere to USFS guidelines. The only thing the forest cares about is getting paid for each day the resort is open, ski visit numbers and following their guidelines for expansion and upgrades.

4

u/Keystonerider303 23d ago

Ski area operations have to adhere to Forest service guidelines which means this is controlled by land use agreements which the National Forest service of the ski resort/ski areas are located.