Seasons Collide as Colorado Starts Fall With Deep Snowfall

POWDER reported last week that Colorado was expected to receive its first real snowstorm of this season over the weekend of September 21-22, 2024.

While accumulations varied, the storm delivered widespread snow across Colorado's famous ski resorts. Check out the gallery below of the best photos from the storm.

Most of Colorado's ski resorts had received their first dusting of snow prior to this storm, but this marked the first occasion that snowfall was measurable at varying elevations.

With that said, it appears that the base areas of resorts like Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, and Loveland were mostly spared from significant accumulation. The same can't be said for Monarch Mountain which saw multiple inches of snow stack up on their outdoor picnic tables and chairs.

Speaking of Loveland, the ski area is just 10 days from their first snowmaking push, weather and conditions permitting, of course. Loveland typically fires up their snow guns during the last week of September or the first week of October to prepare for an early-November opening .

Loveland's neighbors Arapahoe Basin and Keystone Resort will also begin snowmaking as soon as Mother Nature allows. The two ski resorts have competed in recent seasons to claim the coveted ' First to Open ' title. Early and efficient snowmaking is usually essential to claiming a mid-October opening.

Wolf Creek Ski Area, known for being Colorado's snowiest ski resort with an average of over 400 inches of snow per year, had been surprisingly spared from any Summer or Fall snow until this weekend's storm. The ski area took to social media to share the webcam image above of the first flakes of the season gathering at elevation.

Wolf Creek doesn't have as robust of a snowmaking operation as ski areas like Arapahoe Basin and Keystone, but has inserted itself into the race to open conversation due to a knack for attracting big early-season storms. This past weekend's storm clearly wasn't one of those three foot plus storms that can open the entire mountain in one fell swoop, but it's a tease nonetheless.

We're still at least a couple of weeks away from Colorado's ski season getting underway, but the return of snow has skiers from Maine to California itching for winter's return.

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