First snow falls at Loveland Ski Area as snowmakers remain on standby

“Winter made its first appearance at Loveland Ski Area Tuesday morning as the first snow of the 2026-2027 season began falling around 8 a.m.”

The first noticeable snowfall of the 2026/27 season at Loveland Ski Area began collecting on the upper peaks and at the tops of the ski area’s chairlifts on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

A couple of weeks ago, on Sept. 29, Loveland’s Trail Maintenance and Snowmaking teams were out on the mountain performing maintenance and testing snowguns in preparation for the upcoming snowmaking season.

That day, Trail Maintenance/Snowmaking Manager Bobby Babeon and his crew ran water through the snowmaking system, performed maintenance on the snowguns and tested equipment to make sure everything is ready when snowmaking conditions arrive.

But on this day, Mother Nature made sure to deliver real snow to Loveland.

“Winter made its first appearance at Loveland Ski Area Tuesday morning as the first snow of the 2026–2027 season began falling around 8 a.m.,” Loveland’s Director of Marketing and Communications Loryn Roberson said in a statement on Oct. 13. “The early-season snowfall is a welcome sight as Loveland prepares to welcome skiers and snowboarders back to the slopes.”

The National Weather Service in Boulder has a Winter Weather Advisory in effect from noon Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday for the mountains around Loveland Ski Area, with total snow accumulations of between 6-12 inches possible.

This is the first winter weather advisory of the season for the Front Range Mountains, including the Park Range and Mosquito Range, and western Sawatch Range in Colorado’s central mountains.

60 years of making powder

Winter 2026/27 marks 60 years Loveland Ski Area has made snow via snowmaking, a tradition that has helped the ski area get an early start on winter for decades.

Roberson said even though the first flakes are generating excitement, Loveland’s snowmaking team remains on standby, saying, “we’re waiting for Mother Nature to deliver the consistently cold temperatures needed to begin snowmaking operations.”

Roberson said once temperatures cooperate, Loveland’s snowmaking crew will take advantage of every opportunity to build the snow base needed for opening day.

Last season, Loveland opened on Nov. 8, 2025.

Loveland Ski Area hopes to open for the 2026/27 season sometime between late October and early November, weather and snowmaking conditions permitting.

Other ski areas around Colorado, like Arapahoe Basin and Keystone, have tested snowmaking equipment recently as well, preparing their equipment for maintenance crews to begin blowing snow in the annual, but friendly, race to see which ski area can open first in Colorado.