Overview
- Vail Resorts released target opening dates Tuesday that list Keystone as soon as possible in October, Heavenly and Northstar on Nov. 20, and Kirkwood on Dec. 4.
- The company emphasized the dates are conditions dependent and can change if overnight temperatures do not permit snowmaking.
- Federal forecasters now put a very high probability on a strong or 'Super' El Niño persisting into early 2027, which raises the odds of above-average storms in the Southwest and Sierra Nevada.
- Vail says it has invested more than $100 million in high-efficiency snowmaking systems to build base quickly and those systems still require sufficiently cold nights to operate.
- After a poor 2025–26 season that cut skier visits by roughly 12.5 percent and hurt revenue, resorts and nearby communities are watching storm timing and night-time temperatures for signs of a financial and operational rebound.