Crested Butte Mountain Resort spreads 1,547 acres across Mount Crested Butte, from gentle base-area runs to some of the steepest lift-served terrain in North America, and on November 25, 2026 it opens for its 65th winter.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1961 with a single rope tow and a T-bar. Today it runs 15 lifts and 165 trails from a 9,375-foot base to a 12,162-foot summit, and it averages about 236 inches of snow a year. About 300 acres get help from snowmaking, and crews groom roughly 500 acres a night. The longest run is about 2.6 miles, from the hike-to peak of Mount Crested Butte down to the bottom of the East River lift.

The resort calls itself the North American birthplace of in-bounds extreme skiing, and the numbers back it up: more than 561 acres are rated double-black, with famous steeps off the North Face and High Lift T-bars. That still leaves plenty for everyone else, since 14% of the mountain is beginner terrain and about a quarter is intermediate. After skiing, the base village in Mt. Crested Butte has lodging, rentals and dining, and the free Mountain Express bus runs down to the old mining town of Crested Butte for dinner on Elk Avenue.

Insider tip: Opening day is November 25, 2026, the day before Thanksgiving, with first chair at 9 a.m. Early-season terrain depends on snowmaking and weather, and the Red Lady Express is expected to be the first lift spinning. Buy an Epic Pass or lift tickets ahead at skicb.com, because window prices are the most expensive way to ski, and leave the car in town and ride the free bus on holiday weekends.

CBMR kicked off snowmaking in late October and is scheduled to open for the 2026/27 season on Wednesday, November 25, 2026 at 9 a.m., conditions permitting. Opening day brings complimentary hot cocoa, music from DJ MIJO and a limited-edition opening day poster for the resort’s 65th birthday. The CB Nordic Center plans to open November 14. Check skicb.com for the opening lift and run list.