It’s been a slow start to the season at Copper Mountain, Colorado, and things just got a little more difficult. The resort announced today that it will postpone its opening day, originally slated for November 6. The announcement comes after it has experienced cool fall temperatures, but not cold enough for sustained snowmaking, leaving runs thin and unready for early-season skiers.
“It has been a challenging start to the season,” Copper Mountain communications and philanthropy manager Olivia Butrymovich told SnowBrains. “Temperatures in the mountains have been cool but not consistently cold enough to support efficient snowmaking.”
Copper Mountain has not yet announced a new opening date, but plans to share one as soon as it can.
While Copper Mountain has received much-needed moisture conducive to snowfall, the warmer-than-normal temperatures have caused that moisture to fall as rain. With rain falling instead of snow, Copper has been unable to make snow of its own, leaving runs uncovered and unsafe for skiers.
“Much of the moisture we have received at Copper this fall has been rain with limited snow reaching our village areas,” Butrymovich told SnowBrains. “Copper’s priority is to provide a safe and quality early season surface for skiers and riders, and we are currently unable to guarantee that product by Friday.”
Last year, Copper Mountain was able to begin its season with no delays on November 7, 2025, thanks to ideal early-season temperatures. With its delay this year, it joins the nearby Breckenridge Ski Resort, which also announced a postponement of its November 6 scheduled opening day.
While Copper Mountain has not yet seen consistent ideal snowmaking temperatures, it has received positive signs that opening day could be on its way sooner rather than later. It picked up four inches of natural snowfall on November 4, and it just needs the weather to cooperate a little more before firing its snow guns up at full power.
Over the next several days, Copper Mountain forecasts daytime temperatures to hover around the upper 40s and lower 30s before dipping into the low 20s overnight. The daytime temperatures might be on the warm side, but overnight temperatures in the low 20s are a good thing, as the resort can begin to fire up snow guns. Ideal wet-bulb snowmaking temperatures sit between 10°F and 20°F, efficiently producing high-volume, dry, powdery snow, with the absolute minimum temperature for snowmaking sitting at 27°F. Overnight temperatures are expected to dip below the minimum, but it will take time before the resort can kick its snowmaking into full gear. For now, snowmaking crews at the resort will have an opportunity to take advantage of overnights when temperatures fall below the minimum snowmaking threshold.
Overall, the central Rockies and Copper Mountain are expected to have a strong year in terms of snowfall. This winter will be marked by a strong El Niño with unprecedentedly high water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Long-range weather forecasters like AccuWeather expect this El Niño to bring plenty of moisture to the central Rockies, which will freeze and fall as snow once the high-elevation areas like Copper Mountain start to see cold, more traditional winter temperatures.
While Copper Mountain’s opening day delay is disappointing for skiers in the area, there is still lots to be excited about this year. Weather forecasters expect Plenty of snow to fall across the resort thanks to El Niño’s moisture, and once the cold winter temperatures arrive, skiers will be able to enjoy the elite-level terrain at Copper Mountain.
