1. The Lede
Colorado’s snow guns are on, and not as a test. Arapahoe Basin and Loveland both made real snow the night of Oct 14, and Loveland is building a top-to-bottom run for a late October or early November open. Utah got the snow. Colorado got the cold. (Al’s Blog, KKTV)
The Full Story: Colorado’s Guns Are On
A-Basin’s guns running after the first real night of snowmaking.
A-Basin: Al’s Oct 14 post, “Making Snow”: “It is cold. The wet bulb is 24 F and dropping. We are past testing. This will be real snowmaking tonight.” The system test was Oct 2, and the first top-to-bottom natural snow came the morning of Oct 14 (Al’s Blog). CBS Colorado’s Joe Ruch reported from the base with snow falling and guns running (CBS Colorado). The comms manager calls the crew “small but mighty,” about five snowmakers and 20 guns, and says they need “about a week or so of really good snowmaking” to open. No date yet (Aspen Times).
Loveland: Guns started at 7:04 PM Wednesday. The first goal is a top-to-bottom run with tree-to-tree coverage and about 18 in. of packed base. The target is late October to early November; last season it opened Nov 8. This is Loveland’s 60th year of snowmaking, and the system now covers more than 240 acres (KKTV, Loveland). In early October, Loveland said that with round-the-clock snowmaking it could open “in as little as a week” (CPR).
Why the cold window matters: Resorts watch the wet-bulb temperature, which combines air temperature and humidity. About 26°F is roughly the threshold for real production. Big storms are bad snowmaking weather. The air’s too wet. The dry cold behind them is the window. If temperatures swing, the timeline stretches (Aspen Times).
Who’s next: As of Oct 14, Keystone was selling lift tickets for Sat Oct 24 but has no official opening date. Tickets bought for October can be exchanged for an opening-day ticket. Last year Keystone opened Oct 25, one day ahead of A-Basin. Winter Park and Loveland have also said they’ll open as soon as possible. Copper, Vail and Beaver Creek have November dates and said snowmaking could start this week (Aspen Times).
Versus Utah: No Cottonwoods snowmaking reported yet. Utah’s head start is natural and melting under highs in the 40s and 50s this week (see Storm Watch).
Today’s feature. The report picks up at Storm Watch.
The Algorithm, Part 1 of 4: Fix Your Feed Before First Chair
Your phone already knows you ski. Time to make it useful.
My phone already thinks I ski. Its evidence, as far as I can tell, is a guy in jeans falling off a T-bar, on loop. (I have watched him more times than I’d like to admit. That’s on me.) So this fall I cleaned it up, and I’m sharing the list: 100 Instagram and X accounts, 25 at a time over the next four days. Resorts, racers, brands, forecasters, and a few that’ll make you yell at your phone.
Here’s part 1. The order is mine, and I’ll defend most of it.
1. Savage Mountain Collective (savagemountaincollective.com · Substack) Yes, it’s mine. This is where the list, the Beacon and Probe, and the long stuff live. I’d skip it too, but I wrote it.
2. Blister Review (X @BlisterReview · IG @blisterreview) The most honest gear reviews out there. They’ll tell you a ski is good at one thing and bad at another, which is rare. Read them before you buy anything, listen to the podcast and go to the Blister summit at Snowbird in April… Don’t think just do.
3. Chris Tomer (YouTube @TheChristomer · IG @chrisdtomer) The Jim Cantore of winter storms. Forecasts for Everest and K2 teams and still finds time for your Colorado powder day. He’ll tell you it’s not coming, he’ll be right, and you’ll yell anyway. (Chris, the Mid-Atlantic is right here. We have hills. Some even have snow worth an occasional mention.)
4. Mikaela Shiffrin (X @MikaelaShiffrin · IG @mikaelashiffrin) The most wins in World Cup history, and she still posts about pasta and her animals. The racing is the reason to follow. The pasta is the reason you’ll stay.
5. Cody Townsend (X @codytownsend · IG @codytownsend) Working through The Fifty, the 50 classic ski descents of North America. Each episode is a line, a plan, and an honest account of whether it worked. Cody ended the project last year but has promised to keep producing on his channels and socials. I assume he is in Here’ hold my Kid’s sequel which should be coming out this season.
6. Teton Gravity Research (X @TetonGravity · IG @tetongravity) The film people. Trailers, tour dates, and the reason I’m sitting in a dark theater outside DC this week with the powder faithful. See you @arlingtoncinemadrafthouse.
