Aspen Snowmass kept about 85% of stored snow through a hot summer

Aspen Snowmass piled snow in April and covered it with insulated blankets, then checked what was left after a dry winter and a summer that broke drought records. The Colorado Sun reported on October 7, 2026, that about 85% of the volume stored at Snowmass was still there when the covers came off, and about 84% remained at Buttermilk, counting melt and the pile compressing under its own weight. The company estimates the saved snow would have taken about 3.5 million gallons of water to manufacture.

Last weekend the resort opened the Makaha Terrain Park on roughly 300 feet of that stored snow, a rare early-October ski day. Chris Miller, a senior vice president at Aspen One, said the resort has already bought more blankets. At a larger scale, he said, storing snow could mean fewer early-season snowmaking hours, and less water and energy to get terrain ready.