On Tuesday, Vail Resorts announced its anticipated opening dates for the 2026-27 ski season, as enthusiasm for a possible Super El Niño drives hopes for a powdery winter.

Breckenridge Ski Resort is the first scheduled to open on Nov. 6, followed by Vail Mountain on Nov. 13, and Beaver Creek Resort and Crested Butte Mountain Resort on Nov. 25. As always, Keystone Resort will open as soon as possible in October in hopes of being the first place available for skiing in Colorado. (Lifts started turning on Oct. 25 last year.)

“While no one can predict exactly what Mother Nature will deliver, the possibility of blockbuster snowfall has us feeling optimistic about the winter ahead,” Bill Rock, president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division, said in a statement. “And while we’d love to see Super El Niño live up to the hype, we’re also taking an aggressive approach to snowmaking to ensure this ski season is one to remember.”

Vail Resorts is hoping to bounce back after a lackluster 2025-26, during which visitation to its resorts dropped 12.5% due to abysmal snow conditions. That¶¶Òőap one reason the company has invested more than $100 million in snowmaking throughout its network of resorts over the past 10 years. New this season, Vail is ramping up “white glove” amenities and elevating its food offerings to keep loyal guests coming back.

Vail, of course, wasn’t alone in experiencing a dry winter. This upcoming season, Colorado resorts hope to see the effects of a Super El Niño, which is favoring above-average snowfall throughout much of the state, .

El Niño conditions are often linked to periodic warming in sea-surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. OpenSnow’s recent predictions, prepared by meteorologist Alan Smith, call for a likelihood of above-average temperatures for much of North America this winter. Still, there’s hope, he wrote.

“Last winter was exceptionally warm — the warmest on record for a large portion of the West, and it’s unlikely it will be that warm again this winter even if this above-average outlook verifies,” Smith said.

The Farmers’ Almanac also recently released its winter forecast, calling for that is expected to bring “heavier-than-normal precipitation from California and the Southwest eastward through Texas, the Gulf Coast, and the Southeast.”

Perhaps it¶¶Òőap never too early to get on Ullr’s good side.

The ski-in/ski-out project is the largest real estate development project in Summit County in recent history and the newest addition to .

The over 320,000-square-foot mixed-use development will include 107 guest rooms and spread across two towers, with homes ranging from one to four bedrooms.

Amenities will feature aÌęprivate club, spa, meeting and event space, 25,000 square feet of retail, ski school and three restaurants.

“Colorado is our home, and we had a special opportunity to create a legacy project and give back to our community,” said Ryan Geller, Partner with Kindred Development Team.

The resort will debut several food and beverage concepts in stages. Kindred Spirits, the lobby bar and lounge, opened May 7, and Lula’s Restaurant will debut May 15. Two independently owned and operated venues, The Goodz Tavern, an alpine tavern, and Kinji Sushi, will open Memorial Day weekend.

The property will also feature an extensive art collection of more than 200 pieces by Mountain West artists, including 70 original and site-specific pieces. Installations include floor-to-ceiling murals and hand-carved Aspen furnishings placed throughout the resort.

“Keystone Resort is a mountain that immerses visitors in every season, from skiing and snow tubing in winter to the festivals, biking, and golf in summer. With Kindred, we’ve finally built a luxury home base to match,” said Dan Dohner, general manager of Kindred Resort.

Plans for the have been around for decades. The resort was to open in 2025, however, Geller said it¶¶Òőap not uncommon for a project of this scope and size to take extra time.

“Kindred was designed and built as a multi-stage project,” he said.

“We’re in the final stages of construction and approvals for the second phase, Kindred’s East Tower.”

The is a partnership between Colorado-based developers and hospitality leaders, as well as Interland, a global firm with a portfolio that includes Fox Park in Denver. The team has developed more than $4 billion in mixed-use, hospitality and residential projects across Aspen, Vail, Summit County, Mexico and beyond.

RockResorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vail Resorts, provides accommodations in Park City, Utah; Vail; Beaver Creek; Breckenridge; and now Keystone.

Skier visits at the company’s North American resorts declined 14.9% compared to the prior year. Lift revenue was down 5.6%, ski school revenue was down 12%, and dining revenue was down 11.7%.

