STEAMBOAT SPRINGS- Steamboat’s snowmaking crews fired up the snowmaking system yesterday evening to begin building the resort’s snow base in anticipation of Opening Day for the 2018/19 winter season.

“The countdown to Opening Day is on with the start of snowmaking,” said Dave Hunter, vice president of mountain operations for the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation. “We are just about 20 days away, the excitement is building, and our crews are hard at work assisting Mother Nature to create a great early season base for our guests to enjoy.”

After the first snowfall in early October and a particularly dry fall, cold temperatures and moisture in the air this week created the perfect weather combination for Steamboat’s snowmaking crews to begin building the resort’s base last night. Nearly 100 snowmaking guns, including a combination of high-efficiency HKD towers and fan guns as well as Ratnik land guns, came to life around 6 p.m. yesterday, Tuesday, October 30. Crews took advantage of the dropping temperatures throughout the night and as of this morning every possible snow gun in the fleet was firing.

The lower mountain, including Sitz, Jess’ Cutoff, Vogue, Short Cut, Stampede, and Heavenly Daze, were the focus last night in addition to Buddy’s Run up high due to lower temperatures in these areas. Future snowmaking efforts will continue as conditions permit in preparation for the resort’s planned opening three weeks from today. Forecasts call for continued favorable overnight lows over the next week in addition to snow showers in the forecast.