Get a jump on ski season

For the first time, the race to be the first ski area in North America to open for the season may end in a tie.

Arapahoe Basin, which has won the race against perennial rival Loveland Ski Area for two years in a row, announced late Monday it will open Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Tuesday afternoon, Loveland announced it will open the same day - 30 minutes earlier.

After Loveland's announcement, A Basin moved its opening time to 8:30 a.m. too.

Both areas have been working feverishly to win this bragging right and valuable marketing tool.

"For a long time it was too warm to make snow," said A Basin spokeswoman Leigh Hierholzer.

As soon as a cold front moved in last week, the ski area fired up 18 state-of-the-art snow guns. Each can pump up to 150 gallons of water per minute.

It didn't take Arapahoe Basin long to blow through more 2 million gallons of water, draining its reservoir. But it was enough to lay down 18 inches of snow on the High Noon Run, and put in a few jumps and rails along the side.

Loveland has older guns and a larger area to cover, but managed to make enough snow to turn on the lifts.

Opening day adult lift tickets are $49 at Arapaho Basin, $44 at Loveland,

The Gazette will be there for opening day. Check gazette.com for more.