But in the company’s Rocky Mountain region, skier visits declined 25%.

Based in Broomfield, Vail Resorts owns 37 resorts and regional ski areas across North America, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado. Also included in the company’s Rocky Mountain region is Park City Mountain Resort in Utah.

Colorado’s other ski resorts are privately held, so they don’t disclose information about their financial performance. Vail Resorts is publicly held, so the information is available through company reports to its investors.

“The winter of 2025/2026 has been one of the most challenging winters in history across the western U.S., with record low snowfall and historically warm temperatures negatively impacting visitation and spending throughout the season,” chief executive Rob Katz is quoted as saying in the report. “March conditions saw a continuation of low snowfall and warmer temperatures well outside of historical norms, leading to weaker late-season visitation and earlier than planned closures for many resorts across the western U.S.”

Numerous Colorado resorts closed before their projected closing dates. Vail Mountain closed on April 8, 11 days early, and Beaver Creek closed two weeks early on March 29. Breckenridge, which was scheduled to close in May, shut down on April 19.

After Loveland closes on Sunday, only two Colorado ski areas will remain open, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin. They both plan to close on May 3.

Colorado Ski Country USA will release skier visit totals for the season in June. That number was 13.8 million in 2024-25, the state’s third-highest total.

Wolf Creek will close on Easter with 90% of its terrain in operation. Also closing on Sunday are Eldora (33%), Snowmass (30%), Crested Butte (19%), Keystone (14%) and Steamboat (9%).

Telluride closed earlier this week but officials announced on Thursday that will reopen Friday and close for good on Sunday.

This week’s storm was beneficial for Crested Butte, which picked up 22 inches, and Wolf Creek, which received 19, but most areas received only 1-4 inches. Telluride received nine.

More is coming Thursday night, with , according to OpenSnow founding meteorologist Joel Gratz. Steamboat can expect 10 inches, with Snowmass and Vail expecting seven inches.

Vail, which is scheduled to close on April 19, is offering skiing on the upper mountain, but trails are closed on the lower mountain, so skiers must download via the gondolas.

After Sunday, only seven Colorado ski areas will remain in operation. They are Loveland, which currently has 33% of its terrain available, Aspen Mountain (32%), Copper Mountain (32%), Breckenridge (15%), Vail (8%), Winter Park (8%) and Arapahoe Basin (8%).

Vail and Aspen are scheduled to close on April 19. Copper Mountain is shooting for April 26. Officials at Winter Park, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin and Loveland say they will stay open as long as conditions permit.

The latest announcements come from Keystone Ski Resort in Summit County and Telluride Ski Resort.

“The snow we needed for this weekend’s Pond Skim & Rail Jam started summer break early, and those events are unfortunately cancelled,” , adding that the resort is “bummed not to be sending off the season with a splash. … Everyone who already purchased entry into the Pond Skim and Rail Jam will be issued a refund.”

Keystone will still host various parties with music and food on Saturday and Sunday. It closes for the season on April 5.

Telluride, meanwhile, that today, March 31, could be its last day unless a predicted snowstorm drops enough moisture to make more days worth the effort.

“Reopening plans will be determined based on weather conditions, with the goal of reopening for a closing weekend if forecasted snowfall materializes,” the resort wrote on Instagram. “We are grateful to our on-mountain teams for their exceptional work maintaining operations throughout the season. The safety of our guests and employees remains our highest priority.”

Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin are planning to stay open as long as conditions permit.

Beyond those, here is a list of current closing dates as we have them, which will be updated as things change.

Colorado ski area closing dates for 2026:

• April 26: Loveland
• May 3: Copper Mountain,ÌęArapahoe Basin
• Closed: Ski Cooper, Powderhorn, Buttermilk, Sunlight, Granby Ranch, Monarch, Purgatory, Echo Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Crested Butte, Wolf Creek, Telluride, Steamboat, Eldora, Snowmass, Vail, Aspen Mountain, Winter Park, Breckenridge

It’s particularly noticeable at Vail Mountain,ÌęColorado’s largest ski area, where only 42% of its 277 trails are still open. China Bowl and Blue Sky Basin are closed, as are Sun Up Bowl, Sun Down Bowl and Tea Cup Bowl. The trail status page on Vail’s website displays a large exclamation mark in a triangle warning of “variable conditions” and “unmarked obstacles.”

