Skiers and snowboarders trying to squeeze the last bits of winter fun from Colorado‘s meager snowpack will have one less option after this week, with Vail Resort set to close 11 days sooner than planned.
Resort officials announced the change Friday and said Vail will close for the season on Wednesday, more than a week ahead of the scheduled April 19 closure.
Despite a fresh foot of snow from a Thursday night storm, Vail officials said warm temperatures and spring conditions caused them to call the season.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our teams across the mountain who made the most of every opportunity and kept things going through a challenging winter, especially these past few weeks,” the resort said in a post on .
Vail will join the ranks of 17 ski areas that already closed or are set to close this weekend after scraping through a season marked by Colorado’s worst snowpack since statewide recordkeeping began in 1941.
Climate scientists expect Colorado’s ski season will be several weeks shorter in the coming decades, with climate change causing snow quality to worsen and precipitation to fall more often as rain rather than snow.
