Copper Mountain, CO – With warm weather prior to this week hampering snowmaking operations, Copper Mountain officials have made the difficult decision to delay Opening Day for the 2015-16 winter season from Friday, Nov. 6 to Friday, Nov. 13.
“Our ever fickle business partner, Mother Nature, has been reluctant to let go of the fall season this year, “ said Gary Rodgers, President and General Manager of Copper Mountain Resort. “Delaying Opening Day is a hard decision to make, and not one we make lightly. We are eager to welcome our loyal guests back to Copper for the winter season on November 13.”
The lack of snowmaking progress has already forced the U.S. Ski Team to move early season training from Copper Mountain to Europe, and delay the alpine ski team naming and NASTAR Pacesetting Trials from their originally scheduled date of Nov. 6 to Nov. 21.
With a forecast for colder temperatures into the foreseeable future, Copper Mountain’s leadership is confident that the snowmaking team can finish the job by November 13. Skiing for opening day will be on trails Rhapsody and Main Vein via the American Eagle lift. There will be no beginner terrain available at the get-go.
Guests are invited to check out what the Woodward Copper Barn is all about at the Woodward Barn Bash on Saturday, Nov. 7. Free intro, drop-in and skate/BMX sessions will be available from 2 to 8 p.m. Skate and BMX riders are invited to compete in bowl competitions for prizes such as GoPros, Barn Skate/Bike Passes and more.
Elsewhere in Colorado, both Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Area will open today, kicking off the state’s ski and ride season.
Also known as: We decided we could make more money leasing lane space to the world cup teams that week… They are almost complete with snowmaking on two Excelerator lift trails and should be open this weekend for race teams. Also sounds like they plan to keep making money the following weekend by keeping the public only on the lower mountain and continuing to lease lane space up top.