North American Ski Season Starting Sunday (or Sooner)

Colorado's Arapahoe Basin has announced it will open for the 2021-22 season this Sunday, October 17th.

"Black Mountain Express will be running and skiers and riders can cruise High Noon. We just might have a few features in the Banana Terrain Park. These are exciting times. It is so fun to get chairlifts spinning again. I can't wait to see all of your smiling faces on the hill," said resort COO Alan Henceroth.

Arapahoe Basin is one of America and the world's highest ski areas and usually among the first to open in the country each autumn and the last to close in late spring or early summer the following year.

It is possible other ski areas will open before Sunday in order to claim the 'first to open' crown. A major snowstorm has brought far more snow than is usual for this time of year to the Rockies with some resorts in Utah saying they've had several feet of snowfall this week.

The main contenders to open in the next few days include fellow Colorado resorts Keystone which has announced that it is now snowmaking around the clock and Loveland which has had more than a foot (30cm) of snowfall, but with snow falling widely and cold weather for snowmaking there are many more contenders than usual this year.

Currently the US has its borders closed to international leisure travel but that restriction is due to end next month.

With 14 inches (35cm) of snowfall reported at Wolf Creek, this other Colorado area now says it will be the first to open, a day ahead of A Basin, later today (Saturday 16th October) running their Nova Lift for the opening weekend.