Keystone, Colorado – Every year, Arapahoe Basin and Keystone Resort race to open first. Typically, Arapahoe Basin tends to always come on top.
At around 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time, Arapahoe Basin announced that they were opening for the season for 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 2nd.
Around an hour later, Keystone announced its also opening on Saturday, November at 9 a.m. Guests will start their day by riding up the River Run Gondola. The Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon trails will be open from the top of the Gondola. From there, skiers and riders will take the Montezuma Express chairlift. Beginners will also have terrain available on opening day, with the magic carpet that’s next to the top terminal of the gondola operating. Guests will reach the base area by downloading from the River Rung gondola. Those who arrive early will to be able to grab free coffee and donuts. They will have DJs at the River Run base area and Summit House.
“We are thrilled to get back on snow at Keystone! Early season wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of our employees, and I am so grateful to be a part of this incredible team,” said Keystone Resort’s new Vice President and General Manager Shannon Buhler. “There’s a lot to look forward to this winter, from year two of Bergman Bowl with its fun and approachable high alpine terrain for all levels to the return of the World’s Largest Mountaintop Snow Fort to incredible events like our new Women’s Weekend and the National Brotherhood of Snowsports Annual Summit. It feels really great to be back home in Summit County and here at Keystone, and the team and I can’t wait to welcome skiers and riders back to the resort this winter.”
For now, it seems like A-Basin will win this battle again, with their planned opening being thirty minutes beforehand. Neither will be the first to open for the season in Colorado and North America though, as Wolf Creek accomplished that back on October 22nd.
However, we’ve seen trickery before between these two, as Arapahoe Basin has done some surprise. On October 11, 2019, Keystone announced that they would open on October 12th following a early season snowstorm. A few hours after that announcement, Arapahoe Basin announced that it would open at 3:30 p.m. that day and operated its Black Mountain Express chairlift for only two hours.
One things for certain: winter isn’t far away.
Image/Video Credits: Keystone Resort (Katie Young), Arapahoe Basin (@herb.media)