7. Ski The East (X @SKITHEEAST · IG @skitheeast) Eastern skiing with a chip on its shoulder. Ice coast pride, good films, better merch. These guys actually know how to ski and use their edges. My spirit animal.
8. The Storm Skiing Journal (X @StormSkiJournal) Stuart Winchester’s podcast and newsletter about the business of skiing. Long interviews with the people who run the mountains. Some new format changes this year but St
9. Lindsey Vonn (X @lindseyvonn · IG @lindseyvonn) Olympic champ who keeps coming back. Whatever she’s doing this season, you’ll want a front-row seat.
10. Mad River Glen (X @MadRiverGlen · IG @madriverglen) Skier-owned, single chair, no snowboards, and a motto that’s a dare: Ski It If You Can. Not a resort, a co-op with a mountain attached.
11. Wasatch Snow (Evan Thayer, OpenSnow) (X @WasatchSnow) The Utah forecast I check before I check anything else. When he says the Cottonwoods are nuking, they’re nuking.
12. Alta Ski Area (X @AltaSkiArea · IG @altaskiarea) Since 1938, still no snowboards, still the best stake photos on the internet. Come for the skiing, stay for the skiing.
13. Snowbird (X @Snowbird · IG @snowbird) Hidden Peak webcams, storm totals, and the tram doing tram things. Required if you plan a winter around Little Cottonwood.
14. OpenSnow (X @OpenSnow · IG @opensnow) The forecast app half of us pay for and all of us screenshot. Their posts are short and they tell you where to go. They’ve got a new YouTube channel now too, just mountain reports and live webcams on a loop.
15. NWS Salt Lake City (X @NWSSaltLakeCity) The actual government forecasters. No hype, just discussion and maps. When they say ‘another system mid-week,’ believe them.
16. U.S. Ski & Snowboard (X @usskiteam · IG @usskiteam) Race results, team news, and the schedule you need when you’re watching World Cup at 5 AM with coffee.
17. Ski Utah (X @SkiUtah · IG @skiutah) Statewide snow totals and the ‘Greatest Snow on Earth’ brag, which, fine, this year it’s earned.
18. Killington Resort (X @KillingtonMtn · IG @killingtonmtn) The Beast of the East and the first place I look when the East gets cold. Snowmaking tests count as content in October.
19. Snowshoe Mountain (X @snowshoemtn · IG @snowshoemtn) The biggest thing in the mid-Atlantic, up in West Virginia. Snowmaking updates are basically a love language down here.
20. Arapahoe Basin (X @Arapahoe_Basin · IG @arapahoe_basin) Usually the first Colorado chair to spin and the last to stop. The Legend. Their October posts are torture. This week the guns are on, so it’s worse.
21. DPS Skis (X @dpsskis · IG @dpsskis) Made in Salt Lake. A pair of Pisteworks 89s lives at my place now, so yes, I’m biased. Good tech posts though.
22. The Ski Moms Podcast (IG @theskimoms · X @SkiMomsFun) Sarah Butler and Nicole Feliciano (@Momtrends) post all year, not just when the lifts spin. They truly love skiing, and they actually talk with their listeners and the wider ski community. That’s rare.
23. Ski Racing Media (X @SkiRacingMedia · IG @skiracingmedia) Deep race coverage. If you want to know why someone straddled a gate, this is where you find out.
24. Mountain Gazette (IG @mountaingazette · mountaingazette.com) Giant 11x17 paper magazine, twice a year, best long-form mountain writing there is. Their X account is suspended, so follow on IG or just subscribe at mountaingazette.com.
25. Indy Pass (IG @indyskipass) Hundreds of independent mountains on one pass. When a new hill joins, you’ll hear it here first, probably with me yelling about it.
[Subscribe button] The Beacon and Probe lands in your inbox before first chair. Free, honest, no hype.
Sidebar: Rage Bait (Affectionate)
Not mean. Just accounts that will make you yell at your phone. I follow all of them. I yell a lot.
1. Jerry of the Day (X @jerryoftheday · IG @jerryoftheday) People falling off chairlifts and launching off cat tracks. You’ll laugh, then remember you’ve been the Jerry.
2. Ikon Pass (X @IkonPass · IG @ikonpass) The official pass account. Every comment section is a lift-line support group. A cheap blood-pressure spike.
3. UDOT Traffic (X @UDOTTRAFFIC) Real-time proof the canyon is closed and you are not skiing yet. You’ll yell at it. It’s not their fault.
4. GoI70 (X @goI70) Tips for ‘delay-free travel’ on Colorado’s I-70 mountain corridor. Read it from a dead stop at the Eisenhower Tunnel and feel your soul leave.
