Many of the state's mountain resorts are dependent on artificial snow because of the warm and dry start to the snow season.
There has been little snow and record high temperatures. In Denver, there have been more than 200 days without snow, the second-longest such stretch in the last century. The snow will be the latest thing to fall in Denver.
The storm systems predicted for Thursday and Friday will reset the pace for the season. They are hoping for a lot of snow. The best chance for snow in a while is in Denver, but only a few inches may fall.
The state's snow cover is about half of what it should be, according to Mr. Meier.
He said there is time to make up the deficit because we are not very far into the snow season. It has been a slow start.
Brad Rippey, a meteorologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said that this year is shaping up to be among the five hottest years in Colorado history.
The fall was the third warmest on record, and more than half of the country experienced some sort of dry spell through the end of November. It was the second-warmest fall in Colorado, as well as in Montana and Wyoming, which are popular with skiers.
The director of the Colorado Climate Center said the state has experienced a warming trend over the past two decades. He said that the climate change signal is in its clearest form, and that Colorado's exacerbated dry conditions affected other states that rely on its water.
Climate change is making water challenges in the West worse. The snow that falls in the mountains of Colorado is the biggest natural source of water that ends up going to many other states.
Colorado's ski resorts rely on snow machines early in the season. The warm temperatures this year have limited snow-making, which can only be done at colder temperatures. The amount of terrain open to the public has been reduced due to this.
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The Purgatory Resort in Colorado used snow-making machines last month.
The general manager of the Purgatory Resort in the San Juan Mountains said that the resort opened on time despite warm temperatures. The season at the resort lasts through April.
The technology has helped us outwit Mother Nature. We are snow farmers. We play the cards we are dealt.
The mountain is open about 5 percent of the time, but snow showers this week could change that.
Five of the mountain's 170 trails are open at Steamboat Ski Resort. Loryn Duke, a spokeswoman for the resort, said this season had been the warmest she had worked in over a decade.
Ms. Duke said that all the snow at the resort had been artificially produced, and that more than two feet of snow was expected to fall this week.
Ms. Duke said that it was incredible that the industry depended on something that you had no control over.
Skiers were cautious about the weather and forecasts.
Phillip Luxner waited until the last minute to purchase an epic ski pass, which grants access to numerous resorts throughout the season. He said he bought his passes on Sunday while sitting on his patio in shorts and sandals.
Buying ski passes in flip-flops feels weird, Mr. Luxner said, noting that he did not plan to head out to the slopes soon. He said he would wait for a series of significant snowstorms to hit and for the resorts to open more terrain.
He doesn't want to ski up there with a lot of people.
Fenimore said his first ski trip of the season on Friday at Summit County's Copper Mountain Resort had been uncomfortably hot. He said that the slopes had started out icy in the morning and then turned to slush.
Mr. Fenimore said it felt like 75 with ski clothes on. I have never been a part of a season that has been this bad. I hope we get some more snow.
The ski areas of Colorado were shut down in March of 2020 due to the flu. The closings reduced ski visits by four million, according to Melanie Mills, president and chief executive officer of Colorado Ski Country USA.
Alan Henceroth is the chief operating officer of Arapahoe Basin.
He said this is a big year for them. He said that the team needed to have a good year after a bad year in the previous season.
Mountain resorts did well last season under local and state Covid-19 restrictions. Capacity limits and reservations are no longer mandatory.
Mr. Henceroth said that sales were better than expected. He said that people wanted to be on the slopes.
Mr. Henceroth said that people wanted to ski or ride their bike. They wanted to get out and do things, but many parts of our lives were stopped.
Mr. Luxner said that he didn't want his children to miss out on a cherished pastime.
He said he wanted to make sure his kids had the same opportunities he had when he was growing up. We don't have a beach. We have this.
