Colorado’s mountains are busy behind the scenes. As skiers and riders wax their boards for winter 2025–26, resorts across the state are rolling out major upgrades— from fresh terrain to faster lifts—that promise to reshape days on the slopes.
The headline news is at Monarch Mountain, where the long-awaited No Name Expansion debuts this season. Adding 377 acres of new intermediate and advanced terrain on both sides of the Continental Divide, the project nearly doubles Monarch’s skiable acreage.
Lift upgrades are another big theme. Snowmass is retiring its Elk Camp quad in favor of a high-speed six-pack chair, while also adding the new Cirque T-bar—among the highest lifts in North America—for quicker access to its iconic expert terrain. Loveland is modernizing, too, with a fixed-grip triple replacing a decades-old double and a brand-new Lift 7 serving its Valley area. Down south, Purgatory is marking its 60th birthday with a $6 million investment that includes a new triple chair, five new trails, expanded snowmaking, and more gladed runs.
Winter Park’s Mary Jane, meanwhile, is turning 50 and throwing a season-long party. Send’er November kicks it off with competitions like ski ballet, a rail jam, and a mogul race, plus a perk for loyalists: visit twice this month, scan your pass, and you’ll unlock five transferable early-up tickets—your crew’s golden key to first tracks on powder days.
Upgrades grab the headlines, but just as important is who actually holds the keys to the mountains. In a rare and bold move that shifts ownership stakes, the town of Nederland is working toward buying Eldora Mountain, aiming to transform it into a community-driven, year-round destination. On the pass side, Ikon is broadening its global reach, adding European destinations like Austria’s Ischgl and Italy’s Valle d’Aosta, while closer to home, Arapahoe Basin bumps up to unlimited skiing on the full pass. Epic, meanwhile, adds European heavyweights like Austria’s Sölden and Mayrhofen, and introduces Epic Friend Tickets—half-off day passes for guests.
And though we’re still weeks away from opening day, the season is already teasing its arrival: Colorado’s high peaks saw their first dustings of white in September. If tradition holds, Arapahoe Basin will once again be the first to spin its lifts in November.
The forecast? According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, mild and wet conditions could be on deck. But with new lifts, fresh trails, and easier access across the board, Colorado skiers have plenty to look forward to this winter.
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