Slushy snow, sunny skies greet Closing Day skiers at Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek shut down its lifts for the spring on Sunday amid 70-degree temperatures at the base village, where party-goers put a cap on the resort’s 44th season.

Good snow conditions greeted skiers on the mountain; Beaver Creek boasted a 61-inch base on Closing Day following 287 inches of cumulative snow this season.

Local Larry Castruita said he got out in the morning and found firm snow on top of the mountain.

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“I was extremely impressed with the conditions,” he said. “Everything that was man-made and had been groomed, which is almost all of Centennial top to bottom was just phenomenal.”

Later in the afternoon, as temperatures got warmer and the snow got softer, locals said they enjoyed the slushy conditions.

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Edwards resident Parker Herring said he’s been skiing Beaver Creek his whole life and found this year to be a proper Closing Day.

“I’ve had so many Closing Days where there’s been a foot of fresh snow and I’m like ‘this just isn’t right,'” he said. “It’s been a weird season. We’re at above-average snowpack, it’s just that the weather has been so warm.”

Beaver Creek claims an average annual snowfall of 323 inches, and while the mountain saw less than 90% of that average this year, several late-season storms have pushed the current snowpack to 122% of the 30-year average, as recorded by the USGS snow water equivalent site at Beaver Creek Village.

Will Winterberg, visiting from the Front Range, said it was only his second-ever ski day at Beaver Creek, and he encountered two completely different experiences each time.

“Last time we came it was icy, so this was a vastly different scenario,” he said.

Winterberg and Herring were among many costumed guests enjoying Beaver Creek’s final day of operation. Herring wore a Ricky Bobby Wonder Bread one-piece ski suit, and Winterberg strapped a printed cloth resembling monarch butterfly wings to the back and sleeves of his jacket, which created a cape that flapped in the breeze as he zoomed down the mountain.

Winterberg was joined by friends Yunseo Lee, Penguin Lin, Cody McLemore and Katelyn Wojan, also visiting from the Denver area. Wojan and Lee wore pink tutus over their ski pants.

While many were there to show off costumes and party, for others, it was a last chance to get some valuable time on snow. Jessan Loera, who works with SOS Outreach, said he has been trying to get his cousins to become more adept snowboarders, and didn’t want to miss his last opportunity on Sunday.

SOS Outreach is a nonprofit that provides outdoor exploration opportunities to people who otherwise might not have had the chance to enjoy experiences like snowboarding.

Loera’s cousin Angel Ramirez said he had been to Sunlight in Glenwood before, but it was his first time to Beaver Creek.

“The slush makes it easier to fall on,” Loera said. “But you can also catch an edge easier.”

Ross Servan said he and his children Ava, 11, and Owen, 9, got about 30 days on snow this year. They said they did not want to miss Closing Day at Beaver Creek.

“This is our main mountain,” Servan said.

At the base of the mountain, the two-person DJ crew known as Nanotech mixed music while guests enjoyed their last chance to eat or drink at some of their favorite restaurants.

Hooked restaurant says it will do something a little different this year and reopen on May 10, much earlier than usual, offering 44% off the whole menu in honor of Beaver Creek’s 44th season. The special will run from May 10 to May 23.

Beaver Creek’s Patagonia shop had a pop-up tent set up where they were fixing guests’ clothing on the spot.

While Patagonia offers a lifetime warranty on its gear, in the spirit of reuse and getting a long life out of your gear, the repair experts at Patagonia were fixing garments from any brand of clothing, not just Patagonia on Sunday.

After noticing that people were fixing up gear in the pop-up booth in the morning, Castruita went home and got a few items and brought them back to get them mended later in the day.

“I’m a Patagonia loyalist, I’ve got stuff that’s ancient, and they’ll put a new zipper in or whatever and I’ll keep using it,” he said. “I’m gonna wear it until it falls apart.”