Dave Gibson, Nederland. Well before the sun rose Monday, November 23, 2020, six people sat huddled in their cars awaiting admittance to Eldora Mountain Resort in Nederland. A mixture of Nederlanders, Gilpinites, and Boulderites, they were: Tadija Ilic, Quinn Boutot, Ziggy Aujean, Jean-Luc Pineau, Geoff Lynch, and Summit Lynch. Their reason for arriving at 5 a.m. was simple: to catch the first chairlift up the mountain to kick off this year’s ski season in style. For Ziggy, it was to be the fourth time he would be first on the mountain. For Summit (age 8) it would be his first “first chair.” Having all skied and boarded together in the past, the wait to hit the slopes again was a long one with an early closing last spring due to the coronavirus and a later than usual opening.

With a new reservation system in place limiting the number of people on the hill at any given time, and every conceivable precaution taken to ensure the safety of their guests, the official bell ringer appeared heralding the beginning of the ski season. President and General Manager Brent Tregaski popped the champagne cork to a round of cheers. The highly-anticipated moment had finally arrived as masked skiers and snowboarders eagerly queued up in orderly fashion while maintaining proper distancing.

Alpenglow and Indian Peaks lifts scooped up skiers and riders depositing them at the summit. Intermediate runs Dream and Scream, Around the Horn, LaBelle, Hornblower, International, and Lower Ambush greeted them with 12 inches of perfectly groomed snow and nary a rock in sight. Natural snow and ongoing snowmaking operations promise more terrain being opened in the coming weeks. 

For information about protocol and reservations, go to www.Eldora.com.   

(Originally published in the December 3, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)