Vail Mountain will open Friday morning with 80 acres of skiable terrain on the Ramshorn and Swingsville runs, accessible via Gondola One and Chair 4, along with a beginner area accessible via the Eagle Bahn Gondola and Chair 15 in Lionshead.

The mountain will open at 9 a.m. and spin chairs until 3:30 p.m. Vail will be the seventh ski area in Colorado to begin operations for the 2025-26 season, following the openings of Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Breckenridge, Winter Park and Copper Mountain.

Skiers and snowboarders in both Vail and Lionshead will be required to download the gondolas at the end of the ski day. Vail Mountain’s Vail and Lionshead areas are not yet linked via on-snow connectivity, so skiers and snowboarders in Vail looking to reunite with friends or family at the Lionshead beginner area will need to use Vail’s free in-town bus system to connect following the ski day.

While the mountain has not received much natural snow during a dry October and the start of November, Vail Mountain’s snow guns have been producing man-made snow for weeks now, and there’s snow in the forecast next week. The National Weather Service, in a forecast issued Wednesday, says there’s a chance of snow showers hitting the region on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

“The resort will continue to make snow at every opportunity and quickly expand its skiable acreage and connectivity to the villages,” Vail Mountain said in a press release.

Friday also marks the first day of the season that Vail will charge for parking; the Vail and Lionshead parking structures charge $10 per hour, or a maximum of $50 for guests who are parked longer than 5 hours. Cars that stay overnight will be charged $60.

Vail Mountain will serve complimentary strudel, and there will be giveaways taking place throughout the morning.

“Whether it’s someone’s first visit to Vail Mountain or they’re seasoned pros, we’re committed to making it an amazing experience for everyone,” Beth Howard, Vail Mountain’s vice president and chief operating officer, said in a release.

While a lift ticket for Friday is currently on sale for $319 at Vail.com; Vail Resorts’ “Epic Pass” season passes are still on sale for the season, with a one-day Epic Day Pass on sale for $128.

Currently, a 3-Day “Epic Day Pass” to Vail is $358; an “Epic Local Pass,” which gets you 10 days at Vail, is $833; and an “Epic Pass,” offering full, unrestricted access to Vail, is $1,121.

In a release issued Sunday, Vail Resorts said it plans to raise prices on Epic Passes on Nov. 17. The company has not yet indicated when it will cut off Epic Pass sales for the season, although it usually stops selling season passes in early December.

Original reporting from Vail Daily