Georgetown, CO – Hours after Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin ski area announced a Thursday season opening, its neighbor and perennial opening day rival across the Continental Divide, Loveland Ski Area, announced that it would follow suit on Friday.

“Warm weather delayed the start of snowmaking, but cold temperatures settled in and our snowmaking crew has done a great job making up for lost time,” said Rob Goodell, Loveland’s Director of Business Operations.  “We still have some work to do, but the mountain looks great and we will have 18 inches of snow from tree-to-tree for skiers and riders on Friday morning.”

Loveland will offer lift served access via Chair 1 to one top-to-bottom run beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday.  Skiers and riders will drop 1,000 vertical feet in a little over a mile via the trails Catwalk, Mambo and Homerun.

“When the cold temperatures settled in, we were able to make a lot of progress very quickly,” said Eric Johnstone, Loveland’s Snowmaking and Trail Maintenance Manager.  “We started last Thursday and have been running non-stop with the exception of a short stoppage on Tuesday.  Our snowmaking crew has done a tremendous job and opening day skiers and riders are going to be very happy with the conditions.”

Loveland will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on weekends and designated holidays.  Early season lift tickets will cost $47 for adults and $22 for children ages 6-14.