By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather staff writer
The Fourth of July may bring to mind fireworks, family barbecues or relaxing by a body of water, but for some diehard winter enthusiasts, it's an opportunity to take advantage of an extended ski season.
Many ski areas around the country have long since transitioned to summer adventure activities, but thanks to a winter season that delivered robust snowfall totals, at least four ski resorts have deep enough snow to keep several slopes open on Independence Day.
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in Dillon, Colorado; Timberline Lodge and Ski Area in Timberline Lodge, Oregon; Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, California; and Squaw Valley in Olympic Valley, California, all have announced plans to welcome skiers and riders on the holiday.
(Photo/ Arapahoe Basin, Ian Zinner)
While July Fourth will mark the closing date for the ski season at Arapahoe, Squaw Valley will conclude skiing and snowboarding opportunities this weekend.
Alex Spychalsky, public relations coordinator for Squaw Valley, told AccuWeather this will be the sixth time the mountain has stayed open until July 4 in its history and the second time in the past three years.
"We usually target Memorial Day as our closing day; it's a real treat when we can stay open for the Fourth of July," she said, adding that they opened back in November.
Draped with an American flag, Kate Kunkel takes a break from skiing at Squaw Valley Ski Resort, Saturday, July 1, 2017, in Squaw Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The mountain received 719 inches of snow, making it their third snowiest season on record, according to Spychalsky. The biggest snowfall total in the resort's history was 810 inches, back in 2010-2011.
Almost half of that occurred in February alone, when a monthly total of 315 inches fell.
Despite the change to warmer weather, crews at Squaw Valley have been able to operate the schedule they anticipated.
Just in the past week, a recent cold snap helped preserve the remaining snow, allowing for "phenomenal" conditions this past weekend, according to Spychalsky.
"It's very infrequent [to be open July 4], so it's really a fun experience to be able to be up here in July," she said.
Skiers hit the slopes on the upper mountain at Squaw Valley on June 26, 2019. (Photo/Squaw Valley Ski Resort)
Leigh Hierholzer, director of
"We’ve had an average snowfall year this season, coming in around 340 inches," she said. "The reason we are able to stay open late this year is because of the excessive snowfall received in March and the colder-than-average temperatures (about 10 degrees lower) in May."
Arapahoe Basin opened in October and is typically the first in Colorado to begin operations for the season.
Hierholzer said they have more trails open now than they did back at the start of the season. Skiing conditions remain "very good" at the summit, although they are "springlike," she added.
Grooming the snow is more difficult in the warmer months and the A-basin crews have been "snow farming," plowing snow from other areas to pack it on to open runs, to build a stronger base that will last longer.
Hierholzer said the snow has also been rougher on the Snowcats and other grooming equipment.
"The snow has more moisture content than in the fall and is then much heavier," she said.
(Photo/Arapahoe Basin, Ian Zinner)
The opportunities for skiing will persist for at least another month at Mammoth Mountain, which has announced plans to stay open until August.
Lauren Burke, Mammoth Mountain communications manager, told AccuWeather they received over 500 inches at their main lodge, which sits at an elevation of 8,900 feet at the base of the mountain, while over 700 inches were measured at the summit.
While Mammoth received a record amount amount of snow in February, record accumulations were also measured in May. On May 24, snowfall totals surpassed 29 inches for the month, breaking the previous record of 28 inches from 2015.
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"It was pretty crazy actually, seeing in May, our base depth grew," Burke said. "Typically base depth shrinks in May, but not this year. It was cold, it was snowy and it helped us to keep it going until hopefully August."
This is the 15th season Mammoth has been open in July, and it will mark the third time they've hit the August milestone. On the lower portion of the mountain, there is still a couple feet of snow, while about 5-10 feet of snow is coated across the upper mountain, Burke said.
Snow in July is dramatically different from the winter with the Mammoth staff referring to it as "corn snow."
"It's pretty firm in the early mornings, and then as the sun comes out, it softens up throughout the day," Burke said. "We actually open earlier this time of year, so we open at 7:30 a.m. and then close at 1 p.m., so it's a little bit shorter of a day in order to preserve the snow, but it is soft. You can still make turns."
"At the top of the mountain at 11,000 feet, it really holds up well throughout the day."
Summer ski attire is quite different as well with T-shirts and shorts a common sight. Burke said during a particularly warm stretch in June some guests chose to wear their bikini tops.
Timberline Lodge & Ski Area, located near the base of Oregon's Mount Hood, has no plans to close at all this year. The ski area states on its website that it's the only ski area in North America open all 12 months of the year.
John Burton, director of marketing and sales for Timberline, told AccuWeather Fourth of July is the busiest week of the summer with regards to lift ticket sales.
Burton said two chairlifts are in operation servicing several trails as well as a terrain park. To account for the summer warmth, their operating hours were moved earlier in the day to 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"Summer snow at Timberline is a real skiing experience, not just a ribbon of snow," he said.
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