Conditions there are rapidly deteriorating, according to Buzz Schleper, who moved to Vail in 1972 and has operated Buzz’s Boards ski and snowboard shop in Vail Village for more than four decades.

“What I’m seeing, by the day, once you get a brown spot on the ground, it just spreads like crazy,” said Schleper, who is predicting Vail will be forced to close the bottom of the mountain soon, restricting skiing to the upper mountain and downloading guests from mid-mountain by gondola.Ìę“I think they’ll be downloading within a week,” he said.

The resort, however, has stuck to its official closing of Sunday, April 19, according to officials there.

Like most of Colorado’s resorts, temperatures in Vail are expected to reach into the 50s the next three days, followed by high temperatures in the 40s into next week. The current base depth of 40 inches is 36% of normal.

“They’re not changing their tune,” Schleper said. “They’re insisting they can stay open.”

Schleper and Vail native Tom Boyd both say these are the worst ski conditions they’ve seen for March, but Boyd takes a more sanguine view of the situation.

“Every time I get ready to go skiing, I wonder how it¶¶Òőap going to be, and every time I’m pleasantly surprised,” said Boyd, a former ski journalist who is an Eagle County commissioner. “Is it what I would expect when I look at the calendar? No. But if I pretend it’s April, it’s great. I was skiing in a Hawaiian shirt the other day, and having a great time.”

Boyd, whose father worked as a ski patroller at Aspen and Vail, has skied Vail Resorts’ mountains and elsewhere the past two weeks.Ìę“I’ve been really impressed by the work that¶¶Òőap being done at all of our Colorado ski resorts,” he said. “Everyone is working really hard to make sure that if you’re up there, you can still have a great experience.”

If Vail stays open until April 19 as planned, though, Schleper predicts it will be deserted.

“I think after Easter weekend (April 5), there’s going to be nobody in Vail,” Schleper said. “Nobody is going to come up here and ski after Easter when the temperatures are in the 80s down in Denver, and people are thinking golf and tennis and bike riding. Vail is going to be a ghost town the two weeks after Easter. To me, it makes no sense to stay open.

“It¶¶Òőap a losing proposition for me,” he added, referring to his ski and snowboard business. “I will still pay my staff to the end, but there won’t be any people.”

Ski Cooper, Powderhorn, Buttermilk and Sunlight have closed. Monarch and Purgatory will close on Sunday.

Officials at Winter Park insist it will remain open on both sides of the resort (Winter Park and Mary Jane) at least through April 12. Steamboat also plans to close on April 12. Copper Mountain is still scheduled to close April 26.

“Copper’s north-facing slope aspect and high elevation help us to maintain our snow surface,” said spokeswoman Olivia Butrymovich. “We’re optimistic we’ll be able to finish out the season strong.”

Arapahoe Basin is consistently the last Colorado ski area to close, usually in June, but that may not be the case this year.

“Snow is low and temps are high, but we never throw in the towel here at The Basin,” said spokeswoman Shayna Silverman.

Loveland usually closes in May, but that sounds like a stretch this year.Ìę“As we move deeper into spring, a number of factors will guide whether we operate through the planned May closing date,” said spokeswoman Loryn Roberson. “We will continue to monitor conditions and provide updates if our original target is not achievable.”

Aspen Snowmass is holding to its scheduled closing dates: Buttermilk on April 5, Snowmass and Aspen Highlands on April 12, Aspen Mountain on April 19.

Officials at Vail Resorts also say they intend to close on previously scheduled dates: Keystone and Crested Butte on April 5, Beaver Creek on April 12 and Vail on April 19. As usual, they don’t set a date for Breckenridge, saying it will stay open as long conditions permit.

Duncan McDonald of Los Angeles filed the lawsuit in 17th Judicial District Court on Tuesday through his attorneys with The Komyatte Law Firm in Golden, court records show.

McDonald was snowboarding at Keystone on Feb. 24, 2024, while wearing Oakley ski goggles and a Salomon helmet when he caught the edge of his board and fell face-first into the snow, his attorneys wrote in the complaint.

