Ski patrol's Craig Chalmers waits for breakfast cooked by "Swiller" during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day near the Sundeck on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Skier Paul Crouse, right, was the first in line Saturday then joined by his buddy Rob Skorr (red jacket). They were treated to doughnuts as they wait for the Silver Queen Gondola to open at Aspen Mountain. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Skiers make turns during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
A skier makes turns during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Swiller cooks breakfast sandwiches during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
One of the first skiers of the season gets on the Village Express chairlift during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) openingday-atd-112419-34
Members of the ski and snowboard school make turns during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
A festive snowboarder enjoys a lap during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Skiers and snowboarders take the Village Express chairlift up during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Skiers make turns during Snowmass Ski Area's opening day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times) Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Ski Patrol dog Zoot runs across the top of Aspen Mountain opening day, Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of skiers and riders were on on Aspen Mountain early Saturday for opening day 2019-20. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of skiers and riders were on on Aspen Mountain early Saturday for opening day 2019-20. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of skiers and riders were on on Aspen Mountain early Saturday for opening day 2019-20. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of skiers and riders were on on Aspen Mountain early Saturday for opening day 2019-20. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of skiers and riders were on on Aspen Mountain early Saturday for opening day 2019-20. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of skiers and riders were on on Aspen Mountain early Saturday for opening day 2019-20. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Oliver Rudd snowboards on opening day of Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of skiers and snowboarders open Aspen Mountain for the 2019-2020 season. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People set off down the mountain after getting off the gondola on opening day of Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
The first skiers of the day hit Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Hundreds of people wait in line to get on the Silver Queen Gondola for opening day at Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
People enjoy opening day on Aspen Mountain on Saturday, November 23, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
With hundreds of excited skiers and snowboarders filling the Aspen
Mountain Gondola Plaza, some well before sunrise, the mountain opened
Saturday with a fresh layer of powder and a high level of stoke.
The first in line arrived at 6 a.m. at the Silver Queen Gondola, and
nearly three hours later he and his buddies were the first to load to
cheers and excitement.
And the vibe was the same at Snowmass on the bluebird Saturday, but it
just took a little longer to get there. Only about 10 people were in
line when the Village Express lift loaded just before 8:30 a.m., but by
10 a.m. the limited terrain was filling up with skiers.
Before the faithful loaded at Aspen Mountain, J.T. Welden gave the crowd
a few pointers about the 150 acres for opening day.
“Early-season conditions exist, so take it easy. It’s gonna be a long
season,” Welden, the mountain manager, told the crowd. “Keep an eye on
one another. And I think at this point we should probably get to skiing
and snowboarding!”
And with that, the hundreds gathered on the plaza started to hoot,
holler and whistle their approval. By the time the Silver Queen Gondola
started loading at 8:45 a.m., the line was down the Gondola Plaza stairs
and out to Durant Avenue, curving toward The Little Nell hotel.
“It’s done and we’re open,” Katie Ertl, Aspen Skiing Co. vice president
of mountain operations said just minutes before the gondola opened. “The
crews have done and amazing job. We are ready to go.”
Happy opening day!! We are live from Aspen Mountain!!
Ertl and Welden said they would have “flash openings” of more terrain
through the weekend at Aspen Mountain and into next week. Another
snowstorm is expected to start Monday and last into Tuesday morning with
forecasts of 4 to 8 inches.
On Saturday afternoon as ropes dropped on Bell Mountain, skiers were
getting opening-day faceshots thanks to the nearly 14 inches of snow
that fell at the end of the week.
Welden said the snowmaking and snowcat crews did “their usual amazing
job.”
“The guys were here most of the night. They took a few hours off and
were back at it at 5 a.m. to clean up what snowmaking we had from
overnight,” said Welden, who is going into his second season as mountain
manager at Ajax. “Everything was buffed top to bottom. No surprises.”
He said the next move is to get Copper Bowl open and more of Bell Mountain. The Ruthie’s area will be awhile and after they get the west side of the mountain settled.
Skico officials said about 2,700 people hit Aspen Mountain for opening day, and another 1,500 were at Snowmass.
Paul Crouse of Aspen showed up at 6 a.m. to start the line at the Silver
Queen Gondola. His buddy Rob Skorr of Basalt scoped out the plaza well
before dawn, then met up with Crouse a few hours later when he came
knocking.
“I got here at 3 a.m. and walked around for a little bit. I was like ‘it’s way too cold’ so I went back to my car and got my sleeping bag and slept for a bit,” Skorr said as they waited for the gondy to load. “He came up banging on my window about 6 a.m. He got over (to start the line) about 6, and I got here about 6:15.”
On our first top-to-bottom run of opening day on Aspen Mountain, we captured this big buck crossing Upper Little Nell. Guess he also wanted to get some turns in on opening day.
The small group at Snowmass on opening day cheered and high-fived the
lift operators waiting for them at the Village Express entrance. By 10
a.m., a larger crowd was making turns down the mountain, and by 11 a.m.
there was a line for the lift.
“It was a slower start for the first chair most likely due to the
temperature and limited terrain, but there’s a good crowd now,” said
Susan Cross, Snowmass mountain manager, at around 11 a.m.
Cross said there will not be any more terrain opened this weekend other
than the 60 acres under the bottom half of the Express lift and the Elk
Meadows area atop Elk Camp Gondola.
Cross, who also is in her second season as a mountain manager, added the
goal is to up snowmaking so that they can open the Big Burn area this
week. (Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk are scheduled to open Dec. 7.)
For now, the Village Express chairlift will remain open to midway,
providing access on trails down Fanny Hill. Cross and other Skico
officials said further terrain opening updates would come through the
Aspen-Snowmass app and website.
“I’m just so happy to see so many people out here with smiles on their
faces, even with limited terrain,” Cross said. “It makes it all
worthwhile to see everyone so happy.”
Of the 10 players listed on the varsity roster ahead of Tuesday’s home game with Summit, two were juniors, seven were sophomores and one was a freshman. It’s a far cry from the class of 10 seniors who last season led the Skiers to a perfect 27-0 mark and the Class 3A state championship.