The spring storm system that prompted school closures and caused slushy rush-hour roads on the Front Range delivered nine inches of fresh snow to A-Basin as of Wednesday morning’s snow report. Snow continued for several hours after that.

“It’s truly dumping up here in Summit County today,” said A-Basin spokeswoman Shayna Silverman.

A-Basin is set to close for skiing on Sunday, so the bonus snowfall is some consolation for skiers accustomed to A-Basin staying open until late May or early June.ĚýThat wasn’t possible this year because of below-normal snowpack and warm spring temperatures.

A-Basin officials announced on April 23 that they would have to close for the season on this past Sunday. But on Saturday, after 14 inches of snow fell there the previous week, they decided to add three days this weekend — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — after being closed Monday through Thursday.

Arapahoe Basin is consistently the last Colorado ski area to close for the season, and that will be true again this year. Last year it closed on June 15, and the year before it closed on June 16. The three previous years it closed in the first week of June.

Two lifts — theĚýBlack Mountain Express and the Lenawee Express — will be running. Lift tickets will cost only $39, and those who purchase either a 2026-27 Ikon Pass or A-Basin season pass for next season can begin using it this weekend. There will be live music in the base area on Saturday and Sunday.

Here’s another surprise: Copper announced on Thursday that it now plans to remain open a week longer than previously scheduled. The new closing date is May 3. This will be the fourth consecutive season that Copper will make it into May.

Copper Mountain credits the resort¶¶Ňőap high elevation and north-facing slope aspect with successful snow preservation. “Additionally, the terrain the resort plans to operate through closing day has a strong base due to early-season snowmaking,” the resort said. “Several late-season snowstorms and a cooler forecast over the next several weeks have also contributed to the decision.”

Breckenridge, however, won’t make it to May. Resort officials announced on Thursday that it will close on Sunday.

Aspen and Winter Park will also close on Sunday, while Loveland will close on April 26. Loveland’s closure will mark its earliest closing day since 1981 — excluding the pandemic closure ordered by Gov. Jared Polis in March 2020 that ended the ski season statewide — according to resort records.

Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Crested Butte, Steamboat, Snowmass and Eldora are among the resorts that have closed.

“We want to give our guests the opportunity to keep skiing and riding as long as possible,” said Dustin Lyman, Copper’s president and general manager, as quoted in the release. “Our mountain operations team has worked tirelessly throughout the winter to optimize conditions. We are still able to ski top to bottom and give people more time to enjoy the mountain.”

Copper will sell $49 lift tickets for the final week of the season through . The resort will host “Party Laps” on Friday, May 1, when anyone with a lift ticket, Copper pass or Ikon pass will be able to go for after-hours laps from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on the American Eagle and Excelerator chairlifts. The mid-mountain Aerie food hall will be open for food and drinks, and a DJ will provide music on the deck.

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.

Other aspects of Miller’s amazing life are less well known. As he embarked on his film career, for example, the native of Hollywood, Calif., took inspiration from Walt Disney, who had lived on Miller’s newspaper route during the depression when Warren was 11 years old. And, while serving in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, his submarine chaser sank near Guadalcanal during a tropical cyclone, but he led the crew’s evacuation to a rescue ship.

Those fascinating nuggets and many others are captured in a new exhibit, “Warren Miller: Freedom Found,” at the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail. The collection was unveiled last week with artifacts, informational panels, artwork, posters and a pamphlet with more details from his pioneering career. The museum, where admission is free, is located at the Vail Transportation Center in Vail Village.

For much of his career, Miller lived in Hermosa Beach, Calif., where he enjoyed surfing, but he lived in Vail for about a dozen years and wrote a regular column for the Vail Daily. That column was eventually syndicated to dozens of other newspapers.

“He was the first filmmaker that created the stoke film genre,” said Jen Mason, executive director of the , which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. “It was the beginning of winter, and it got you excited to go skiing, all over the country. (The exhibit) really is important to the entire ski industry in the United States.

“But for us in Colorado and in Vail,” Mason added, “the fact that he lived in Vail and he was such a part of our community, it¶¶Ňőap so important that we’re finally recognizing his contribution.”

Maybe the most treasured piece in the exhibit is a 16-millimeter three-lens turret Bell & Howell movie camera, circa 1947. Mason said they believe it was the first or second camera he used in making ski films. The first film, called “Deep and Light,” came out in 1950.

Other artifacts include Miller’s ski climbing skins (dated 1947) and a ski waxing kit, a leather ski boot circa 1950, a darkroom timer, film reels and five lithographs of Miller’s artwork.

Miller sold the company to his son Kurt in 1988, but he continued to narrate films until 2004. He died in 2018 and is a member of the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame. The pamphlet for the Vail exhibit includes a QR code linked to .

“Warren brought the thrill of skiing to the masses with humor, heart and breathtaking cinematography,” narrator Jonny Mosely explains in the hall of fame video, “turning winter sports into a shared cultural experience.”

Colorado ski filmmaker Chris Anthony appeared in many of Miller’s films and served as master of ceremonies on Miller film tours for many years, having grown up as a fan in Denver.

