80th winter: Arapahoe Basin opens North America's 2026/27 ski season
The base area and lower trails of Arapahoe Basin in late October 2022, five days after that season's opening. Photo: Runningonbrains via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Arapahoe Basin in Colorado started its lifts at 11:00 on Wednesday 28 October 2026, the first major ski area in North America to open for the 2026/27 season. It is the area's 80th winter. One lift and one run are open, almost all on machine-made snow, and Keystone next door plans to follow on Friday 30 October.
In short
- Arapahoe Basin opened on Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 11:00 Mountain Time.
- The Black Mountain Express chairlift serves one intermediate run, High Noon.
- The area was founded in 1946, so 2026/27 is its 80th season.
- Snowmaking did most of the work: Colorado resorts started their snow guns on 15 October.
- Keystone plans to open on Friday 30 October; most large Colorado resorts follow in November.
What opened on 28 October
The decision came on the morning itself. "We are going to open today at 11 AM with Black Mountain Express and High Noon," Arapahoe Basin chief Alan Henceroth wrote on Al's Blog on 28 October. SKI Magazine called it the first major ski area in North America to start its lifts for the season.
| Item | Arapahoe Basin, 28 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Opening time | 11:00 Mountain Time |
| Lift | Black Mountain Express |
| Run | High Noon, intermediate |
| Snow | mostly machine-made, plus about 3 inches of natural snow on 25 October |
| Parking | no reservation needed; reservations only on Saturdays and Sundays, 2 January to 2 May 2027 |
| Season | the 80th, after a 204-day season in 2025/26 |
The Savage Mountain Collective newsletter notes that the area took back the title of first Colorado opening from Keystone. In 2025, Keystone had opened on the afternoon of 25 October, one day before Arapahoe Basin.
Snowmaking, not snowfall
Henceroth's blog describes a session of about 52 snowmaking hours out of 60 in mid-October, and cold nights again on 26 and 27 October. Natural snow played a small part.
According to SnowBrains, Colorado resorts started making snow on 15 October 2026, warm weather then stopped Arapahoe Basin and Loveland for several days, and a storm on the night of Sunday 25 October left about 3 inches of natural snow. "It's really snowmaking that gets us to our early season opening," communications manager Shayna Silverman said in an email quoted there.
Snowmaking at Arapahoe Basin in October 2007. Photo: emerson12 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
80 years of "The Legend"
Arapahoe Basin has run since 1946, and is known as "The Legend". The area's own figures give a summit at 13,050 ft (3,978 m), 1,428 acres of terrain and a vertical drop of 2,530 ft (771 m). 73 % of the terrain is advanced or expert.
The anniversary runs all winter. Lift tickets cost $80 on Wednesdays, and skiers aged 80 ski free on Wednesdays. The Ikon Pass and, for the first time, the Ikon Base Pass give unlimited days at Arapahoe Basin this season.
Who opens next in Colorado
| Resort | Planned opening, as of 28 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Arapahoe Basin | open since Wednesday 28 October |
| Keystone | Friday 30 October |
| Loveland | early November, no date |
| Winter Park | as soon as possible |
| Breckenridge | Friday 6 November |
| Copper Mountain | Friday 6 November |
| Vail | Friday 13 November |
| Steamboat | Saturday 21 November |
| Beaver Creek | Wednesday 25 November |
| Aspen Snowmass | Thursday 26 November |
Keystone announced its date on 28 October. The dates for Loveland and the November openings are the resorts' projections as listed by Sky-Hi News on 26 October, and they depend on the weather.
What this means for your skis
Opening-day snow is machine-made, groomed hard and often icy by the afternoon. One run means many skiers on the same strip, and the edges do most of the work. A narrower piste or all-mountain ski holds better here than a wide freeride ski.
Compare the Atomic Redster Q9, the Salomon Stance 84 and the Nordica Enforcer 88 on the makers' figures, or let Pick-a-Ski rank the catalog for your level and terrain.