5. Colorado DOT (X @ColoradoDOT) Chain law, closures, and Floyd Hill. The I-70 Saturday experience, one alert at a time.
6. Powder Buoy (IG @powderbuoy) Mike Ruzek watches a NOAA buoy northwest of Kauai and calls Rockies storms two weeks out. Is it science? Is it vibes? You will check it at work and yell ‘YEAHBUOY’ at your desk.
7. Weather With Travis (YouTube @WeatherWithTravis) Ex-TV chief meteorologist doing long-range winter takes on YouTube. Hand-drawn maps that’ll either hype you up or make you shout at the screen.
8. Rickety Ski Reviews (IG @ricketyskireviews) Honest ski reviews on YouTube from a former Ski Racing editor and college racer, no paid reviews. He will roast the skis you just bought.
That’s 25 down, 75 to go. If I missed your favorite, reply and tell me. I’ll probably agree, and then I’ll wonder how I missed it.
2. Storm Watch
Cottonwoods / Utah - NWS grids (updated overnight Thu, new): - Hidden Peak area: overnight mostly clear, Thursday sunny and 43 (falling to ~41 afternoon), sunny Friday–Sunday near 47–48 (NWS Hidden Peak). - Alta: overnight mostly clear, Thursday sunny and 44, Friday 49, Saturday 50 (NWS Alta). - Brighton: Thursday sunny and 46, Friday 51, Saturday 53 (NWS Brighton). - Snowbird base area: Thursday sunny and 51, Friday 55, Saturday 57 (NWS Snowbird base). - Park City base: Thursday sunny and 57, Friday 61, Saturday 63 (NWS Park City). - NWS discussion (new): The slow low that soaked Utah has moved into Colorado. Remaining eastern Utah showers diminish overnight; dry areawide Thursday through the weekend with highs warming toward seasonal normals Saturday–Sunday. Confidence is relatively high that a more active pattern returns next week, but timing and track have more spread than usual — the popular solution brings a Pacific system Tuesday–Wednesday (often rain given warmth); a minority (including latest ECMWF) keeps the low off California longer (NWS SLC discussion). - Alerts (new): 0 active Utah alerts. No Wasatch Winter Storm Watch or Warning (NWS alerts). - Forecasters (new): OpenSnow Utah “Pretty Much Done” (posted Oct 14): few remaining mountain showers Wednesday, then a break through the weekend into early next week; storms possible by mid next week (OpenSnow Utah). OpenSnow location grids now show next 1–5 day 0 in. at Alta and Snowbird; 6–10 day Alta 9 / Snowbird 13 (OpenSnow Alta, OpenSnow Snowbird). Wasatch Weather Weenies’ latest is still Wednesday’s weather.utah.edu tools update; the storm write-up remains Tuesday’s “A Biblical Storm Update” (WWW, WWW storm). - On the ground (new): Salt Lake Tribune and Powder put Alta around 13–14 in. settled and Snowbird’s stake near 16 in. Tuesday evening (Salt Lake Tribune, Powder). - Avalanche: The Utah Avalanche Center still shows no rating for every zone (UAC).
Colorado / West - Colorado (new): The system that left Utah is finishing over the Rockies. NWS near Loveland Pass: overnight snow showers likely (under an inch), Thursday snow showers likely before 3 PM (under half an inch), then clear Thursday night and sunny Friday (NWS Loveland Pass). Vail: overnight 1–2 in. possible, Thursday less than half an inch before clearing, sunny Friday–Saturday near 58–60 (NWS Vail). Winter Weather Advisories still cover parts of the northern Front Range high country through 9 AM MDT Thursday and parts of the Elk/Gore/West Elk/Sawatch through 6 AM MDT Thursday; freeze watches/warnings cover lower valleys (NWS alerts). - Northern Rockies: Big Sky sunny Thursday after patchy fog (~35), Jackson sunny Thursday near 58 with frost (NWS Big Sky, NWS Jackson).
Northern Greens / East - Stowe (new): Mostly sunny Thursday near 52, rain Thursday night into Friday (about 0.75–1 in. rain Friday), Friday night rain then rain/snow with little or no snow, Saturday snow showers likely before 11 AM with under half an inch possible, then partly sunny near 38 (NWS Stowe). Vermont has no active alerts (NWS alerts). - Lincoln, NH: Mostly sunny Thursday near 47 with gusty NW winds, rain Friday, chance of rain/snow Saturday morning then partly sunny near 34 (NWS Lincoln).
