Spring warmth and wind on the slopes as Monarch Mountain closes out the season

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Monarch Mountain is set to close this weekend after four and a half months of riding.

Monarch has continued work this winter on the development of the No Name Basin area. The new lift-serviced expansion will add nearly 400 acres of lift-serviced terrain, increasing the number of runs by 50 percent. It’s expected to open next season.

The final weekend at Monarch will see spring conditions and warmth. Highs will be in the upper forties to low fifties. At Vail, which is projected to close next weekend, highs will be in the 50s, dropping to the 40s Sunday following a cold front.

At the northern resorts where snow has been most plentiful this season, Friday and Saturday will both be single-layer days in the afternoon with some rain and snow showers Sunday and a cool down Sunday.

In addition to Monarch Mountain, Beaver Creek, Cooper, Echo, Silverton, and Aspen Highlands are all set to close after this weekend. Therefore, after this weekend, more than half of all Colorado ski areas will have closed for the season.

It’s been mainly dry in the last week, so base depths have dropped several inches. We’ve seen minor reductions in open terrain at resorts still operating. So far, this is mainly extreme terrain, south-facing terrain, and hike-to terrain, which is not atypical.

Steamboat is the most recent resort to cross the 300-inch mark for the season. If any other resort reaches the mark, it’s most likely to be Loveland. They've still got a ways to go though.

Other than the warmth and snow chance on Sunday, the main thing you’ll notice this weekend is wind.

Friday will be breezy.

Saturday will be windy in the afternoon with gusts between 30 and 50.

KOAA

Sunday will be windiest, with the central mountains seeing gusts above 60 miles per hour above treeline.

Conditions should be classic spring this weekend given the warm temperatures and lack of recent snow.

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