His right eyeball popped out of its socket and he sustained orbital facial fractures in the crash, which caused permanent vision loss.

McDonald’s attorneys claim the goggles were “defective and unreasonably dangerous” because their narrow, stiff design, which did not have adequate padding, made catastrophic injuries likely.

The lawsuit similarly claims the Salomon helmet “lacked design features that would provide protection to a user’s head, face, and eyes during an accident where the face impacted the snow,” including a brim to absorb or deflect the impact and other safety features.

McDonald’s attorneys allege Oakley, Salomon and their related companies, along with Epic Mountain Gear in Westminster and owner Vail Resorts, violated laws regarding product liability, negligence, breach of warranty and failure to warn or recall.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and an unspecified sum of money for damages, including pain, suffering and emotional distress.

The snow guns that Keystone’s staff fired up in the two weeks prior to its Oct. 25 opening enabled it to win the annual race between resorts. But Vail Resorts didn’t invest $100 million in recent years to update the snowmaking technologies across Keystone and the rest of its nationwide alpine portfolio just for bragging rights.

At Keystone, those snow guns have kept blasting as snowfall remained scarce in this abnormally dry winter, allowing the resort to stay open.

As climate change shrinks Colorado’s ski season and increases weather variability, Vail Resorts and other ski companies are investing millions of dollars in snowmaking equipment that will allow them to open — and keep operating — with or without the help of Mother Nature. But pouring money into snowmaking is only one of many ways the industry is hedging its bets against a warmer future.

To better weatherproof their revenue, the industry’s largest companies are leaning heavily on sales of season passes purchased months before the snow even begins to fall. Resorts of all sizes are expanding their non-winter offerings — like summer mountain biking and wedding venue rentals — and looking for ways to draw visitors to their mountains in the cold months, even if snow conditions aren’t stellar.

“It used to be that ski resorts had to rely on the feast or famine of snowfall,” Vail Resorts spokesman Max Winter said.

The behemoth ski company is already noticing higher variability in early-season conditions due to climate change, he said. That’s why company leaders are expanding event offerings with concerts and competitions to bring visitors to its resorts.

Staff at other resorts are also seeing changes in the early season. For decades, ski areas hustled to open before people began traveling for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But opening terrain for the lucrative holiday season may become more difficult as warmer temperatures linger at the beginning of winter.

“Ski areas were always chomping at the bit to have everything open by Thanksgiving; that’s when most skiers and riders were starting to do trips,” said Mike Nathan, Arapahoe Basin’s sustainability manager. “With climate change and added variability, that is harder to plan around — that’s one thing that we expect to be an added challenge going forward, and one we’re already experiencing.”

Snowmaking is the future

At Arapahoe Basin, one of the biggest needs is more pipes.

While many of Colorado’s ski areas began making snow in the 1980s, the resort perched near the summit of Loveland Pass installed its system only in the last 20 years, Nathan said. The network of snow guns and the pipes that bring water to them is ripe for expansion.

“We have a very small system, since we were so late to the game,” he said. “We absolutely need more pipes going to different corners and nooks of the mountain so we can better spread the snow we make.”

Colorado resorts began investing heavily in snowmaking after a series of shockingly dry winters in the late 1970s and early 1980s, said Russ Schumacher, Colorado’s state climatologist.

Photos from show the hills around Dillon completely dry in late January. The snow drought prompted calls for President Gerald Ford to issue an emergency declaration for Colorado’s mountains. When the president arrived in Vail for his Christmas holiday that year, he was because the snow at the bottom of the mountain was too scarce to ski.

During the winter of 1980-81, Breckenridge Ski Resort didn’t open until Feb. 11 because of a lack of snow, which prompted headlines like: “Snow survey: woe, woe.”

The snow droughts in most places throughout the state than this year, though changes in how scientists measure snow complicate the comparison.

But this year’s drought will reinforce the importance of snowmaking, Schumacher said.

“For ski areas that don’t have the resources or capacity for snowmaking, they’re at the mercy of what¶¶Òőap happening with the weather and climate,” Schumacher said.