“My first encounter was at City Park at the Phipps Auditorium, where Warren (brought) his film every fall,” Anthony said this week from Kitzbuehel, Austria, where he is working on multiple ski-related projects. “He would do everything — run it, narrate it, control the music and even the lights from the side of the stage at a little desk. There was always an intermission when they would change reels, and he would have kids on stage. I got to be one of those kids.”

Years later, Anthony got a phone call from Warren Miller Entertainment, inviting him to ski in a scene that would be shot in France.

“That started my 28-year run of skiing in the annual Warren Miller film, as well as other Warren Miller Productions,” Anthony said. “In my honest opinion, Warren Miller is the most influential person to have impacted the ski industry in the United States. There really has never been a proper tribute or monument built to him, so I am happy that the Colorado Snowsports Museum has put together this exhibit. The life that Warren Miller led was beyond amazing.”

Miller’s Hall of Fame video includes a tribute to the snowsports museum now celebrating its golden anniversary.

“The museum, in my opinion, rightly belongs here, and with the current state of the art for ski equipment, it’s really revealing to come in here and see what it used to be like,” Miller said in that video. “Anybody who comes to this part of the world who is the least bit interested in skiing and doesn’t stop by — see what they have on display so they can learn more about their heritage, and what a wonderful time they have because of these pioneers — I think they’re really missing a bet.”

Vail’s Epic Pass and Alterra’s Ikon Pass dominate the American ski market. The complaint alleges they steer skiers and riders into expensive season-pass “bundles” by setting daily lift tickets at exorbitant levels. The case was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver on behalf of four individuals, three of them Colorado residents, seeking damages for them and others affected by Epic and Ikon pricing across the U.S.

“For years, skiers have been told that soaring lift ticket prices, reduced choice, and overcrowding are simply the new reality,” attorney Greg Asciolla of the DiCello Levitt law firm, which filed the suit, said in a statement. “Our complaint alleges that these outcomes are not the result of healthy competition, but of exclusionary conduct by two companies that dominate access to the most desirable destinations.”

Broomfield-based Vail Resorts and Denver-based Alterra both called the suit “without merit.”

“We launched the Epic Pass in 2008 to make skiing and riding more accessible, reducing the price of a season pass by 60%,” the Vail Resorts statement said. “We’re proud that 18 years later, it¶¶Ňőap still one of the best values in the industry, especially following our further 20% price reduction in 2021. As we acquired smaller resorts over the years, we also launched new, lower-priced pass products, such as the Epic Day Pass Local and Limited, for guests who only want to ski close to home.”

Alterra’s statement the company would defend itself “vigorously.”

“The Ikon Pass provides the best value to access more than 70 premier mountain destinations around the world, and each of our North American resorts sells its own suite of lift ticket access products at various price points designed to meet the needs of our guests,” Alterra’s statement said. “It is disappointing that we are forced to defend this baseless claim and divert any attention away from operating our business and delivering incredible experiences.”

The suit alleges the companies deliberately raised ticket-window prices over the years to exorbitant levels in an effort to push consumers into buying their season passes at earlybird prices in the spring for the subsequent season. Vail Resorts chief executive Rob Katz has made statements this year suggesting the company is rethinking its lift ticket pricing. Katz returned to the company a year ago, having previously served as CEO from 2006 to 2021.

“We will always give the best value to our pass holders who commit ahead of the season,” the Vail Resorts statement said, “but that said, we have also been intentional to price our lift tickets, sold in season, on a resort-by-resort basis, including numerous new discount opportunities this past season.”

The lawsuit says Epic and Ikon pass prices have rapidly risen at a pace well beyond the inflation rate. Although the Ikon Pass is consistently priced higher than the equivalent Epic Pass, the complaint says Ikon accounts for 54.8% of the mega pass market vs. 38.7% for Epic. The earlybird price for the Epic Pass rose from $793 in 2021-22 to $1,089 for 2026-27, according to the complaint, while the Ikon Pass increased from $999 to $1,399 over that period.

“Yet the sale of the Epic Pass and Ikon Pass have become the primary source of lift revenues and resort visitation for Vail Resorts and Alterra over the years,” according to the complaint. “For example, for Fiscal Year 2025, Vail Resorts’ various Epic Passes provided 65% of lift revenue and 75% of lift visitations. As a result, Vail Resorts and Alterra make every effort to drive more and more people to purchase their respective Mega Passes. But in order to do so, they each have resorted to an anticompetitive scheme that, as alleged herein, violates the antitrust laws.”

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,ĚýArapahoe 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

is a female-focused event that brings women and nonbinary individuals together for a weekend of skiing, live music and all-around good vibes each spring. Started in 2021, the festival has become famous for its naked lap, during which attendees disrobe and ski a run with their unmentionables to the wind.

That is, during a normal snow year anyway — and the 2025/26 winter has been anything but normal. In addition to experiencing an uncharacteristically dry winter, a so-called has brought summer-like temperatures to Colorado in recent weeks. Snow has been melting quickly, inspiring many ski resorts to close early.

