Several ski areas in the Mountain West have extended their seasons by a week or two as skiers and snowboarders relish in an epic powder year.
It鈥檚 still March, and some resorts have already set all-time snowfall records. In Utah, the Alta and Brighton ski areas have both surpassed 750 inches for the season.
鈥淸It鈥檚] the earliest this has happened that we're aware of since we started recording snow here in Utah in the 1940s,鈥� said Ski Utah's Alison Palmintere. 鈥淚t's definitely good news from an economic standpoint.鈥�
extended its season beyond its planned closing day, as did .
In Colorado, several ski areas 鈥� including , , and Steamboat 鈥� have also announced extensions.
鈥淎cross the state, it's been a fantastic snow year,鈥� said Sarah Beatty with Colorado Ski Country USA. 鈥淚t just feels to the resorts kind of celebratory. Skiers and riders are also like, 鈥榊es, let's get out there.鈥欌��
She said the big snow year is very welcome after a couple of dry seasons and a year cut short by the pandemic. How resorts decide what terrain stays open will depend on conditions and how many seasonal staff members can stick around to keep operations going.
Elsewhere in the Mountain West, and in New Mexico will also go another week or so, and some Lake Tahoe-area resorts they鈥檒l remain open into May or beyond.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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