We’ve written about ski conditions; now, let’s talk safety. It sounds a bit lame, we know. But “if you french-fry when you’re supposed to pizza, you’re gonna have a bad time.” Now, there’s a LOT to talk about when considering skier safety, and it all starts in your preparations.
Lining the mountainscape above the town of Breckenridge is the aptly named Breckenridge Ski Resort. Spanning across 5 peaks of the Ten Mile range, it is nearly impossible to not be in awe when you drive down the highway and see the town, mountains, and resort for the first time. With Breckenridge’s base elevation of 9600 ft above sea level, you can often find amazing snow conditions and lots of sunshine. Although, different times of the year present different terrain, conditions, and things to know about your time on the slopes. Having lived in Summit County for nearly ten years, let me share some helpful knowledge on what to expect when visiting the resort.
Early Season: Mid-November to Mid-December.
Breckenridge typically opens the second weekend of November. While not the first resort to open in Colorado or even Summit County, they usually have some of the best early-season snow. With recent snowmaking systems upgrades, the “White Ribbon of Death” days are gone. Opening Day is a great time to visit as it is full of energy, and the town is still waking up from the off-season. Early in the season, Breckenridge Ski Resort’s dedicated snowmaking and grooming teams follow a standard pattern of terrain openings: Open the mountain at Peak 8 with the Colorado chair and a few trails underneath it, usually a green and blue level run. After Colorado chair, with natural snowfall and favorable snowmaking conditions, the Rocky Mountain Super Chair will shortly open.
The resort team usually aims to have Peak 9 with its long mellow sloping groomers open by Thanksgiving. For the first big holiday of the season, the Quicksilver, Beaver Run, and Mercury chairlifts are spinning. During this time, more and more terrain will open from natural snowfall, but be cautious on ungroomed runs as natural terrain and “snow snakes” (sticks, rocks, or natural obstacles) that could be hiding under shallow snow. The snow on groomed runs will be good and great, even with a bit of natural snowfall. Temperatures will be milder these months, with November usually having highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid-20s, while December begins to cool off with highs in the upper 20s and lows in the high teens. 
If enough natural snowfall has occurred, Ski Patrol and Resort Ops teams will begin to expand up the mountain and look to open the famed T-bar or 6 Chair on Peak 8. These areas depend heavily on natural snowfall as they are a high alpine environment where snow making equipment is not installed. Getting the first run down Contest bowl or Horseshoe bowl could be an exhilarating experience, but with early season conditions still, caution must be exercised!
The next to open will be Peak 7! This depends a lot on favorable snowmaking temperatures and natural snowfall, so the range of dates for when the Independence and Freedom Super Chairs begin to run is quite large. On average snowfall years, you can expect this peak with its long blue groomed runs to open before Christmas.
The Holidays: Late December – Mid-January
With three peaks open and plenty of visitors wanting to spend their holidays in a winter wonderland, more advanced terrain will begin to open up (once again, natural snowfall and good snowmaking temps dependent). The following terrain openings vary from year to year, but more often than not, once conditions are right, Peak 10 and its steep advanced runs will open up for some leg-burning fun. The average daily temperature this time of year is in the 20s, with lows in the low to mid-teens. During this time, skiing on the weekdays is crucial to get more runs and avoid long lift lines. This peak, which opened in 2013, is the latest addition to Breckenridge’s expansive terrain. Peak 6 has a little bit of everything: Groomed runs, trees, open bowls, and a hike to high alpine chutes, all accessed by the high-speed Kensho 6-pack chair. Peak 6 has several blue runs, which are great for the intermediate skier or snowboarder.
Mid Season: Mid January – March
The heart of the season. Hopefully, your ski legs will warm up as the final pieces of the mountain to open will be accessed by the highest chair lift in North America. Unloading at 12,840ft above sea level, the Imperial Chair stands above them all. From here, you can access black diamond and double black expert terrain in the Imperial Bowl and Whale’s Tail – or take a groomed single black-rated run, Imperial Ridge, back down to lower elevation. The views from the top of this chair and the mountain are stunning, and you can see mountain tops to Pike’s Peak!
This is the time of the season when Breckenridge is most likely to have a good base of snow and your best chance to catch a powder day! March is typically Colorado’s snowiest month, and when the snow starts dropping & the whole resort is open, it is game on! Colorado enjoys over 300 days of sunshine annually so that you can soak up some rays on a bluebird day in the Mid Season. January and February typically have a high temperature of around 30 degrees and low temperatures in the low teens.
Spring: March – April
Let the sun shine! While we often get big dumps of snow in March, when it isn’t snowing, the temperatures are heating up to almost 40 degrees! Did someone say sweatshirt weather? These are great days for those who love skiing but maybe not the cold temps that are often associated with it. Breckenridge’s elevation keeps the snow in excellent condition, and you can find stashes of powder for days after a storm.
April – May: Late Season
Still yearning for a ski day? In the late season, you can often find warmer temps and less crowded slopes. The mountain will begin to scale back operations and close down Peaks 10, 6, and 9 at the conclusion of April, leaving Peaks 8 & 7 open for the final month of the season. By this time, you can expect to be surfing the slush on warm sunny days – although I’ve experienced a handful of sneaky late-season snow storms at the beginning of May before! In April, highs are consistently in the 40s and creep up even higher in May! Usually, the slopes are quiet this time of year, and the town also has a little less foot traffic.
Once May rolls around, terrain availability is all dependent on the weather. The Resort intends to stay open until Memorial Day, but that is all weather dependent, and trails will begin to close down. Closing day, whether on May 31st or earlier, is usually a blast. You’ll see (and should participate in)lots of costumes and celebrations of a season well spent.
