Planning a ski season

NOAA now puts the odds of the strongest El Niño ever measured at 69%. Here is what the forecast actually says, and what it could mean for planning your 2026/27 ski season.

Which pass opens which mountain, and what the money actually buys. Epic covers Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte and Park City. Ikon covers a different list entirely. We partner with both, so there is nothing to sell you here.

Opening day is the easy part. The harder question is which weeks go first, and the answer is Christmas through New Year, Presidents' Day weekend and Spring Break, most of them gone before the previous season has finished.