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Breckenridge to end season with a 73 inch base

April 24, 2016

Breckenridge will end the season Sunday with a whopping 73-inch base. And for a resort that averages 360 inches per year, ending the season with a total of 358 inches is about as close to the average as you can get. 

The snowfall came both early in the season and late in the season, making for a perfect season. Anyone who owns a business in town will tell you "give me the early season snow or give me none at all." That's because a lot of snow before Christmas and New Year's sets the mountain up nicely for those holidays, and gives the town some good early season promotion when there's pics from a powder day or two making it to social media and the local news stations. February saw very little snow after a snowy Nov-Jan, and then the snow picked back up again in March and April. 

 

 

The final weekend is here! #Breck

A photo posted by Breckenridge Ski Resort (@breckenridgemtn) on

Late season snowfall has its own advantage. A nice base for the closing weeks and, specifically, closing day, creates the slushy fun conditions that people associate with the late season in Colorado. Nobody wants to see a mountain full of brown during closing week. And that's certainly not the case this year, as Breckenridge is boasting a 73 inch base heading in to closing day.

Breckenridge defines their base depths as the level of snow outside the influence of the settlement cone, or about 2 feet from the stake that records the amount of snow on the ground at a specific site on the mountain. Base readings are always much lower than the total amount of snow that has fallen over the season due to settlement, melting, and sublimation -- anything over 60 would be considered a good base, and a 73 inch base for closing day is certainly great!  

So as you look back on the 2015-16 season in Breckenridge, you can look at the total amount of snowfall and say wow, that's almost exactly the average. But think back to this season in detail, and you'll remember that snow falling at the perfect times -- early season and late season. 

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