Having spent most of my adult life in ski towns and on the Front Range of Colorado, announcements like this are what I’ve always based my calendar, and really my entire winter, around each year for more than three decades. Alterra Mountain Company dropped its Ikon Pass schedule for 2026-27 last week, with confirmed opening days across North America, Asia and Europe, including six Colorado resorts on the pass.
Snow has already fallen in the high country, from Crystal Mountain in Washington to Big Sky in Montana to SkiBig3 in Canada, according to Alterra.
Copper Mountain holds the first confirmed Ikon opening date in North America, on Nov. 6, but the early days there are mostly for ski race teams getting their first U.S.-based training in for the season. Copper bills itself as the Athletes Mountain, and its early season goes to U.S. Ski Team speed training before the general public, with the Stifel Copper Cup World Cup races on Nov. 28 and 29. Eldora follows on Nov. 13, then Steamboat on Nov. 21, and Aspen Mountain and Snowmass on Nov. 26. Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk round out the Aspen four on Dec. 12. Arapahoe Basin and Winter Park have not locked in dates yet.
The real race to be first open in Colorado is not on this calendar yet. It is the annual duel between Arapahoe Basin and Loveland along Interstate 70, a contest that usually settles in October, weeks before Copper turns a public lift. A-Basin is the Ikon side of that rivalry. Loveland still skis independent of any pass except the Colorado Gems, and Keystone (Vail/Epic) has also pushed into the race in recent years. The change I am watching most closely is at the Ikon base tier. New for this season, Ikon Base Pass holders get unlimited access to Arapahoe Basin and five days at Snowmass, both in Colorado.
There is also real news on the hills themselves this season. Aspen Mountain retires its Bell Mountain and Little Nell lifts for the new Nell Bell high-speed quad, which runs from Gondola Plaza to the top of Bell Mountain and its terrain. At Snowmass, the Ullrhof reopens after a $42 million rebuild as Aspen Snowmass’s first all-electric on-mountain restaurant, with more than double its former seating. Steamboat raised the base of Maverick’s Halfpipe using excavated fill from its Stockman Hotel project so the pipe can open earlier, and Copper is another season into a mountain-wide snowmaking overhaul.
Two Colorado institutions are turning 80. Arapahoe Basin marks the milestone with $80 lift tickets, free skiing for anyone who is 80, and a run of throwback events built around its no-frills, community ethos. And Aspen Snowmass celebrates eight decades of its own this season, with discounted tickets on Dec. 14 to mark the occassion.
Outside Colorado, the Western majors bunch up around Thanksgiving. Utah’s Alta and Solitude open Nov. 20, followed by Palisades Tahoe and Big Sky on Nov. 25, and Jackson Hole, Snowbird and Snowbasin on Nov. 27. Mammoth opens Nov. 13, the same day as Eldora. In New England, Sunday River gets going Nov. 15 and Stratton Nov. 18, while Deer Valley and Revelstoke both wait until Dec. 5. Killington and the SkiBig3 resorts in Alberta are among those still to be announced.
Beyond the Front Range and the I-70 corridor, Ikon added four North American destinations for 2026-27, including SilverStar Mountain in British Columbia, Snowriver Mountain Resort in Michigan, Lutsen Mountains in Minnesota and Granite Peak in Wisconsin. The pass also picked up new bonus mountains at Devil’s Head in Wisconsin, Tamarack in Idaho, Giants Ridge in Minnesota, Caberfae Peaks in Michigan and Snowy Range in Wyoming. In Asia, Madarao Mountain Resort in Japan and Beidahu Ski Resort and Lake Songhua Resort in China joined the roster.
Ikon Pass comes from Alterra Mountain Company, the Denver-based operator that also owns Steamboat, Winter Park and Arapahoe Basin here in Colorado, along with Palisades Tahoe, Mammoth, Crystal Mountain, Deer Valley and the world’s leading heli-skiing operations at CMH and Mike Wiegele. The pass unlocks more than 70 destinations across the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
For anyone chasing an early turn overseas, the season opens well before Copper spins. In Europe, St. Moritz’s Diavolezza glacier is first up on Oct. 17, with Zermatt following on Nov. 1. In Asia, Beidahu in China opens Oct. 25.
The main wave hits at the end of November. In the Alps, Ischgl opens Nov. 26, and a large cluster including Dolomiti Superski, Kitzbühel, Chamonix Mont-Blanc and Courmayeur Mont Blanc opens Nov. 28. Japan runs on the same clock, with the Niseko United resorts, Furano and NEKOMA Mountain all opening Nov. 28.
The Ikon Pass is on sale now at ikonpass.com, and the current rates hold only through Oct. 8 before they climb. NOAA is forecasting a very strong, possibly historic El Niño this winter. Colorado’s lifts start turning in about seven weeks.
Lead image courtesy of Winter Park Resort.