Snowmaking capability covers only 10% of skiable acres in the Rocky Mountains, according to a . Snowmaking will become increasingly critical to resorts as the climate changes, but the often-warmer temperatures that come with it will, in turn, mean it’s less common to get the colder temperatures needed for snowmaking.

“Looking ahead 30 years, climate models universally show a warmer future with precipitation patterns shifting from snow to rain due to higher air temperatures,” the report states. “As these air temperatures increase above the threshold to make snow with today’s technologies, there will be increasing demand for ‘all season’ snowmaking equipment.”

Vail Resorts’ that began in 2019 included upgrading the hundreds of snow guns at Keystone, Vail and Breckenridge so that each machine includes its own weather station. The snow guns turn on automatically as soon as the weather allows for snowmaking — and shut off when weather conditions no longer work for snowmaking.

The technology allows the resorts to take advantage of every possible minute of snowmaking, Winter said.

“We’re able to make snow on the spot, automatically,” he said. “Ultimately, we’re using less snow to open up more terrain.”

He added: “Of course, at some point, we’re hoping Mother Nature will take over.”

At Arapahoe Basin, access to water can prove a challenge. While the resort’s high elevation means temperatures stay cooler, it also means A-Basin is situated at the very top of its watershed. The resort’s base elevation sits at 10,700 feet and its inbound terrain maxes out at 13,050 feet.

The North Fork of the Snake River is a small alpine stream from which the resort draws its water. In the winter, sometimes there is almost no water in the snowmelt-fed stream.

Then, when it is cold enough to make snow, the water that does flow often freezes.

The resort also must leave enough water in the stream for wildlife, ecosytems and downstream users — like Denver Water.

“You can’t just suck your creek dry,” Nathan said.

Arapahoe Basin and five other Summit County ski resorts maintain agreements that allow them to use water that would otherwise make it to Denver Water’s reservoirs. The vast majority of water used to make snow still remains in the watershed after melting — Ìę— and the ski resorts compensate Denver Water for the amount lost to evaporation.

Aspen Skiing Co. opened its four mountains on time this year in part because of their high elevation — but also because of the company’s investments in snowmaking at their top reaches, said Chris Miller, the vice president of sustainability at the ski company’s parent company, Aspen One.

In 2023, the company opened above 10,000 feet on Aspen Mountain, in part to take advantage of the high elevation. The new area off of Hero’s lift also faces north, which protects the snow from the sun through most of the day.

The new terrain was “a logical hedge against future climate-challenged ski seasons,” the company about its opening.

But snow guns alone cannot replace declining snowfall, Miller said. And as temperatures warm, weather windows that make snowmaking possible will narrow.

“Ultimately, this represents a problem that, over the long term — (and) in many places — this can’t be solved with snowmaking,” he said.

Committed to natural snow

Some smaller resorts are dealing with the year’s scarce snow without snow guns.

Staff members at Chaffee County’s Monarch Mountain went on a shopping spree this fall as the warm and dry forecast for the upcoming ski season became clearer. The independent ski hill, which is about 20 miles west of Salida up on Monarch Pass, needed as many portable snow fences as possible — and quickly.

The mountain does not make snow and instead relies on a system consisting of dozens of fences that collect snow in drifts.

“We purchased every portable fence we could find between here and Cañon City,” said Chris Haggerty, the resort’s general manager.

Instead of turning snow guns on and off, staff at use those carefully placed fences to trap windblown snow, which can then be moved to other places. The system of “snow farming” allows the resort to avoid the heavier and wetter snow created by snow guns.

“We are 100% committed to remaining all-natural,” he said.

In the summer, staffers ensure that the ski runs remain “country club style” — clear of trees, large rocks and other obstacles so they can begin using snowcats to move snow around the mountain as soon as possible.

As snow begins to fall, it collects behind more than a quarter-mile of permanent fencing. Mountain workers also transport more than 80 portable fences to where the wind is blowing that day. As feet of snow collect behind the fences, the snowcat operators get to work.

Even when it’s not snowing, the resort can collect snow if the wind is blowing powder onto Monarch’s runs from an area outside the resort’s boundaries, Haggerty said.

