Vail Mountain, Colorado's largest ski resort by acreage, will open on Friday, November 15, 2024 with nearly 100 acres available to ride.
The resort will open with Gondola One, Eagle Bahn Gondola, Avanti Express, and Little Eagle for its opening weekend.
The opening day announcement comes after more than two feet of natural snowfall. About four inches of snow has fallen in the last 24 hours, and snowmakers are working with a 22 inch base. OpenSnow has reported a chance of snow showers hitting the area between Sunday and next Wednesday.
Those who show up early to the Vail Village will get the chance to grab some coffee, hot cocoa, and warm snacks. There will be merch giveaways, and DJ Pippen will be playing music stationed at the base of Gondola One. A local distillery will be sampling whiskey at the base of Gondola One at the end of the day.
Video: Vail Mountain Snowmaking, November, 2024
The town of Vail will increase its bus service as the winter season starts, and an updated early winter schedule will feature more service for the Sandstone and Lionsridge Loop bus routes. There will also be an East Vail Express route. More transportation details can be found on the town of Vail’s website.
For riders who are on the fence about whether they want to spend some time at Vail this season, it’s time to make up your mind. The prices on passes will go up on November 17, 2024. Right now, a four-day Epic Day Pass to all 39 Vail-owned resorts costs $432, if you choose the off-peak option, and trust me, you want to choose the off-peak option. Vail notoriously gets crowded during the holidays.
Once it opens, Vail will be the ninth ski area in the state with its lifts spinning. Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Keystone, Loveland, Winter Park, and Wolf Creek have already opened this season.
Photo: Max Ritter/Vail Mountain
Incredibly enough, Wolf Creek already is 95% open, thanks largely to a base of 28 inches. There are 137 open trails, and 10 lifts spinning. Wolf Creek opened up for the season on October 22, and has gotten 66 inches of snowfall so far this season. It averages 430 inches of snowfall a year.
Meanwhile, Loveland and Arapahoe Basin have just one trail and lift open each. Eldora's opening day was also reported to have been extremely crowded, largely thanks to its close proximity to Boulder.
Related: Analyzing HomeToGo's Questionable List of Affordable Ski Resorts