Aspen Skiing Company Announces Opening Dates for Upcoming Ski and Snowboard Season

Aspen Skiing Company has announced opening dates for the upcoming season. Aspen Mountain and Snowmass are scheduled to open on Thanksgiving Day, November 28.

That’s in keeping with the company’s tradition of opening on Thanksgiving in eight of the last 10 seasons. In the other two, Aspen Snowmass opened earlier than expected.

Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk will join the season later, with openings scheduled for December 14.

---

---

Typically, Aspen Mountain and Snowmass are open at the same time, offering early-season peak-to-valley skiing with lifts like the Silver Queen Gondola and Elk Camp Gondola.

This season is expected to occur during a La Niña, a weather pattern often associated by residents with cooler, drier conditions in central Colorado. But as meteorologist David Byers of the National Weather Service in Grand Junction explained, that’s not always the case.

---

---

“Colorado is kind of in the middle of where the weather changes. Typically, the Northwest is cooler and wetter, and the Southwest is warmer and drier,” he said. “Two years ago, we had a La Niña year and we had 200 percent snowpack.”

Aspen Snowmass averages 309 inches of snowfall per year, but Byers said the resort could see 425 inches of snow during the 2022-2023 season, the highest snowpack in the past 15 years.

Other notable seasons include 396 inches in 2018-2019 (an El Niño year) and 350 inches in 2021-2022, also part of a La Niña event. The lowest snowpack in recent history was in 2014-2015, when only 220 inches fell in a year with more neutral weather.

Aspen Snowmass typically sees snowfall 66 days per season, with March often being the month with the heaviest snowfall.

“Typically, El Niño years bring more snow than La Niña years, and 2022-2023 was a rarity,” Byers said. “Colorado, again, is right in the middle, so Colorado tends to feel both effects of both weather systems.”

He added that Aspen, located in the middle of Colorado, is probably the city most affected by the unpredictability of the two systems.

He predicts Aspen will have average snow cover in the upcoming season.

“Maybe a little below, maybe a little above. It’s really hard to say,” he said.

He also pointed to unusual weather two years ago when atmospheric rivers brought a lot of moisture from the West Coast, pulling Colorado out of drought even though it was a La Niña year.

This winter will be the fifth time on record that Colorado has experienced three consecutive La Niña years. Byers noted that during previous triple La Niña cycles, two years were dry and the other two were wet, underscoring the challenge of predicting snowfall in the region.

“From anywhere, Aspen or Crested Butte are the most central, which makes it difficult to predict,” he said. “Aspen gets more snow from the north, while Crested Butte gets more from the south.”

Looking ahead, he said Aspen could see snowfall this weekend, with snow expected to continue into Sunday morning. Independence Pass is expected to receive 3-6 inches, mostly on the east side, while the Maroon Bells and surrounding peaks could receive 6-9 inches.