It’s not exactly an endless winter, but Aspen’s ski season will go on longer than scheduled.
Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in town, Aspen Skiing Co. executives on Thursday announced that they will extend the season at Aspen Highlands until April 27. It becomes the fourth ski resort in Colorado that has elected to widen the window of opportunity for lift-access skiing.
Purgatory at Durango Mountain moved its closing date from March 30 to April 6; Monarch extended its season from April 6 to April 13 and Wolf Creek will follow the same model as Aspen.
Locally, Aspen Highlands will close as scheduled on April 6, along with Buttermilk Mountain. Aspen Highlands then will reopen on the weekends of April 19 and 20 and April 26 and 27, after Aspen Mountain and Snowmass Ski Area shut down their lifts April 13.
Prolonging the ski season was the last idea on anyone’s mind in November: Scant snow and balmy temperatures had some predicting doom and gloom for skiers and snowboarders this winter. But then December rolled around and snow fell from the heavens. And fell, and fell, and fell — through January, February, and now March.
Old Man Winter was particularly generous to Snowmass, which set snow records in both December and January.
“It would be a shame to waste all this great snow,” Rich Burkley, vice president mountain operations, said in a press release, “and since the CFO is out of the country, we decided to pull the trigger before he gets back.”
This reporter didn’t bother asking which far-flung land SkiCo CFO David Perry might have traipsed off to because his absence didn’t actually influence the company’s decision to extend the season.
Snow did.
There are more than 120 inches in Highland Bowl and almost 100 inches at mid-mountain. All of Aspen Highlands will reopen for the bonus weekends, all the way to the top of the 12,382-foot summit of Highland Bowl. The Exhibition, Loge and Deep Temerity lifts will run daily from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Merry-Go-Round restaurant will serve a limited lunch menu with barbecue, chips and beverages.
“This is our way of saying thank you to the community for a great season,” said Mike Kaplan, SkiCo’s president and CEO. “We look forward to seeing everyone out on the hill.”
To encourage additional skiing and riding, prices will also change. Adult tickets will be $39 per day, youth and seniors will pay $35 and children’s tickets will be $25. Children six and under ski for free. All season passes will be valid and allow the same access as during the regular season. Additionally, SkiCo is tossing a bone to resort employees across the country, allowing any of them with a current season picture pass to pay only $12 for a lift ticket.
Many locals were pumped on hearing the news.
“Guaranteed, I’ll definitely be riding Highlands (in late April),” said Aspen resident P.J. Bory. “I was planning on doing some spring hiking, anyway, so now I’ll just ride the lifts a few more weeks.”
This will be one of the longest ski seasons ever in Aspen. Officials and longtime locals say the top of Aspen Mountain once stayed open on weekends through Memorial Day in the early 1990s.
Other ski resorts across the nation are also catching the fever. A few resorts in New Hampshire have pushed back their closures — Wildcat Mountain reportedly plans to operate into May — and resorts in California and Oregon often stay open into May even in non-record-snowfall seasons.
“It’s definitely been a good snow year for everyone,” said Colorado Ski Country USA spokesman Nick Bohnenkamp. “Colorado has seen an exceptional year, but it’s not surprising other resorts (across the country) are staying open, too.”
SkiCo spokesman Jeff Hanle said there will be the usual Aspen Highlands closing party on April 6. But the re-openings on the weekends will also give revelers an excuse for prolonged partying.
“There will be two Aspen Highlands closing parties — or three, if you want to have a closing party on the 20th,” he quipped.
hoop@aspendailynews.com
