Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

The snow guns were blowing Wednesday at Steamboat.  Matt Stensland, Steamboat Today

By Tom Ross, Steamboat Today

Steamboat Springs — Overnight temperatures in the single digits have allowed aggressive snowmaking at the Steamboat Ski Area — so much so that officials say skiing and riding from the top of the gondola to the bottom of the mountain is virtually assured when the resort opens for Scholarship Day on Nov. 23.

Doug Allen, vice president of mountain operations for Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp., said Wednesday that sufficient stockpiles of manmade snow have been built up on several trails, and that if he were to dispatch snowcats tonight it would be technically possible to ski from top to bottom on Thursday.

“There haven’t been years when I could say that on Nov. 9,” Allen said. “It’s exciting.”

Of course, there won’t be skiing on Thursday – opening day is still two weeks away. And Allen doesn’t mean to say that all of Heavenly Daze, the biggest ski trail linking Thunderhead Peak to the base area, is entirely covered with snow. Only one side of the Daze has sufficient coverage as of Wednesday.

“We’ll be making a big move (of snowmaking equipment) today,” Allen said. “Vogue is done and we’ll be moving that equipment to See Ya and See Me, and we’ll be making snow on Boulevard to Big Foot and all of Right-of-Way.”

Read more about conditions at Steamboat at the Steamboat Today website.