A fresh snowfall means Wolf Creek Ski Area’s 76th season is nearly here. A recent 6 inches of wintry precipitation opened the resort’s Nova Lift on Saturday to snow enthusiasts interested in a Halloween run.
Skiers and snowboarders also could hit the Nova and Susan’s runs starting at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The lift, which serves beginner terrain near the base area. Day passes were reduced to $20 this weekend. Full-day tickets are usually $65 for adults.
The resort is tentatively scheduled to open for the season Nov. 7.
A Friday snow report reflected 6 inches of new snow at the ski area 25 miles northeast of Pagosa Springs, totaling an 8-inch base on the ground. Wolf Creek has received a total of 26 inches of snow to date.
The ski area will also offer lessons this weekend through the Ski School and Wolf Pup Program. Skis and snowboards are available for rental on-site. Both the Upper Lodge and Treasure Sports Shop will be open.
Opening day is not far off for Purgatory Resort, which is wrapping up the installation of a new lift that will outperform the glacial pace of the former Legends Lift 8. Vice President of Marketing Greg Ralph said the lift should be completed on schedule with a Dec. 18 grand opening.
The resort received light snowfall Thursday night, Ralph said.
“We got a dusting a third of the way up and on the top of the mountain, maybe an inch or two,” Ralph said. The mountain reaches about 11,000 feet in elevation, but precipitation made it as low as 9,000 feet, he said.
In anticipation of a Nov. 21 opening, the resort began making snow last week, which is the earliest Purgatory has prepared snow in 20 years.
Arapahoe Basin and Loveland ski areas began operating their lifts Thursday after snow making and recent natural snow helped the resorts catch up after a warm October.
The resorts, high on the Continental Divide, compete each year to be the first to open in the state.
Loveland was the first to announce that it would open and, on Thursday, A-Basin thanked its competition for “setting the stoke meter high early.”
It’s the first time they’ve tied since 2008.
jpace@durangoherald.com