Although Cortez didn’t get much snow over the weekend, giant flakes of pearly white powder flew in surrounding areas, and the region’s slopes received a blanket of relief.
The National Weather Service’s Jeff Colton said the heavy snow came from the remnants of the “Pineapple Express,” a storm of strong winds and heavy rain that brought floods and mudslides to Southern California.
“It’s the last piece of the storm that California left for us,” Colton said.
Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort reported the most new snow for Saturday, 12 inches, of any ski area in the nation. It was much-needed and in time for an upcoming holiday season. It also arrived just in the nick of time for the Locals Benefit Day held Sunday.
The mountain is now in full-time operation, with skiing seven days a week.
Kim Oyler, DMR’s director of communications, said the timing couldn’t have been better.
“It was great to see this storm come in, and we had a great powder day today,” she said.
Oyler said the new snow allowed more terrain to open, and with more snow in the forecast this week, more runs could open still. This season, DMR has received 30 inches of snow. For now, lifts 1, 2, 7, 9 and 10 are turning.
Telluride is No. 2 in Southwest Colorado for ski-area snow accumulation, with 9 inches from the passing storm.
The resort opened Lift 9, the infamous Plunge Lift, dropping into town. Now, 70 percent of Telluride’s terrain is open, and 10 of 18 lifts are in operation.
So far, the area has received 78 inches of snow this season. As snow fell through Sunday, Telluride reported a total of 13 fresh inches from the latest storm.
Wolf Creek Ski Area, the usual heavy hitter when it comes to snow depth, has seen 54 inches of snow year-to-date, and it reported 8 inches from the weekend’s system. The mountain, celebrating its 75th year of operation, is perched on the continental divide at 10,300 feet and averages above 400 inches of snow each year.
Coal Bank Pass, just over the San Juan County line, took the cake with 13.2 inches of snow early Sunday morning.
Jenn Rudolph, spokeswoman with Colorado Ski Country USA, said the new snow was a welcome change as ski resorts head into the holidays.
“We’re getting a lot of fresh snow,” she said.