As climate change continues, the ski area’s managers still are not contemplating adding snowmaking, Haggerty said. Monarch’s high elevation — the base sits at 10,727 feet — helps protect its snow from warmer temperatures lower down.

The system has worked this ski season. Unlike many other Colorado resorts, Monarch has opened .

The resort’s main goal this summer will be to better prepare for more years of low snowfall, Haggerty said. For Monarch, that means building more portable fences and fine-tuning its placement system.

“For us, it¶¶Òőap about leaning into what we’re doing and perfecting that,” Haggerty said.

‘Skiing is just one part of our larger experience’

In addition to tweaking operations on the ground, ski companies are working to shift their business models to become more resilient, regardless of weather and climate.

For larger ski companies, like Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Co., part of the strategy is to entice ticket sales before the season begins by offering steep discounts on season passes and lift tickets for later in the season.

“By incentivizing our guests to commit to the season early, we’re able to build stability for our business,” said Winter of Vail Resorts. “That kind of stability is ultimately what allows us to make investments, like (in) state-of-the-art snowmaking technology.”

More than 2.3 million people purchased nonrefundable lift tickets and — which offer access to more than 90 ski areas — from Vail Resorts before this season even began, . The sales totaled more than $1 billion and will account for nearly two-thirds of all expected ticket revenue across the company’s 43 resorts, which span three continents.

“Changing weather and snowfall patterns are not new to us, but they reinforce the importance of the stability we create from our pass business, which remains a key long-term driver to our success,” CEO Robert Katz said in a Dec. 10 call with investors, noting the poor start to the snow season in the Rocky Mountains.

The strategy has helped buffer losses from this year’s poor snow, . While visits to the company’s resorts dropped 20% through Jan. 5 compared to the previous winter, lift revenue fell only 2%.

Alterra’s Ikon Pass offers buyers access to around the globe. Unlike Vail Resorts, Alterra is privately held and therefore does not post quarterly financial information, such as pass sales. A spokeswoman for the company declined requests for interviews for this story.

When the two competing companies announced this seasons’ pass prices last March, the Ikon Pass cost $1,329 and the Epic Pass cost $1,051; both programs also offer less expensive passes with more limits. For skiers and boarders who plan to hit the mountains multiple days, the preseason commitment makes sense — especially when lift tickets at some of Colorado’s most popular resorts can run several hundred dollars for a single day.

A full-price, single-day ticket over President’s Day weekend cost $356 at Vail Ski Resort and $338 at Alterra’s Steamboat Resort.

Fabien Ardila, 60, has purchased some version of an Epic Pass every year since 2002. It’s part of his Labor Day routine, the Boulder County resident said.

This summer, he bought a pass that gives him unlimited days at Breckenridge and Keystone. By mid-February, he still hadn’t skied because of the lack of snow.

“I can afford to be a snow snob because I live here. But at the same time, I paid for this pass that I’m not getting any use out of right now,” Ardila said.

He’s not sure whether he’ll buy a pass next year, or perhaps downgrade to a package of four-day lift tickets.

“Will I say, ‘This is going to be the year for snow?’ ” he said. “I don’t know. Then I start sounding like a Colorado Rockies fan.”

Ski area managers are also looking to add new offerings to bring skiers like Ardila to the mountains even when the snow is lacking. Vail Resorts operates mountain coasters at multiple locations and is offering more events — like evening concerts and the at Breckenridge.

“Skiing is just one part of our larger experience,” Winter said.

At Arapahoe Basin, that mindset applies to multiweek lesson programs that bring people to the mountain repeatedly, regardless of weather, Nathan said.

The resort also runs a robust business as a summer wedding venue. Reservations to tie the knot on the mountain can book out one to two years in advance.

“We’re looking at things that may not 100% rely on having a foot of fresh snow every Saturday to bring a crowd here,” Nathan said.

Aspen Snowmass Ski School draws skiers to its intermediate and advanced lessons who want to refine their skills, regain confidence after a break, or explore new terrain.

“Even the best, including our pros, take lessons because they recognize the benefits of attending a single-day lesson or clinic,” said Aspen Snowmass Ski School operations director Andy Docken. “We can also help skiers or snowboarders refine skills rather than just teaching fundamentals. So even strong skiers or riders can benefit from lessons to polish their technique and push their limits.”

