Here are some other pranks played on the public by outdoor brands
Keystone Resort in Summit County went all in for a 2026 April Fools’ Day joke, and their victim was their sister Vail Resorts ski area Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR).
In an Instagram post from Keystone, the resort posted a video of a ski patroller writing on a piece of cardboard the word RAMBO with a Sharpie, then places the new “trail sign” over the existing one that read Schoolmarm, perhaps the most famous ski trail at Keystone.
The post reads “We’re excited to share that Keystone Resort is now the proud owner of Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s experts-only trail, Rambo, thanks to a historic exchange for Keystone’s famed beginner trail, Schoolmarm.”
Rambo trail at Crested Butte is widely recognized as the steepest (55 degrees) lift-accessed, log-cut expert-rated trail in North America, where as Schoolmarm is a low-angle green-rated beginner trail.
“Starting April 1, Keystone skiers can expect access to the steepest in-bounds, tree-cut run in North America to help turn beginners into experts overnight,” Keystone said. “At CBMR, expert skiers are invited to jump on Schoolmarm to slow down, enjoy the journey, and stop being so extreme for once.”
Crested Butte, however, might have gotten the last laugh though.
CBMR was the recipient of 8″ of fresh snow for skiing and riding on April 1 from an overnight wave of energy that blew across central Colorado.
Somebody wrote out the word KEYSTONE and drew an awkward looking Keystone Resort logo on a piece of white paper, and attached it to the bottom of the snow stake at the Pow Cam location at CBMR.
Sunlight Mountain near Carbondale announced it plans on reopening after new snow arrived in Colorado overnight.
“With new snow in the forecast we have decided to reopen the mountain!” Sunlight said in its April Fools’ Day joke post. “On the biggest snow patch expect to get 3-5 turns in.”
Not to be left out from their winter brethren, the Colorado Trail Foundation made the announcement for its April Fools’ Day joke it is installing solar powered snack machines along the trail from Denver to Durango, calling the move “Operation Snack Shack.”
“The machines will be stocked daily by local snack fairies and wilderness gnomes and will make even your hardest hiking day better,” CTF said in the social media post.
April Fools’ Day jokes from ski areas, outdoor groups and ski companies are nothing new, but in the social media age, have become more popular.
Copper Mountain introduced the Pet Snowball on April 1, 2025. Colorado Mesa University’s Cross Country Skiing team introduced cross country snowboarding on April 1, 2025. Ikon Pass Security Screening at Aspen/Snowmass for April 1, 2019.
Burlington, Vermont-based J Skis has been at the April Fools’ Day prank game for years. For April 1, 2026, Jason Levinthal and the crew sent out an early-morning email to subscribers introducing a new ski.
“These Twin Tip Split Monoski Bladezzz (TTSMB for short) are half the length, twice the width, and 69 times more fun!” J Skis said in their annual April Fools’ Day email alert.
J Skis claimed that the 99cm TTSMBs have magnetic splitlock, are Skimo friendly, and have twice the float.
