Despite Breckenridge Ski Resort’s Sunday, April 19, closing day, the resort has announced that it will reopen Peak 8 for one day on Saturday, April 25, for the Peaks and Beats event. The one-day reopening will include skiing and riding off the Colorado Chair with access to Middle 4 O’Clock to Freeway and Park Lane, a small terrain park on Freeway, a free lunch for the first 500 Epic pass holders, free music all day and the Gold Runner coaster running. Jorts, bikini tops and tropical looks are encouraged.

Live music will include Sunny Side Up from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Gravagerz from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Nimino from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The vendor village will be open from 1-6 p.m.

Free parking will be available in the North and South Gondola lots and the BreckConnect Gondola will spin from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for transfers between town and Peak 8.

The last Summit County ski resort to announce its closing day, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, will end its season Sunday, May 3, according to a news release.

The resort’s season will have lasted 194 days, which the release stated is the longest this season in Colorado, “even in a historically low snowpack year.” A-Basin was the second resort to open in Summit County this season after Keystone Resort announced its opening day-of to get ahead of A-Basin.

To celebrate its closing, A-Basin will offer $39 lift tickets starting Monday, April 27. It will also have beer specials at 6th Alley all weekend and live music May 2-3 with Moonstone Quill and Don Fuego playing Saturday and Sunday, respectively, from noon to 3 p.m.

The resort normally has several themed skiing days in May, including a swimwear day, a denim day and a Star Wars day on May 4. With the slopes closing earlier than normal, the release stated riders are invited to join “one giant party” on closing day.

A-Basin will tie Copper Mountain Resort for the latest closing in Summit County this year, as Copper, originally slated to close April 26, announced last week it has extended its season through May 3.

Loveland Ski Area will close for the 2025-26 season on Sunday, April 26, according to a news release.

Closing weekend will be full of celebrations, including the 25th Annual Corn Harvest Benefit Ski Party on Saturday, April 25. The party will be all day, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and will include a barbecue lunch, refreshments, a raffle and live music.

Guests are encouraged to preregister in advance at SkiLoveland.com.

Mark Morris and the Rope Duckers will play at the base area from 2-5:30 p.m. both days. On-Mountain music will be at Ptarmigan Roost Cabin from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm. both days.

Loveland is still offering more than 500 acres of terrain, including 41 open trails and four lifts.

Coloradans who look up at the night sky this Earth Day could catch a glimpse of two celestial phenomena.

Colorado astronomy guide Mark Laurin said that the holiday on Wednesday, April 22, will be “book ended” by cosmic occurrences: A planetary conjunction before dawn and a meteor shower after dusk. Both phenomenon can be viewed for a period of time after Earth Day, as well.

“The cosmos and the solar system gives us a point of reference to see ourselves as part of a much bigger system,” Laurin said. “On Earth Day, we see ourselves in relation to the cosmos. We see that we are part of something and Earth is something worth protecting.”

A member of the Denver Astronomical Society and the Astronomical League, Laurin is also an adjunct instructor with Keystone Science School. He leads astronomy and stargazing events in Colorado under the nickname Astro Mark.

Laurin noted that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Artemis II mission that circumnavigated the moon earlier this month has renewed American’s interest in our solar system and outer space. Astronauts trained for the Artemis II mission in northwestern Colorado in the months leading up to the April 1 launch.

Artemis II was the first human-crewed flight since the agency’s first lunar program, Apollo, had its last flight 56 years ago. The modern lunar mission captured high-resolution photos of the Earth that harkened back to famous photos of Earth taken by the Apollo missions more than half a century ago.

The “Earthrise” photo taken by Apollo 8 on Dec. 24, 1968 is often credited with sparking the modern environmental movement and leading to the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, according to the nonprofit Earth Day Network.

While NASA has framed the Artemis II mission as a “crucial step toward eventually sending crews on to Mars,” Laurin said that this Earth Day should serve as a reminder that this is the only planet we have.

He suggested reflecting on the importance of protecting our home planet, while watching neighboring planets rise above the horizon in the morning, then watching the debris of a centuries-old comet burn up as shooting stars in the atmosphere.

“Why are we so enamored with going and colonizing another planet? Because we’re afraid of destroying the one we’ve got,” Laurin said. “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just take care of our home and address the issues here?”

Here’s how to witness the planetary conjunction and meteor shower on Earth Day:

Planetary conjunction

A planetary conjunction is an astronomical event where two or more planets appear close together in the night sky, as observed from Earth. 

The parade of planets will be visible before dawn everyday through about April 23. Mars, Saturn and Mercury will be visible to the naked eye close together, Laurin said, and Neptune will also be visible but only with binoculars or a telescope.

“Get up with your morning coffee and just watch them rise,” Laurin said. 

To spot the planetary conjunction, look toward the eastern horizon just before sunrise, Laurin said. Since the mountains tend to block part of the horizon in Colorado, he suggested looking for the conjunction around 6:30 a.m., when the planets should be high enough off the horizon to be visible.

