First Snowfalls Recorded at Colorado Ski Resorts

A media alert was issued by Vail Resorts on Thursday, September 5, 2024, to celebrate the first recorded snowfalls of the season at Keystone Resort and Breckenridge Ski Resort, both located in Summit County, Colorado.

POWDER has obtained the following images via press release of the season's first flakes gracefully laying on the high-elevation peaks of the resorts. See below.

Keystone Resort, CO First Snowfall, 9/5/24

All photos by Katie Young, Keystone Resort

Breckenridge Ski Resort, CO First Snowfall, 9/5/24

All photos by JP Douvalakis, Breckenridge Ski Resort

Vail Resorts is taking the opportunity to remind skiers that Keystone will aim to open as early as Mother Nature allows. The resort's state-of-the-art, fully automated snowmaking system will be ready to go as soon as soon as temperatures and moisture cooperate. Keystone hopes to open in mid to late October to compete for the title of ' first open ' amongst North American ski resorts.

Breckenridge, on the other hand, has a firm targeted opening date set for November 8, 2024. Early-season snowmaking will most likely begin in October as well, but the resort doesn't have the same initiative to be the first open.

Ski resorts across the American intermountain west are logging their first snowfalls of the season on almost a daily basis. POWDER covered a storm that delivered California's first August snowfall in more than 20 years, a cold and blustery system that turned Jackson Hole, WY into a winter wonderland , and a Canadian storm that left Lake Louise and Sunshine Village looking almost skiable .

It's nice to see Colorado finally join in on the action!

It's officially that time of year, ladies and gentlemen. Flakes are starting to fly, ski movies are preparing to make the rounds, and the ski season is beginning to feel like it's right around the corner. With that said, it's still early September, and the earliest ski resorts to open won't begin spinning lifts until mid-October.

It's a challenging time to be a skier. Summer offers a welcome distraction in the form of warm weather activities like mountain biking and swimming, but fall can feel dreadfully slow. It's easy to feel as if we're just 'going through the motions' as Opening Day approaches, but not quickly enough.

Remember to keep your head held high and know that while the fruit of these early-season storms will melt, they're a signal of better times to come. Hang in there, friends. We got this.

Related: When to Expect Your First Snowfall

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