In addition to burnishing your skills, working with a ski pro also gives you insider knowledge about the resort, Docken added. “Everything from where to ski, the best dining spots, and how to make the most of the rest of your trip.”

On the other side of Glenwood Canyon, Vail Resorts is using its My Epic app to launch new technology to improve lessons at Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek Resort, Keystone Resort, and Breckenridge Ski Resort.

The app will letÌęparents and students check in for lessons, receive real-time updates and photos, track progress, and celebrate milestones and skills with digital badges.

Here’s a roundup of other ski school information from around the state.

Aspen Snowmass

Aspen offers ski and snowboard lessons and clinics for all ages and skill levels, including group, private, and specialty camps, across its four mountains (Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass). Lessons run throughout the ski season, and reservations are strongly encouraged, especially during peak times.

Costs vary depending on the length and size of a lesson. The resort offers discounts when lessons are booked at least seven days in advance.

For intermediate and advanced lessons, participants should be comfortable linking turns on blue terrain. Ski pros can tailor lessons to take you into moguls, powder, groomers, and more, depending on your goals.

Aspen also offers customizable half-day and full-day individual and small-group lessons, capped at five participants.

For more information, visit .

Beaver Creek Resort

Beaver Creek Resort offers upscale amenities combined with challenging terrain, making it an ideal destination for advanced ski instruction. The steep slopes and technical tree runs on Grouse Mountain, along with mogul fields and off-piste powder stashes, create an environment where expert skiers can comfortably hone their skills in a high-performance setting.

For more information, visit .

Breckenridge Ski Resort

Set against the stunning backdrop of five peaks, Breckenridge’s Ski & Ride School offers a diverse range of features, including rock drops, couloirs, and expansive bowl skiing.ÌęThis program combines freestyle coaching with high-alpine training, making it ideal for adventurous learners.ÌęThe resort’s ski pros are dedicated to helping you elevate your skills and build your confidence.

For more information, visit

Crested Butte

Crested Butte Mountain Resort, known as the birthplace of extreme in-bounds skiing and riding, features terrain that challenges even the most experienced athletes.

While mastering all the lines within the Extreme Limits at Crested Butte typically takes years of skiing or riding experience, advanced and expert lessons offered through the Ski and Ride School provide a more focused learning path with lessons designed for experienced skiers and riders who are ready to hone their ski and ride techniques in extreme terrain.

For more information, visit

Keystone Resort

At Keystone Resort, you can learn on terrain that provides 360-degree views and some of the best panoramas in Summit County.

Keystone offers advanced skiing and snowboarding lessons for experienced skiers and snowboarders who want to refine their skills and conquer more challenging terrain across three peaks and five bowls.ÌęThe resort’s world-class instructors tailor lessons to enhance your technique for navigating challenging slopes, help you build your confidence on challenging terrain, and guide you through the fundamentals of tree skiing, mogul skiing, and more.

Skiers and riders can enhance their skills, starting in the mellow, high-alpine powder fields of Bergman Bowl and progressing to the steep trees and rock drops of The Outback.

For more information, visit

Steamboat

Steamboat offers private lessons and guided experiences for intermediate to advanced skiers. Skiiers can also get coaching from Olympian Deb Armstrong during the three-day SkiStrong camp.

For more information, visit

Vail Mountain

Vail Mountain boasts over 5,300 acres of skiable terrain, featuring The Legendary Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin. This expansive landscape offers advanced skiers and riders a variety of experiences, including steep chutes, wide-open powder fields, tree runs, and challenging moguls.ÌęThese diverse features create an ideal environment for personalized instruction by highly qualified instructors, including members and alumni of the PSIA/AASI National Team.

For more information, visit

REI

The sporting goods giant offers winter snowsports classes, including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and avalanche awareness.

For more information, visit and search for classes in your area.

Colorado Mountain Club

The Colorado Mountain Club offers a variety of classes, including: avalanche education, backcountry skiing, nordic skiing, resort skiing, ski mountaineering, and snowshoeing.

For more information, visit and search under activities or courses.

Sara B. Hansen is a Denver-based freelance writer.