Liz Copan / ecopan@summitdaily.com
DILLON — If CDOT’s 6 a.m. I-70 traffic alert is any indication, all of Denver is headed our way this morning. And who could blame them? Most Summit County resorts’ have received 2-3 feet of snow in the past two days.
Many powder hunters who tried to drive up Friday were stranded along I-70 for hours after a 40-mile stretch of the interstate from Morrison to the Eisenhower Tunnel closed shortly after 10:30 a.m. and didn’t reopen until nearly 11 hours later.
Because of the closure, Summit County locals had the slopes mostly to themselves Friday, with the bonus of school being canceled on the powder day. One Dew Tour competitor called it “possibly the deepest day I’ve ever ridden on a resort.”
Once Front Range powderhounds arrive, they’ll be greeted by deep 48-hours totals across Summit County, but Breckenridge and Loveland are the big winners with more than 3 feet in the past two days.
Breckenridge Ski Resort
- 48-hour total: 39 inches
- 24-hour total: 20 inches
- Overnight: 6 inches
Loveland Ski Area
- 48-hour total: 39 inches
- 24-hour total: 24 inches
- Overnight: 5 inches
Copper Mountain Resort
- 48-hour total: 32 inches
- 24-hour total: 15 inches
- Overnight: 4 inches
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
- 48-hour total: 29 inches
- 24-hour total: 15 inches
Keystone Resort
- 48-hour total: 15 inches
- 24-hour total: 4 inches
- Overnight: 2 inches
All that snow means most resorts are looking a delayed openings for at least some of their terrain Saturday. Breckenridge reported on its social channels that the lower mountain would open on time at 8:30 a.m. but that the high Alpine terrain had no estimated time to open. They asked eager riders to be patient and “thank a patroller” while crews work to safely open lifts and terrain.
Over at Loveland Ski Area, the 39 inches of fresh is untracked after the ski area was unable to open for the day Friday because of wind.
Find the resorts’ latest lift and conditions updates on Twitter: