Ski area base elevation often determines how cold it stays at the lodge, how early the season can start, how well the snowpack holds through spring, and how the mountain skis on a warm March or April afternoon. In an era of increasingly unpredictable winters, high base elevations are becoming one of the most valuable attributes a ski resort can have. These are the five ski resorts in North America with the highest base area elevations, ranked by where you start skiing, not where the summit sits. Unsurprisingly, Colorado owns this list entirely.
1. Loveland Ski Area, Colorado
Base Elevation: 10,800 ft • Summit: 13,010 ft • Vertical Drop: 2,210 ft
Sitting atop the Continental Divide alongside the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70, Loveland’s 10,800-foot base makes it the highest-based ski resort in North America. No other lift-served area on the continent starts higher. The ski area features no slopeside hotels or high-end restaurants, just reliable snow, a local following, and one of the best value lift tickets in Colorado. The high base keeps temperatures cold and snow dry long after the lower elevation resorts have gone slushy.
2. Arapahoe Basin, Colorado
Base Elevation: 10,780 ft • Summit: 13,050 ft • Vertical Drop: 2,270 ft
Arapahoe Basin’s sky-high base is behind one of the longest ski seasons in North America, with the ski area consistently opening in October and staying open into June. In the biggest snow years, lifts can run into July. Just over an hour from Denver along I-70, it pairs proper expert terrain on the East Wall and Pallavicini chair with a beloved base tailgate culture that draws skiers as much for the post-ski tailgate scene as the skiing itself.
3. Monarch Mountain, Colorado
Base Elevation: 10,727 ft • Summit: 11,952 ft • Vertical Drop: 1,225 ft
Monarch is among the last truly independent ski areas in Colorado, unaffiliated with any of the major ski passes while averaging around 350 inches of snowfall per year from its location on the Continental Divide west of Salida. Beyond the 1,146 skiable acres on the main mountain, Monarch Powder Guides offers access to over 1,600 acres of guided out-of-bounds terrain.
4. Ski Cooper, Colorado
Base Elevation: 10,500 ft • Summit: 11,700 ft • Vertical Drop: 1,200 ft
Located just outside Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the United States, Ski Cooper’s 10,500-foot base is almost a geographic inevitability, and the resort leans into its history as the training ground for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division during World War II. It’s small and family-focused, with 480 acres of skiable terrain, but it’s average snowfall of 250 inches and minuscule crowds make it one of Colorado’s most slept on ski destinations.
5. Silverton Mountain, Colorado
Base Elevation: 10,400 ft • Summit: 13,487 ft • Vertical Drop: 3,087 ft
Silverton operates with a single double chairlift, requires guests to book in advance, keeps daily numbers intentionally small, and actively encourages hiking for the best terrain. Guides are required throughout a significant part of the season in addition to beacons, shovels, and probes. The chairlift peaks out at 12,300 feet, but hike/helicopter access terrain goes as high as 13,487 feet.
