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Winter Park‘s Mary Jane will ski its last laps Saturday, closing March 28 after one of its shortest seasons on record, the resort announced today. Lifts are closing temporarily at noon on Friday to preserve snow for a proper send-off. The Winter Park side of the resort will continue operating as late as conditions allow, the resort said.
“The last day to ski + ride Mary Jane is TOMORROW (3/28)! 🎉
Mary Jane will be closed at noon for the remainder of today to preserve conditions and set up the best possible final day celebrating the birthday girl. Let’s send her off right — don’t miss your final laps!But don’t worry, Winter Park side will be skiing and riding ALAP!”
– Winter Park social media statement
Mary Jane opened for the season on January 9, just in time to mark its 50th birthday on January 10, resulting in just 78 days of skiing.
Last season, the Winter Park side of the resort closed April 26, while Mary Jane remained open through May 18. While the main Winter Park side typically wraps up operations in late April, Mary Jane has remained open “as late as possible.”
Snowpack levels across Colorado currently sit at approximately 35% of normal compared to previous years, the result of a dry winter that has forced multiple Front Range and Summit County resorts to announce early closures in recent weeks. As of March 24, Winter Park was reporting a 35-inch base depth and 172″ total snowfall, the third highest in Colorado behind Silverton (174″) and Wolf Creek (172″).
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Temperatures at Winter Park have been running in the 50s through this week, leaving conditions generally soft and slushy, according to OpenSnow. A cold front moved through Thursday night into Friday morning, bringing a high only in the 30s and the possibility of a few upper-mountain snowflakes on Friday before temperatures rebounded to the mid-40s Saturday. Forecasters expect highs in the 40s to persist through the final days of March, with potential storm systems arriving around April 1 and again April 4-5, but too late to extend Mary Jane’s run this year.
Mary Jane opened to the public on January 10, 1976, during what was considered one of the largest ski-area expansions of its time, adding 18 new trails and 350 acres of rugged terrain, doubling the resort’s footprint, writes Denver7.
Saturday’s closing day will begin with normal morning operations. The resort did not announce specific closing-day events beyond the general call to “send her off right.”
The Winter Park side, meanwhile, will carry the season forward into April with Spring Bash + Splash, a free, three-weekend festival running through April 12. The first weekend, March 28, features TheBigWonderful Beerfest & Bluegrass, pairing live Colorado bluegrass with a beer festival drawing more than 20 breweries and an artisan craft market, alongside the Ski for NSCD fundraiser benefiting the National Sports Center for the Disabled. Weekend two, April 4, brings the family-friendly Poker Run, where guests collect a hand of cards across the mountain and compete for cash prizes. The series closes April 11 and 12 with the Bucket Banked Slalom snowboard race and silent auction benefiting the Grand Foundation’s H.O.P.E. Fund, the High Fives Retro Shred-A-Thon raising money for athletes who have suffered life-changing injuries, and the Meltdown Rail Jam, a terrain park competition on a custom-built course with a $500 prize on the line.
