High slopes in Colorado have had a fresh dusting of snowfall less than a week after they saw their first snow covering of late summer/early fall.
Arapahoe Basin posted the picture above of its Montezuma Bowl chairlift. Other ski areas posting similarly snowy scenes included Aspen, Copper Mountain, Crested Butte and Keystone as well as Loveland, pictured below.
It currently has a 'countdown to the start of snowmaking' clock on its website, targeting October 1st to begin operations, conditions permitting.
Temperatures have been getting down to freezing or a degree or two below on Colorado's ski slopes, among the highest altitude in the world, overnight. However daytime highs are still melting early cover at present, although they should continue to cool.
Arapahoe Basin, Keystone and Loveland are among the usual contenders aiming to be the first to open for the season in North America, although the only confirmed 'tentative opening dates' published so far are in November.
Banff's Mt Norquay aims to open on the 4th and then Banff's other two areas Lake Louise and Sunshine
on the 10th, the same day as Breckenridge and Vail in Colorado, Brian Head in Utah and Mammoth in California.
