Overabundance of Snow Force Some Colorado Ski Resorts to Close
It's hard to believe, but there are Colorado ski areas that have had to close over the last couple of days because it snowed too much!
After starting out the 2016-2017 ski season with barely enough snow to open, some resorts have received so much snow they've been forced to close.
As inconceivable as it seems, apparently there is such a thing as too much snow at a ski resort.
Here's a list of the areas that have had to close completely or reduce operations the last couple of days.
- Crested Butte closed Monday (January 9) because the snow was too deep to operate safely.
- Arapahoe Basin closed at 1 p.m. on Tuesday (January 10). Concerns about avalanches, especially on Loveland Pass, forced the resort to shut down early.
- Monarch Mountain was closed all day Tuesday as Colorado Department of Transportation crews did avalanche control along Highway 50/Monarch Pass making it impossible for some staff and skiers to get to the area.
- Winter Park Ski Resort remained open, but Berthoud Pass closed Tuesday morning, preventing many skiers from getting to the resort. The upside, there was plenty of fresh powder for the locals to ski.
- Steamboat Ski Resort didn't close, but some of the lifts including Gondola, Storm Peak Express, Sunshine Express, Four Points, Sundown Express, and Morningside were closed at various times Monday and Tuesday due to high wind related to the snowstorm.