Two Colorado ski areas have skiers on the slopes this weekend – one the general public – the other just race teams training.
Copper Mountain opened Saturday and had members of the US ski squad on its slopes for pre-season training (pictured) while Arapahoe Basin opens to the general skiing public on Sunday.
Three ski areas in the Midwest already opened small areas last week, but Arapahoe Basin and Copper are the first to open full length runs.
Both have been snowmaking at night all month and have been boosted by natural snowfall that's being reported on ski slopes across Western North America this weekend after a mostly dry October.
Arapahoe Basin will open with one lift, the Black Mountain Express operating and one run, High Noon, open initially. They say the available terrain is not suitable for beginners and that lift tickets must be purchased online in advance.
Arapahoe Basin will give the first 50 people in the lift line today "Legendary for a Reason" A-Basin duct tape to get their season started!
