Editor’s Note: Every Thursday throughout the winter, the Summit Daily News will provide a terrain update informing skiers and snowboarders which trails are open on various mountains before they hit the slopes.

Thanksgiving weekend was a sight to behold for skiers and snowboarders in Summit County.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, resorts saw several feet of snow, allowing guests to dive deep into early season powder and enjoy a few new turns before indulging in a holiday meal.

While the Colorado High Country has not yet been hit by another major snowstorm, Summit County’s ski resorts continue to explore new terrain, thanks in large part to the Thanksgiving week snowstorm.

The Arapahoe Basin begins to rotate Pallavicini lift

Anyone who visits Arapahoe Basin Ski Area knows that opening new areas can often be limited early in the season.

Consisting largely of natural terrain on steep slopes, A Basin typically sees a handful of major openings in the first two months of the season before rope drops really ramp up around New Year’s Day.

Despite opening on November 2nd, A-Basin has managed to develop the site quickly this season. After successfully providing access to the upper portion of the mountain via the Lenawee Lift last week, A-Basin launched the Pallavicini Lift on Thursday, December 5th.

With the opening of the lift, guests will have access to the Slalom Slope, Grizzly Road, Powder Keg, Scutter, Challenger and Radical routes. Additionally, A-Basin offers limited openings on the east side of the lift, including Pallavicini all the way to the Rock Garden.

“The Pallavicini area is A-Basin’s legendary, advanced and experienced frontline terrain,” said Communications Manager Shayna Silverman. “The predominantly double-black Pallavicini slopes are big mountain ski slopes that can be reached directly from the valley station with a single lift ride.”

Keystone provides access to North Peak via Mozart

After nearly a week of skiers and snowboarders riding the Outpost gondola to North Peak, guests can now get there via the Mozart Trail.

The blue trail officially opened for the winter season earlier this week, connecting the summit of Dercum Mountain to the base of North Peak.

On Friday, December 6th, Keystone will open its Discovery Learning Area from its Mountain House Base Area. The Learning Area provides guests with another beginner-friendly area to hone their skills before attempting to conquer more challenging terrain.

In the coming weeks, Keystone will set its sights on the outback. According to communications manager Max Winter, snowmaking teams are already in intensive use on the south side of the North Peak and on outback routes such as Elk Run.

Once all three of Keystone’s peaks are open, Keystone will turn its attention to its high alpine terrain in Bergman Bowl. Access to Bergman Bowl is via Keystone’s newest chairlift – Bergman Express – and relies almost entirely on natural snowfall to open. Given the snowfall Keystone has already endured this season, the resort hopes to have Bergman Bowl open in a few weeks.

West Village goes online at Copper

On Friday, December 6th, Copper Mountain Resort West Village and its associated services will open.

Kokomo Express is expected to open next to West Village on Friday, while the Lumberjack Lift is expected to open on Saturday, December 7th. The addition of the two West Village lifts will allow Copper to open multiple beginner slopes in the Western Territory.

“The Western Territory is Copper’s area dedicated to entry-level and family empowerment,” said communications and philanthropy manager Olivia Butrymovich. “With these new terrain additions, we will be able to ski and ride from all three villages and be open at well over 50% capacity at Copper.”

In terms of terrain park offerings, Copper is scheduled to open the Medium Line in Central Park on Saturday, December 7th and will open its progression parks at Kokomo Express by the weekend.

Breckenridge gives guests an impression of the high alpine terrain

Last weekend, Breckenridge made great strides in opening up the site to holiday weekend crowds. Within days, Breckenridge opened the Rocky Mountain SuperChair, E-Chair and T-Bar, giving skiers and snowboarders access to steeper, more challenging terrain.

The opening of T-Bar allowed guests to enjoy Horseshoe Bowl, including Contest Bowl and Cucumber Bowl, as well as most of the grounds under 6 chairs. Although 6-Chair is not yet operational for the season, the terrain is open so skiers and riders can descend to the Peak 8 SuperConnect mid-station or E-Chair to climb in and out of this terrain capsule.

In addition to the resort’s town access via the base of Peak 9, the Gondola Ski Back route is also now open. The opening of the route gives guests two options to get from the mountain to Main Street.

This weekend, Breckenridge hopes to open more expert terrain on Peak 9. Potential trails include The Windows and walkable terrain such as Back 9 and The Twin Chutes.

The Peak 9 climb is now open during non-operating hours. The current route consists of Silverthorne, Lower American, Cashier and the Peak 9 patrol cabin.

Breckenridge plans to have the Peak 7 site open by next weekend. Shortly after Peak 7 opens, Breckenridge plans to open the North Bowl site at T-Bar.

Loveland Ski Area opens lift 6

On Thursday, December 5th, Loveland Ski Area announced that it had opened the roulette track from lift 6. The blue run runs under lift 6 before connecting to the lower part of Tempest.

While Roulette will be Loveland’s only scheduled opening for the weekend, the ski area plans to open Loveland Valleys Lift 3 on Monday, December 9th.

Mountain operations teams in Loveland will now shift their focus to the Ptarmigan Lift, which the ski area plans to open next week. As of Thursday, Loveland currently offers five lifts and 17 trails on its mountain.