Sometimes it is hard to think back, months and months ago, to the first time you strapped in on a board or skis, but if you spent any of that time during one of the previous seasons, hopefully, the interim is filled with happy memories. This guide on terrain, temperatures, and conditions is all very weather dependent and it is best to check our Breckenridge Ski Resort’s snow report and lift & terrain status page before planning your visit. In addition, you can utilize the great weather reporting service, OpenSnow to check on how much snow has fallen or what is in the forecast. No matter the season you decide to visit Breckenridge, staying slopeside offers amazing access to the slopes; I’d highly recommend the special offers at the Grand Colorado on Peak 8 or the Grand Lodge on Peak 7! Click here for some exclusive offers for these properties!
Want to check out the view from peak 8? Click here to see a live stream! Even better, see the mountains for yourself right from your balcony!
Spring in the mountains is such a majestic time! There are endless bluebird days, longer days in the sunshine, and warmer spring skiing weather! Don’t get caught being unprepared! When planning for a spectacular ski vacation to Breckenridge, excitement is going to snowstorm your mind when thinking of everything you need to pack. Don’t fret; we have put together the perfect ski vacation packing guide for you!
Why do I like to ski uphill? The feeling of crisp, fresh air on my face as the sun rises and I begin my trek up the slopes. The overwhelming gratitude I am filled with to have such a beautiful experience in nature.
There is no doubt that uphill skiing has become all the rage within the past couple of years. Between light-hearted touring, ski mountaineering (Ski-mo) and aggressive back country for pow stashes, the lot of locals and new comers all seem to take a slight interest in this activity. We’d like to start off by saying, ANYTIME you go into the back country please be prepared. Check the CAIC website for avalanche safety and if you heir on the “more extreme” side of things, we highly recommend at LEAST completing an AIARE Avalanche Level 1 course which teaches you how to make calculated decisions in avalanche terrain.
OK! Now let’s get to the fun stuff. Here are some fun ways (and places) to get outside in the fresh air and NOT have to wait in lift lines.
Grab a group of friends, spend some time outside, sleep in a “cabin in the woods” and possibly experience some all-time skiing around the area. Hut trips can be as demanding or as lax as you make them, but getting out into the wilderness and “unplugged” for a night or two hasn’t seemed to do many people harm these days. Check out these two organizations below that offer huts around Summit County and beyond. Locals note: Book in advance. These huts gets booked 8-10 months prior so if you know which hut you’d like, get on top of it!
Summit Huts was designed and created to provide meaningful backcountry experience for self-propelled mountain recreational users. Currently there are four huts within the system; Francie’s Cabin, Janet’s Cabin, Section House and Ken’s Cabin. These are located within Breckenridge. Francie’s Cabin is one of the most popular huts in Colorado, featuring a kitchen, sauna and solar powered lights. Although there CAN be some exceptional skiing in the areas surrounding these cabins, they are also very good options to just get out and experience something different for a night or two.
Mike from Summit Huts recently took some TV guys up to Francie’s Cabin. This was great exposure for Summit Huts and includes some awesome interviews with the kids who were staying up at the hut at the time. Check out the video here.
Stuff can get real now. With options around Summit County (and very much beyond), the 10th Mountain Division is a non-profit organization that manages 34 backcountry huts in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The 10th Mountain Division honors men of the U.S. Army who trained during World War II at Camp Hale in central Colorado.
This website gives you tons of resources on how to plan your hut trip, family and kids trips as well as how to make your reservation. Plus tutorials on hut set up and hut clean up. Each hut has tons of information including both winter and summer routes and trailheads, hut location, layout capacity and much more.
For more huts not listed by either of these organizations, click here.
We use quotes around “safe” because you never know what can happen in the backcountry. You need to always be prepared. Below are three recommendations we offer for new, less experienced OR for people who are just looking to get their exercise on and maybe run your pooch. Please advise that in no way are we condoning that you go out blind. Please do your research before entering ANY backcountry terrain.
Bald Mountain – A most popular scene, this low angle, long approach is great for getting out with friends and the dogs. The path is clear and there is not much avy danger to be concerned. About a 4-mile round trip ski will get you high enough to link some decent turns together, and you honestly can’t beat the view.
Ken’s Cabin / Section House – see above for more information under Summit Huts.
Your favorite Epic Pass Resort – Most resorts offer up hill access prior to lifts turning and after hours. Check your local resort for up hill access, routes and information to stay safe. Pow can be nice but there is also something sweet about getting first tracks on freshly groomed corduroy!
Like above: Please do your research before entering ANY backcountry terrain.
Loveland pass – Although no formal reading on what is offered off of Loveland Pass, there are plenty of trip reports and wise words of wisdom from skiers past. The nice option about Lovelandd pass… hitchhiking and shuttling is available. While uphill access is still also an option, this is a great way to get out into some fresh snow with without the work of skinning. Check out some literacy below:
East Vail – Also known as EV and also known for avalanche danger and the lives of some, when the conditions are right, the skiing is too. We suggest going with a local, someone who knows the area and following their instructions. There is a vast area of chutes so you may not end up as close as you think. (Defer to your local here). Not much information out on the web, so talk to people and google pictures to get a general idea of the expansiveness of the chutes.
Mt. Guyot – Also a long approach. Mt. Guyot has some lines for fantastic skiing. The Northwest Slope is a fun ski when conditions are RIGHT. Not a far drive if you are staying in Breckenridge, this trailhead and route can also just be a fun tour, hike, or snowshoe.
When planning your winter getaway to Breckenridge, excitement will inevitably accumulate into a massive snowball of stoke that storms through your mind, clouding your judgment when it comes to packing. Don’t sweat it, we’ve got your back. As seasoned veterans, we’ve compiled a list of the essential items needed for your trip, and the most effective ways to transport them to Breck.
