A winter of poor snowpack coupled with high March temperatures is forcing some Mountain West ski areas to close early.
In Utah, Snowbasin is closing March 22, and Deer Valley and Powder Mountain on March 29.
In California, Palisades Tahoe, which sometimes stays open into the summer, won't reach its targeted closing date of Memorial Day weekend. It will close in mid-April. Temperatures on the mountain were nearly 60 degrees on March 26.
Most the large Colorado mountains are trying to push their seasons as long as possible. April 5 closings are set for Colorado resorts Keystone, Telluride and Crested Butte, according to OnTheSnow. Keystone closed a week later last year. And while those dates aren’t earlier than normal for Crested Butte or Telluride, Crested Butte is struggling to reach the finish line. Temperatures well into the 60s forced the ski area to close four lifts on March 25.
Some smaller Colorado ski mountains will close earlier, including Monarch and Purgatory, which have set March 29 closing dates. Ski Cooper and Powderhorn are already closed.
Warm, dry weather has plagued Western U.S. ski areas all season. In a March 9 earnings report, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said that through February, snowfall was the lowest in 30 years for the company's Colorado and Utah resorts.
"This has been the most challenging winter across the Rockies that we have ever experienced," Katz said.
Skier visits through March 1 were down 11.9% year over year across Vail's North American portfolio of 37 ski areas.
Still, some mountains will push ahead as long as they can.
For example, Copper Mountain in Colorado plans to stick with its original closing date of April 26, the resort told the Denver Post this week. And Vail Resorts' Breckenridge Mountain plans to stay open as long as conditions permit.