3. Openings & Snowmaking
Utah: Opening dates unchanged on Ski Utah: Brian Head Nov 6; Alta, Park City and Solitude Nov 20; Snowbasin and Snowbird Nov 27; Deer Valley Dec 5; Powder Mountain Dec 11 (Ski Utah).
Arizona (new): Arizona Snowbowl started snowmaking Oct 13 on Spur Catwalk, Lower Bowl, Log Jam, Wild Turkey and Round Up, targeting Nov 20 (Unofficial Networks).
Tahoe: Mt. Rose snowmaking start from earlier this week is still the latest Tahoe update; Heavenly/Northstar Nov 20, Palisades Nov 25, Kirkwood Dec 4 unchanged.
East: Killington’s Oct 6 test is still the latest Vermont update.
Europe: Zermatt glacier reopen (Oct 14) and Titlis-Engelberg Oct 24 glacier date are unchanged from yesterday.
4. Resort News
Snowland, UT (new): The nonprofit Snowland Foundation secured a new U.S. Forest Service Special Use Permit; Ridgeline Express surface lift (~2,450 ft, ~107 acres) construction targeted mid-October for a December 2026 season goal (Unofficial Networks).
Alta / early turns (new): Unofficial Networks flagged a snowboarder (Melissa Baake) hiking Main Chute before Alta’s Nov 20 open — Alta still bans boards once open (Unofficial Networks). Early hiking turns also showed up at Snowbird (Unofficial Networks).
Deer Valley Kids Ski Free Week (carried): Dec 5–11 still the latest DV promo (Unofficial Networks).
Jackson Hole Ski in Jeans Day (carried): Dec 4 still on (Unofficial Networks).
5. Racing & Events
Sölden snow control (new, today): FIS snow control for the World Cup opener is Thu Oct 15 on the Rettenbach; women’s GS Oct 24, men’s GS Oct 25. Organizers are leaning on about 78,000 cubic yards of stored snow plus guns; slope manager says they’re prepared despite a thin natural pack (FIS snow control PDF, theintelligent.at).
Ski Dubai FIS (new): FIS-sanctioned snowboard and freeski slopestyle / Street Style runs Oct 14–16 inside Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates (Unofficial Networks).
X Games (new): X Games welcomed XC Park City to the MoonPay X Games League (post).
FWT 2027 roster (carried): 53 athletes, Val Thorens Jan 24–30 still the latest tour news (SnowBrains).
6. Gear
Powder (new): Alta first-snow photo package with fall foliage still on the slopes; Silverton staff already skiing early powder; Saas-Fee early park edit (Powder Alta, post).
SKI: Nothing newer than yesterday’s roundup (SKI).
Blister: No new ski reviews. Oct 14 drop is a Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 4 trail-shoe review (Blister).
BubblePeak (carried over): Gondola hot-tub retrofit still the latest novelty.
7. Socials & Trends
X (verified handles only): Top new post was @WasatchSnow’s 3-day Snowbird storm timelapse (~10.8K views, 370 likes) (post). Deer Valley snow-stake platform note ~10.3K views (post).
Silent since the last report: @Snowbird, @ProfessorPowder, @utavy_, @lindseyvonn, @MikaelaShiffrin, @fisalpine, @FreerideWTour, @Newschoolers, @IkonPass, @ChrisBenchetler and @NWSSaltLakeCity (in the searched window).
Chris Tomer: IG @chrisdtomer confirmed.
Google Trends: The U.S. daily list is Fortnite servers, Jasmine Paolini, Fortnite, Jelena Ostapenko, antigravity, Chapman, Leylah Fernandez and related tennis/gaming terms, with no ski or snow terms (Google Trends). IG/TikTok aren’t connected.
8. Media & Podcasts
The Storm Skiing Journal (new): Oct 14 episode with Purgatory CEO Dave Rathbun on expansion, snowmaking and keeping lift tickets cheap (The Storm).
Blister Vault Ep. 21 / Podcast Ep. 348 (carried): Still the latest Blister ski audio from Oct 13 (Blister).
SKI El Niño outlook / Mountains of the Moon / SnowBrains Podcast (carried): No change.
9. One Image
Check your beacon, point ‘em downhill, and drop in.
Photo credits: A-Basin snowmaking courtesy of Arapahoe Basin (Al’s Blog, Oct 15). Snowbird snow stake from the Snowbird webcam, Oct 15, 8:12 AM MDT. Alta snow stake from the Alta Ski Area Collins Snow Stake webcam, Oct 15, 3:15 AM MDT.
