Colorado
Dozens of trails remain closed at major Colorado ski mountains as spring break kicks off amid hot, dry winter
Kit Geary/Summit Daily News
As the spring break holiday kicks into high gear, most of Colorado’s major ski resorts have yet to open all of their terrain.
With week-long vacations at schools around the country and Colorado’s snowpack nearing its peak, March is usually one of the busiest times of year for the state’s ski resorts. But this year, the state is headed into the busy season with a record-low snowpack and dozens of trails closed at its ski resorts.
Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek Resort, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and Winter Park Resort all had 25 or more trails listed as closed on their websites as of Friday. None of the major ski resorts in Colorado that are accessible on the Epic or Ikon passes have opened 100% of their terrain this season.
At Steamboat Resort, only 77% of the skiable terrain was open on Friday, according to the ski resorts website. Steamboat director of communications Maren Franciosi said that while the Mahogany Ridge and Pony Express lifts typically open around or just after the New Year, those lifts have yet to open this season.
Winter Park, meanwhile, had about 69% of its skiable terrain open on Friday, according to its website. The website showed 146 of 171 trails open, with mostly black diamond and double-black diamond trails closed.
At Vail, the Back Bowls opened later this year than they ever have and, at Breckenridge, the Imperial Express also had its latest opening since the lift was installed in 2005, Vail Resorts Chief Executive Officer Robert Katz told investors earlier this week. Katz reported that skier visits to the ski giant’s North American resorts were down 13% due to the poor winter for snow in the West.
Vail Resorts spokesperson Emily Kowalenko noted that Breckenridge is “really rocky up high, and our high-Alpine terrain at Breck has been some of the slower and more challenging terrain to open.”
Still, Breckenridge has opened all five of its peaks, including high-Alpine areas like Imperial Bowl, the Lake Chutes and hike-to terrain at Peak 6, Kowalenko said. The main zone that remains closed at Breckenridge is the upper part of Peak 7, she said.
Thanks to the ski resorts’ snowmaking and grooming teams, Kowalenko noted that Keystone was the first ski resort in Colorado to open this year. She said Keystone has opened all of its beginner and intermediate trails and about 75% of its expert terrain. At Keystone Resort, 122 of 142 trails were open on Friday.
Copper Mountain communications manager Olivia Butrymovich noted that last year the ski resorts saw major winter storms early in the season that brought record-breaking amounts of snow, including more than 100 inches by the end of November.
“Winters in Colorado are naturally variable,” Butrymovich said. “We experienced a nearly record-breaking early season last winter, while this season has unfolded differently. As a ski resort, we understand that variability is part of the business, and we do not expect every winter to look the same.”
While this winter has not been on par with others, Copper has been able to open the vast majority of its terrain. Only seven runs remain closed on Friday. Butrymovich said those runs rely entirely on natural snowfall.
Most winters, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area communications manager Shayna Silverman said the entire mountain would usually open by this point in the season.
After opening the Montezuma Bowl on the first weekend of March, A-Basin now has all its lifts running. Silverman noted that what remains closed is A-Basin’s “most extreme terrain,” like the East Wall and the Steep Gullies. She said the ski area isn’t ruling out that those zones could still open.
“There’s no denying that our snowpack has affected our terrain offerings this season and it’s been a difficult winter to get more of our mountain open,” she said. “But that being said, we never give up on skiing and riding here.”
The Steep Gullies have opened every winter since they were incorporated into the bounds of the ski resort starting in the 2017-18 season, according to A-Basin. Meanwhile, the East Wall has only remained closed all season once in its more than 50 year history, during the 2011-12 winter, when Colorado also experienced abysmal snowpack conditions.
With about 120 inches of snow so far this season, Silverman said this year is tracking ahead of the 2011-12 season at A-Basin. To start looking at opening the East Wall, the ski area typically needs a base of 50 inches or more, she said. Right now, the base is at 43 inches.
Aspen-Snowmass communications manager Janelle Sohner noted that while other ski resorts struggled to open terrain, the four Aspen peaks bucked the trend and were able to open significant amounts of the terrain for much of the season.
