Ski Resort Opening Dates 2017
Grab your diary as we begin the countdown to the first day of the season, when the lifts start turning and (hopefully) the snow starts falling. Here's the list of the opening dates we know so far (snow dependent of course).
Arapahoe Basin, Colorado - 20th October 2017
Arapahoe resort is keen to be the first to open its doors this winter.
Breuil-Cervinia, Italy - 28th October 2017
As Italy’s most snow-sure resort in the lee of the Matterhorn. Its high altitude of 2,050m in the village and 3,480m at the top lift station, virtually guarantees top-to-bottom snow throughout a long season that runs from November to the beginning of May. It’s also open for summer glacier skiing and snowboarding, as well as for weekends in October. This year they hope to break the pre-November opening date.
Breckenridge, Colorado - 10th November 2017
Every January, the International Snow Sculpture Championships are held in Breckenridge, where sculptors from around the world compete to create works of art from twenty ton blocks of snow. Also in January, the annual winter Ullr Fest parade pays homage to the Norse god of snow Ullr. The Freeway Terrain Park on Peak 8 hosts the Winter Dew Tour in December, featuring the biggest names in extreme snowboarding and skiing.
Breckenridge was the filming location of the 1989 comedy National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and the town stood in for Aspen in Dumb and Dumber. On November 3, 2009, voters passed ballot measure by a nearly 3 to 1 margin which legalized marijuana possession for adults.
Sölden, Austria - 16th November 2017
A little closer to home, this Alpine Ski World Cup venue and one of Europe's most renowned Ski & Snowboard Resorts is now famous for being the setting of the 2015 james Bond film, Spectre.
They also have a live 360 degree webcam.
Vail, Colorado - 17th November 2017
The 3rd largest single mountain ski resort in the United States behind Big Sky and Park City, featuring seven bowls and intermediate gladed terrain in Blue Sky Basin.
Val Thorens, France - 18th November 2017
Europe’s highest resort will open its own slopes just two days after Sölden - but those wanting to access the giant Trois Vallées will have to wait until 9th of December when the link to Les Menuires, Méribel, La Tania and Courchevel opens.
Ischgl, Austria - 23rd November 2017
New for the 2017/18 season, the four-seat Palinkopf lift will be replaced by a six-seater chairlift with heated seats and weather hoods, taking up to 2,800 people per hour from the valley station to a height of 2,853m in under six minutes). This year's TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL kicks off on November 25th.
Aspen, Colorado - 23rd November 2017
Aspen Mountain and Snowmass will be the first two sectors in Aspen's ski area to open this winter. The two remaining sectors, Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands, will open on December 9th.
