Courtesy Aspen Skiing Co.
Conditions should remain solid and the weather forecast calls for warm days for the second bonus weekend of skiing and snowboarding at Aspen Mountain.
As with Memorial Day Weekend, there will be about 130 acres at the top of the mountain for terrain served by the Ajax Express lift for Saturday and Sunday. One small change is there are only four hours of access to the Ajax Express lift, which will stop running at 1 p.m. (instead of 2 p.m. such as last weekend).
The base continues to be a solid 64 inches, Aspen Skiing Co. public relations manager Tucker Vest Burton said Thursday, and the coverage of the trails remains “incredible.” Aspen Mountain picked up about 6 to 8 inches of snow in the past week, she said.
“It’s pretty crazy. I’ve been told by a couple of people that we still have better snowpack now than when the season ended,” Vest Burton said.
She did not say if there would be more skiing beyond this weekend, adding they would reassess and see how the snowpack is.
The forecast for the weekend calls for highs in the mid-70s and wind gusts on Saturday near 40 mph with a storm coming through in the afternoon.
The gondola will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., tickets are $54 for those skiing and boarding. Those with a Premier Pass or 3 and younger are free, and all other passholders will pay $27 to ski or board. For sightseers, it is $27 for a one-trip ride.
The Sundeck restaurant and bar will be open and there will be a DJ in the afternoon each day. Once the mountain closes for good, opening day for 2019-20 season is set for Nov. 28.
This week, Skico unveiled a new feature on its website where users can compare the panoramic livecam photos from year to year. The images from last year to this year show a big difference in snowpack. The feature is at https://aspen.roundshot.com.
When skiing went into the same weekend as the Food & Wine Classic in June 2008 it was the same year that Independence Pass didn’t open until June 5.
Independence Pass is scheduled to open this afternoon for the summer season. Colorado Department of Transportation officials said this week that they are shooting to open the road over the 12,095-foot summit about 5:30 p.m.
