A Colorado ski area plans to hold a limited opening this week, beating rivals to become the first in the state to open for the season.
Wolf Creek Ski Area said the slopes would open beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday with three lifts running through Sunday.
A western snowstorm was not significant in southwest Colorado, but resort co-owner Roseanne Pitcher said Wolf Creek received 22 inches (56 centimeters) of snow by Monday evening.
“It’s a very wet snow, and so it’s probably packing down really great,” she said.
NEW: Colorado is trying to figure out what to do when ski country visitors catch coronavirus
Pitcher said the best way to pack down the base is to have people on the terrain at the ski area about 84 miles east of Durango.
Wolf Creek sometimes offers weekend-only operations in the early part of the ski season. Pitcher said she will determine after Sunday whether the ski area will remain open and a November schedule can be finalized.
Wolf Creek’s Front Range rivals Loveland and Arapahoe Basin said they continue to make snow in hopes of opening soon.