Huge news for Colorado skiers and snowboarders as Arapahoe Basin, Keystone Resort, and Loveland Ski Area have kicked off snowmaking for the 2026-2027 ski season. Loveland hasn’t officially announced the start of snowmaking as of 8:10am on Thursday, October 15th, but a peak at their webcams shows several snow guns hard at work.
Snowmaking Starts, Ski Season Nears
The start of snowmaking doesn’t necessarily mean ski season is close behind, but it is a very good sign. In 2025, Arapahoe Basin officially announced the start of snowmaking on October 13th. Skiing and snowboarding started at the area 13 days later on October 26th. If it were to follow the exact same 13 day window this year, skiing and snowboarding would start on October 28th.
Of course there’s plenty of aspects at play, including (and primarily) the weather. While it’s currently quite cold in the mountains, the temperatures are set to warm up a bit this weekend and into next week, potentially forcing the ski areas to halt snowmaking if it gets too warm. If all goes well, though, they could keep working the guns and have the mountains open by Halloween.
The Race To Open First
The race to open first is a hot one in Colorado. Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, and Loveland are frequently in competition, sometimes pulling sneaky moves to beat the others. Last year Keystone Resort opened for just 3 hours of skiing between 3pm and 6pm on Saturday, October 25th, beating out Arapahoe Basin by less than 24 hours (their opening day was set for October 26th, as mentioned earlier).
Arapahoe Basin has pulled similar moves, doing almost the exact same thing back in 2019. It’s not always one of these three to open first, either. Colorado’s Wolf Creek occasionally wins the race, and sometimes a ski resort outside of Colorado will find a way to be the first. Usually, however, our eyes are glued to these three.
So who will be first? At this point it’s really impossible to say. With all three starting snowmaking on the same day, any one of them could take the title. We’ll certainly be paying close attention to the race in the coming days and weeks, providing updates as they become available. In the meantime, keep cold and snowy weather in your mind and starting prepping your ski gear, it’s almost ski season!