Early Snowmass conditions ‘stand out’

After a long day on the mountain, Snowmass local Ronan Donnelly spent part of the afternoon unearthing his car with a ski. 

A plow pushed additional snow around his vehicle, already burdened from the Tuesday storm. But Donnelly didn’t mind. He was just grateful the flakes fell in the first place. 

Though when he was young, he grew to expect early storms like the one that hit the valley on Tuesday, he is thankful when he sees them come now. 

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“The past couple years, it definitely has gotten a little thinner,” Donnelly said of early season conditions. “But (I’m) still incredibly thankful for such a good storm.”

Donnely, who is back on Thanksgiving break from his freshman year at Montana State University, predicts Snowmass will have a good season given the early snow. 

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Snowmass reported six inches of 24-hour, on-mountain snowfall and 12 inches of 48-hour, on-mountain snowfall. But Mark Howard, who has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley since 1973, said the mountain had deeper snow than he expected.

“The skiing is phenomenal. It’s unbelievable how much snow we have,” Howard said. “It was good powder. We had reported six (inches), and I’d say by nine o’clock, there was probably 10 inches — another four inches.”

He said for most years, the mountain opens on Thanksgiving day with just marginal conditions.

“You know, you’re just hoping you have something,” Howard said. 

Kevin Wasli, who moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 1998, said he’s been impressed with the start to the season.

“I’d say this one stands out, at least in recent memory,” Wasli said.

With a 30-inch base, Snowmass has opened eight of 98 trails so far, according to the mountain. Patrollers have dropped ropes for 62% of beginner terrain, 6% of intermediate terrain, and for no advanced terrain. 171 total acres are currently available to mountain goers.

They opened the Velvet Falls trail around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, giving some the opportunity to get first tracks in the afternoon.

“It was knee-deep,” Wasli said.

Early storms like the one this week help the mountain develop a solid base, which is beneficial for the entire season, Howard said. He credited snowcat employees and snowmakers for extending the longevity of early-season storms.

“They’re packing it, plus they’re making snow because it’s cold,” Howard said. “So this can really make it so that it’s good for a couple months even, if it keeps coming.”

But the Aspen mountains’ season conditions may vary despite the early snowfall, said longtime Roaring Fork Valley local Cheri McNeil. 

“Aspen’s a weird animal,” McNeil said. “Sometimes it’s like, ‘snow, snow, snow.’ And then in January we don’t have anything, or it snows all the way through.”

Colorado sits on the cusp of the La Niña seasonal weather system, which is predicted to clobber the Northwestern United States with greater precipitation and lower temperatures, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center. The Center predicts Colorado to have a fifty-fifty chance of greater precipitation and lower temperatures over the next three months. 

The early snow, however, also brings surprises for mountain goers. 

“I took a wicked-ass fall this morning,” McNeil said. “It’s the first time (this year) in deep snow.”

Though the lifts just started spinning last weekend, mountain operations are opening rapidly. McNeil said the mountain plans to open Big Burn and Sam’s Knob lifts this week.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.