20 October 2016 — Do it up one time! Arapahoe Basin will spin the lifts Friday morning, fantastic! It will be a white ribbon of death Colorado style, which is to say, not as horrible as you might expect. Point is, they’ll be skiing on the Pacific side of the divide come Friday, specifically, the High Noon run. Huzzah! Meanwhile over on the Atlantic side, Loveland graciously conceded defeat in the annual first-to-open sweepstakes…Now having said all that, keeping an eye on Timberline Lodge, getting a lot of Oregon snow this week. They might be able to steal A-Basin’s thunder this morning…North Dakota’s popular Frost Fire Ski & Snowboard Area says they’re planning to open in November…Idahoans looking forward with some positive anticipation; Pomerelle Mountain Resort got 6″ yesterday. Pom’s base lodge is at 8,000 feet so October snow is quite common. Marketing manager Gretchen Anderson sez “we are fortunate enough to have a good snowpack early in the season.” Other regional faves including Kelly Canyon and Sun Valley have also started building a base thanks to Mother Nature. Meanwhile, Grand Targhee reports 25 inches at Chief Joe Bowl…well this guy James Coleman from Durango CO likes to spend his money on ski operations. Recently we reported that he bought Ski Hesperus, adding it to his collection that includes the like of Arizona Snow Bowl, Purgatory, and a couple others in Four Corners country. Well now Coleman has gone ahead and purchased Purgatory Snowcat Adventures, which features a fleet of snowcats and a Forest Service permit for access to 36,000 north of Purgatory. This guy is doing a thing!
Photo: Snowmaking power on A-Basin’s High Noon trail