Warm Temperatures Delay Season Opening at Beaver Creek, CO, as Snow Control for World Cup Races Is Pushed Back

[UPDATED: 5:17 p.m. MST November 24, 2025]

Beaver Creek Resort, Colorado, announced today, November 24, that it will delay its 2025-26 season opening, citing persistent warm temperatures at the mountain’s lowest elevations.

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In a statement posted on social media, the resort said Opening Day will be pushed back until it can guarantee “a quality experience for all skiers and riders.” Thanksgiving visitors will still find a full slate of village events, including the daily 3 p.m. Cookie Time, the Beaver Creek Cookie Competition, the Tree Lighting & Ice Spectacular, ice skating, and the Signature Holiday Market. A new opening date has not yet been confirmed. Guests who have booked to ski at Beaver Creek on Thanksgiving Weekend can make use of a free shuttle to Vail Mountain.

The delay adds further uncertainty to the men’s World Cup speed races scheduled for December 4–7  on Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey course. According to Austrian newspaper Krone, the official FIS snow control which was scheduled for Friday, November 21 and is normally conducted 10 days before the downhill start, has been postponed. Under current conditions, the Austrian newspaper states, it has not been possible to hold the four planned competitions. The resort passed the snow control earlier today.

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Snow control is FIS’s system for determining whether a race venue has enough snow to safely hold competition, and a postponement typically signals insufficient coverage on key sections of the track. For speed events such as downhill and super-G, snow control occurs 10 days before the official racing day; for technical races, it takes place 7 days prior. Officials from FIS ski the slope together with members of the Local Organization Committee (LOC) with a drill in hand, measuring snow depth across multiple points to ensure consistency, coverage, and safety.With warm temperatures reducing snowmaking windows and limiting progress on course preparation, the timeline for getting Birds of Prey ready has become increasingly compressed.

• Related: Copper Mountain, CO, Passes Snow Control, Clearing the Way for Thanksgiving World Cup Races

By the skin of its teeth, the iconic Beaver Creek venue will be able to on cold weather and its snowmaking capacity to get the race course ready for racing. Then showtime on December 4 as the legendary ski racing World Cup kicks off in Colorado.