A Look Back at 60 Years of Snowmaking at Loveland

All Images: Courtesy of Loveland Ski Area

Earlier this week, Loveland Ski Area in Colorado saw it's first flurries of the season, kicking off pre-season excitement. The ski area is celebrating not only these all-natural, pre-season flakes, but also an anniversary. This year marks the resort's 60th snowmaking anniversary. 

Loveland Ski Area sits along the Continental Divide in the Front Range. It is visible from the infamous I-70 highway right next to the East entrance of the Eisenhower Tunnel. The resort sits above 10,000 feet, giving it extreme high-alpine conditions and making it one of the coldest-ranked resorts in the world. But these conditions also mean the resort is usually among the first to blow snow and open for the winter season. 

In fact, Loveland was the first major resort in Colorado to install and run a permanent snowmaking system. This had to do with the resort's unique location, but not for the reason you might think. It is all thanks to the Eisenhower Tunnel, actually.

How a Tunnel Created Snow 

Loveland first opened in 1936 with just one rope tow, becoming one of the earliest commercial ski developments in Colorado. Almost three decades later, construction began for the Eisenhower Tunnel. Although it created one of the most important transportation tunnels in the U.S., its construction also benefited another mode of transportation: skiing. 

Testing, drilling and blasting began in the mid-60s for the tunnel; they used diesel compressed air to blast the holes. The owner of Loveland at the time, Chet Upham, and the general manager, Otto Werlin, caught wind of snowmaking. Although it was still experimental at the time, they knew you needed compressed air to make snow. In 1966, the two acquired the diesel compressors used to drill and excavate the tunnel. Upham then repurposed them, using his engineering background, to pump compressed air for the snowguns. It wasn't until the 1967-68 season, though, that Loveland ran large-scale snowmaking and became the first major ski area in Colorado to use snowgun machines. 

Loveland Snowmaking Now

This changed the game for Loveland, allowing it to be the first resort in Colorado with snowmakers and, even now, consistently one of the first resorts to open. This is also due to its cold temperatures, which are vital to the snowmaking process. 

Bobby Babeon, a snowmaker at Loveland, explained that they look for a wet-bulb temperature of 28 degrees. 

“The more water there is in the air already, the harder it is to get water to freeze in the air,” Babeon continued. “So, basically the drier the air is, the better we can make snow.” 

Loveland usually starts blowing snow in the first few weeks of October and, depending on the snowpack, tries to open in late October or early November. In late September of this year, the trail maintenance and snowmaking teams began testing the snow guns. They officially ran them overnight through early morning on October 13, starting at 7:04 p.m., along with the natural freshies.

The team's initial goal is to establish a top-to-bottom run with tree-to-tree coverage and an approximate packed snow base of 18 inches. Once they can open, the crew will continue snowmaking into mid-December, then expand the machines across the mountain and supplement the natural snowfall. 

Innovations in snowmaking technology have helped them reach these goals, as the resort's snowmaking system now covers more than 240 acres of terrain. The resort integrated a LiDAR and GRS System last season that has elevated Loveland's snowmaking game. The system tells the crew how deep the snow is from their snowcats, so they can monitor how much water they're using and how much snow they need to open a trail.

If the weather permits, Loveland's target opening date for the 2026-27 season is between late October and early November. Last season, the resort opened on November 8th, less than a month away from now! 

“The other day, Bobby had all of his peers here from across the industry, and they were all talking and supporting one another because at the end of the day, we always have the fun competitiveness against the resorts, but we’re all one team,” said Loveland's Marketing Director, Loryn Roberson. “There are a lot of people who love skiing in Colorado, and I think we’re all stronger when we work together.”