Mother Nature’s Treat – Snow!
How good has October in Aspen been? From a weather standpoint, if you’re a skier or snowboarder (or both) it’s about as good as it gets! “The upper slopes of the Aspen-Snowmass ski areas have been blanketed with more than three feet of snow in October, including more than 25 inches in the past week,” according to the Aspen Times on Wednesday, October 30th.
This makes this year one of the snowiest Octobers since 1934-1935!
Man Made Icing
The icing on this already snowy cake is these recent storms have come with temperatures dropping into the single digits and even below zero last night (October 30th), creating the ideal scenario for snowmaking! The snowmaking guns started up on Aspen Mountain earlier this week and according to the Times they will be going, “full-force at midnight on Halloween night tonight!”
Aspenweather.net, a local forecasting service, reported Wednesday that the unofficial low of 1 degree above for Aspen was the all-time coldest temperature in the town for October. The record was forecast shattered Wednesday night and Thursday morning with a low of minus-4 degrees.
Will Aspen Open Early?
While the favorable conditions have Aspen Skiing Company executives starting to think about an early opening for both Aspen Mountain and Snowmass Mountain, no decisions have been made yet.
“It’s definitely on our minds but too early to pin down a day,” said spokesman Jeff Hanle to the Times. “I think we have 10 days to two weeks” before a decision is made.
While it’s far too soon to say how snowy this winter will become, “the Roaring Fork Valley is undeniably off to a good start,” declared the Times. This year Aspen Mountain and Snowmass are slated to open Nov. 28. Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk are slated to open Dec. 7.
Last year early snow and strong snowmaking meant Aspen Mountain opened a week ahead of schedule on November 17th.