This Colorado Epic Flagship Is Selling Lift Tickets for Next Week

Keystone has not named its 2026-27 opening day, but the Summit County Epic Pass flagship is already selling lift tickets for Saturday, October 24. An adult day ticket that date costs $124 online, $37 less than the same-day window price of $161. A child ticket for ages 5 to 12 is $81. SnowBrains checked neighboring ticket calendars on Tuesday and found no other usual early-open Colorado rival listing a date before November 1.

Vail Resorts has said Keystone will open "as soon as possible in October," chasing a second straight first-in-North-America opening after the resort spun lifts on October 25, 2025. Last year's afternoon opener ran 3 to 6 p.m. on Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon. Arapahoe Basin opened one day later. Keystone communications manager Sarah Mclear told SnowBrains last fall that the resort may not know opening day "until maybe 24 hours in advance, maybe even less." A ticket date is not an opening announcement, but it is the clearest public signal yet that October 24 is on the table.

What the ticket page actually shows

Keystone says it limits tickets each day and that popular dates can sell out. Buyers can request a refund for unused days before 5 p.m. on the last day of their ticket. A countdown on the page says the lowest Oct. 24 price runs through October 17. That gives destination skiers a short window to lock a cheaper day rate if they are willing to gamble on weather cooperating.

For context, SnowBrains' Tuesday store check put Arapahoe Basin's first listed date at Sunday, November 1 ($88 online), Breckenridge at its announced Friday, November 6 opener ($153), Winter Park at Saturday, November 14 ($103), and Loveland at Friday, November 27 ($89). A-Basin marked remaining October dates sold out even though it has not announced an opener. Wolf Creek, which has opened in October five times in the past 20 seasons, was not yet selling day tickets online.

Cold nights, then a warm stretch

SnowBrains Weather called for about 5 inches at Keystone's mid-mountain around Wednesday, October 14, with lows near 26 degrees Wednesday and 17 degrees Thursday near 10,844 feet. Keystone has said crews can make snow at a wet-bulb near 27.5 degrees, with teens working best. The weekend then turns warm and dry, with highs climbing from the mid-40s Friday toward about 51 degrees by Monday, October 19, and little snow in that stretch. Another possible storm around October 20 to 22 still looks uncertain in the models.

Last season, crews started making snow about October 13, 2025, and had only four good snowmaking days before the Oct. 25 open. This year's Oct. 24 ticket date sits one calendar day earlier than that opener and lands on a Saturday, which matters for weekend day-trippers from Denver.

For terrain, lodging, and Epic access details, start with the Keystone resort page and the Epic Pass encyclopedia entry. SnowBrains' ticket reporting is at snowbrains.com.