“Despite broader coverage about warm and dry conditions across the West, Aspen-Snowmass has delivered an excellent season for our guests,” Sohner said. “Across our four mountains, we’ve consistently had more than 98% of terrain open.”
Colorado
Road to Mount Blue Sky expected to open Memorial Day weekend after 2024 closure, construction
Colorado
Colorado Makes Push for Elite Recruit Out of Big Ten Territory
The Colorado Buffaloes and coach Deion Sanders hosted one of the top offensive linemen from the state of Maryland on a recruiting visit on Thursday.
Three-star interior offensive line prospect Jaiden Lindsay spent two days in Boulder on an unofficial visit, just a few months removed from landing a scholarship offer from the Buffs.
Offensive Lineman Jaiden Lindsay’s Rise
Lindsay is listed as a three-star recruit by 247Sports in the class of 2027. His play at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland, has earned him the No. 22 prospect ranking in the state according to 247Sports, which also lists him as the No. 56 interior offensive lineman in the class and the No. 900 overall recruit.
The current high school junior stands 6-3 and weighs in at an impressive 275 pounds. With plenty of time for development, a frame like that has certainly caught the attention of many Power Four programs.
He has offers from 14 FBS programs, with some key names being the reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers, the Penn State Nittany Lions, Kentucky Wildcats, West Virginia Mountaineers and Pittsburgh Panthers.
But Colorado’s primary competition will come from Lindsay’s hometown school. The Maryland Terrapins are currently listed as his first choice, as they are also the only team 247Sports has given an interest level of warm to at this stage of the recruiting process.
Colorado is currently listed second on his interest list, and is the only other program Lindsay has scheduled an official visit to.
How Jaiden Lindsay Would Benefit the Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado is in a rebuilding period with its offensive line. While sophomore guard Yahya Attia seems to be the future of the interior offensive line for the Buffaloes as it currently stands, the Buffs will be looking to build around him and sure up their future for when he’s gone as well.
Lindsay is a prospect flying under the radar at the moment, preventing Colorado from having to engage in a long-term, neck-and-neck battle with many other high-profile programs and lots of NIL money involved. But he still has all the physicals and the flashes on film of a player who, while he may be a project, could pan out at the next level.
He has one more season of high school to develop, and with the right training program under offensive line coach Gunnar White and the Colorado staff, he could see his full potential realized in Boulder.
What’s Next in Jaiden Lindsay’s Recruitment
All of this leads up to June 2026. In the span of that month, Lindsay is set to visit both Colorado (on June 5) and Maryland (on June 19). Those two official visits will be crucial in determining the last legs of his recruitment process.
The key thing to note about how the visits are staggered: Colorado gets to make the first impression. Depending on how his visit with Colorado goes, Coach Prime and the Buffaloes could force Maryland to fight an uphill battle during his visit on the 19th if his mind is at all made up by then. So Buffs fans should pay close attention when the mid-summer rolls around.
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Colorado
Helicopter releases thousands of colorful Easter eggs for Colorado church hunt
Thousands of candy-filled Easter eggs rained down on a waiting crowd of patient but eager children at a Colorado church community’s second annual Helicopter Egg Drop.
A charitable crew aboard a helicopter released 6,000 plastic eggs over the yard at Zeal City Church in Windsor, Colorado, early Easter Sunday morning for the parish’s egg hunt.
The copter came back and released even more colorful eggs for a second hunt during a later Easter service that day, CBS Colorado reported.
Lead Pastor Jeremy Cleveland told the outlet that the aerial egg drop is their unique way of “celebrating Jesus at Zeal City Church.”
“We’re celebrating Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we really wanted to bless our community and not just give them a sermon, but something to make them memories with their families and friends,” Cleveland said.
Cleveland highlighted the event’s rousing success, noting that it drew hundreds of families to the Sunday service.
“The kids are enjoying it, loving it. Parents are having a great time. It’s been awesome,” Cleveland’s wife, Brittany, told the outlet.
The Clevelands hope to carry on the burgeoning tradition for many more years to come.
Another local egg drop in 2024 saw a chopper dump 5,000 eggs over a park in Colorado Springs, Fox 21 reported.
The Compass Church in Salinas, California, also hosted its own drop where a helicopter poured 100,000 eggs over the grounds.
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