Disclaimer: This is sponsored content. All opinions and views are of Monarch Mountain and does not reflect the same of KOAA.
As Southern Colorado bakes under record heat, ski areas are also dealing with summer-like warmth. If it wasn't for the technical snow on the trails and plenty of behind the scenes work, you wouldn't know we are still in the ski season.
Thankfully, a cold front is on the way to salvage at least one day if you want to try to get in late-season turns.
Ski slope temperatures are ridiculous right now. Friday's mid-mountain temperatures are in the 50s and 60s, even up at 10,000 feet of elevation! The blow-torch continues on Saturday, with highs pretty close to Friday. These are July-like temperatures.
Following a cold front Sunday, highs will still climb to the 40s and 50s, which is more like April. Temperatures will then trend upward again on Monday.
Open terrain is still decent at the moment. Resorts have broadly been able to maintain terrain early this week, which isn't a big surprise as the peak of the heat is still on the way.
Precipitation across the western half of the state remains below average over the past 30 days, and we have no big snowstorms to look forward to this weekend or over the next seven days.
My suggestion is to plan to ski on Sunday after the cold front. While you won't have new snow to enjoy, the colder temperatures should allow snow maintenance teams to better prepare the slopes compared to Friday or Saturday. Otherwise, plan to ski early in the morning.
Monarch Mountain is the highest-based mountain in the state, so it will have the coldest temperatures and best conditions during the heatwave.
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