So when Boot Tan Fest comes to Sunlight Mountain Resort near Glenwood Springs on April 10-12, skiing and snowboarding likely won’t be possible. The resort to the public on March 22, two weeks earlier than originally planned, and chairlifts won’t be spinning during the event, said festival founder Jenny Verrochi.

“We asked Sunlight if we could run just the lower lift, and there’s no possible way,” she said on Wednesday. “My producer and I visited Sunlight yesterday and there’s a river running through it. There’s zero snow and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Weather was probably the biggest challenge to face Boot Tan this year, but not the only one. According to Verrochi, the U.S. Forest Service received two complaints about the festival being open exclusively to women. To be able to continue on with the event, she had to revise certain language used to market the festival, such as “private,” “no men allowed,” and “naked lap” — even though nakedness is not prohibited on federal land, Verrochi said.

Despite all that, the show will go on. This year, Boot Tan Fest will host both a fashion show and a talent show that attendees can participate in, as well as DJ and band performances. There will also be yoga classes, saunas, cold plunges, onsite tattoo artists, a tailgate competition for campers, raffles, art and a vendor village spotlighting female-owned small businesses.

Skiing naked is the ultimate form of female empowerment at this Colorado festival

In lieu of the naked lap, Verrochi plans to have a “guided movement to music” session. She did not comment on the dress code, citing the aforementioned marketing restrictions.

Since changes to Boot Tan Fest were publicized, about not being able to get a refund since this is a ski festival that no longer includes skiing. Verrochi said it is commonplace for festival and event tickets to be nonrefundable, adding that refunds were available up to a month ahead of the event.

She hopes the 740 people who already bought tickets will still come to Boot Tan Fest so that it can sustain and return next year. Hopefully, snow will too.

“We hope Boot Tan Fest survives,” Verrochi said. “It's still a one-of-a-kind festival. People who have been understand the magic is within the safe space Boot Tan creates... we know people will show up to celebrate womanhood in the mountains."

Boot Tan Fest comes to Sunlight Mountain Resort, 10901 Co Rd. 117 in Glenwood Springs, on April 10-12. Tickets cost $275 at . Don't forget to bring glitter.

It’s particularly noticeable at Vail Mountain,ĚýColorado’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.Ěý“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¶¶Ňőap 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.Ěý“I’ve been really impressed by the work that¶¶Ňőap 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¶¶Ňőap 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.Ěý“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.

CEO Jared Smith will step down from his role at the end of the season, .ĚýSmith will serve as an advisor to the “office of the CEO” over the next year as the recreation company searches for his replacement.

“Serving as CEO of Alterra has been an honor, and I am deeply proud of the incredible people, capabilities and businesses we’ve added to this amazing company,” Smith said in a statement. “The commitment of the ownership group to these mountains, and to the team members and communities they serve, is truly unique. I’m confident the progress we’ve made has positioned the company well to build on that foundation in the years of growth ahead.”

No reason for Smith’s departure was given.

Alterra, headquartered in Denver, is the company behind the Ikon Pass, which provides ski and snowboarding access to dozens of mountain resorts across the world. That includes Steamboat, Winter Park and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado.

An executive committee — including ownership representatives from KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown and Company — will join with former CEO Rusty Gregory to lead Alterra’s day-to-day operations until a new CEO is appointed, according to the announcement.

“Jared has been a valued leader at Alterra Mountain Company for many years, and we are grateful for his leadership and partnership,” Alterra Mountain Company Board Chairman Eric Resnick, who is also CEO of KSL Capital Partners, said in a statement. “Over the course of his tenure, he has made a lasting impact during a period of continued growth and operational advancement, while ensuring the company maintained the culture and commitment to our communities that make Alterra special.”

A storm that began Thursday and is continuing on Friday is forecast to deliver two-day totals of 14 inches at Snowmass, 13 at Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlands, 12 at Vail and Beaver Creek, and forecasting service.

Colorado snow totals for March 6, 2026

The storm began Thursday for those areas. Summit County resorts received negligible snow as of 6 a.m. Friday, but Keystone can expect eight inches through the day on Friday, Arapahoe Basin and Breckenridge seven, Copper Mountain six.

Winter Park is forecast to receive nine inches, Eldora eight and Loveland seven.

"There's new snow on the ground, and it'll snow for a lot of the day in most areas," OpenSnow founding meteorologist . "With a mostly dry longer-range outlook, this will be a great time to enjoy powder, or at least softer snow.ĚýSaturday will be sunny and cool with a high in the mid-20s. There should be soft conditions and powder leftovers in the morning.ĚýBoth Sunday and Monday will be warmer, with highs in the mid-30s."

Hopes for another storm next Tuesday and Wednesday that once looked promising are dimming, Gratz wrote, with the storm track expected to remain mostly north of Colorado.

"Our northern mountains may be brushed by occasional systems with snow showers," Gratz said, "but overall it's not a good outlook."

Endangered Snowpack: How climate change will affect Colorado skiing