Mars, which will be a soft pinkish-red color, will be the easiest to spot as it will hug the eastern horizon, Laurin said. Mars will form a triangle with Mercury, which will appear with a faint peach or pinkish-white color, and Saturn, which will be a muted gold or soft yellow color, he said. Unlike stars, planets don’t twinkle but instead shine with a steady light.

Using binoculars, Neptune will also be visible as part of the conjunction. Laurin said Neptune will be along the same line as Mercury and Saturn, but further to the observers’ right side of the sky. Neptune will be pale blue in color.

Lyrids Meteor Shower

The Lyrids Meteor Shower will peak on the night of April 22 and continue through April 29. 

Unfortunately, Laurin noted that some of the weaker meteors that occur during the shower will be washed out by light of Jupiter and the moon, which will be about one-quarter full. Still, he estimated that stargazers could see up to 10 shooting stars per hour.

“The moon and Jupiter are going to wash out some of the dimmer meteor showers,” Laurin said, “but the fire balls, the long streakmakers, the bullseyes, those you’ll be able to see.”

A meteor shower is caused by debris that is left over from a comet that passed Earth, often centuries ago, Laurin said. As Earth rotates in its orbit around the sun, it passes through that debris and small particles of ice and dust burn up in the atmosphere, creating shooting stars, he said.

The Lyrids Meteor Shower is caused by debris from Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, a long-period comet that orbits the sun every 415 years, according to NASA. Humans have observed the meteor shower caused by this comet for nearly 2,700 years.

To view the meteor shower, stargazers should look toward the northeast to find the radiant point, or the point from which the meteors appear to emanate from anytime after sunset on April 22, Laurin said. He suggested scanning the sky to the north for meteors, while looking away from the moon to minimize the impact of its light.

The best views of the meteor shower may be in the early morning hours of April 23, between roughly 3 to 4 a.m. when the moon has set, Laurin said. 

“That’s what astronomy and looking at the night sky does for me, it just reminds me of my place in the universe,” Laurin said. “It’s an important place. I’m part of the universe, but in (relation) to the universe, I’m just one small grain of sand hitting the atmosphere and burning up in a meteor shower.”

Despite a snow storm Tuesday, April 14, the Summit High School track and field team traveled to Edwards for the Battle Mountain Invitational. Tuesday’s gathering was the first time Summit has competed at the Battle Mountain meet in several years due to the meet being scheduled during Summit’s spring break, according to head coach Michael Hagen.

The team arrived at the track to find snowy and blustery conditions, and both sprinters and distance runners found factors working for and against them, according to Hagen. For the sprinters, the high elevation and thinner air enabled fast times, although the cold temperatures made muscles colder and stiffer.

The cold temperatures were ideal for the distance runners, but they had to deal with the highest-elevation competition this year.

Nineteen Summit athletes set new personal bests, with Grace Klein (100 meter and 300 meter hurdles) and Seth Montgomery (100 meter and 200 meter dash) doing it twice.

Summit was victorious in seven individual events and two relays. 

Avery Russer (100 meter and 300 meter hurdles) and Carter Niemkiewicz (800 meter and 1,600 meter runs) doubled. Kayla Broecker was victorious in her first high school 1,600‑meter run. Avery Thisted and Connor Erwin also earned their first high school victories in the long jump and 100 meter dash respectively. The girls 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter relay teams were also victorious, according to Hagen.

Summit dominated several events, including the girls 1,600 meter, where they placed five athletes in the top seven: Kayla Broecker in first, Leah Noble in second, Lily Benbow in fourth, Lucia Templeton in sixth and Maeve Niemkiewicz in seventh. Avery Russer, Norah Kuffner and Grace Klein went first, third and sixth in the 100 meter hurdles, respectively. Carter Niemkiewicz and Cooper Levi swept the first two spots in the 1,600 meter. Tyler Susic and Malachi Love were second and fifth in the 300 meter hurdles.

The Tigers then went on to compete Randall Hess Roughrider Invitational at Roosevelt High School in Johnstown on Saturday, April 18.

Jay McDonald’s school-record time in the 800 meter, along with likely state qualifying times by the boys’ 4×400 meter relay, Leah Noble in the 400 and Lily Benbow in the 3,200 meter run highlighted the competition at Roosevelt High School’s fast track.

Summit had a near 90% rate of new personal bests in Johnstown, according to Hagen, while facing stiff competition. Margo Thompson ran a new personal best in the 100 meter, and both Norah Kuffner and Grace Klein did the same in the 100 meter hurdles.

Leah Noble’s time of 58.93 in the 400 meter is a likely state-qualifying time and is ranked 31st in Colorado, according to Hagen. Jay McDonald ran the 800 meter in 1:51.53 — the No. 1 time in Colorado, breaking 2014 state runner-up Liam Meirow’s former school record. Lukas Remeikis’ 1:57.44 is ranked 28th in Colorado. Lily Benbow had her sights set on a state qualifying time in the 3,200 meter run. She achieved that with a time of 11:23.73 that also moves her up the Summit all-time list to fourth.

The boys’ 4×400-meter relay may have also run a state qualifying time. Wrapping up the evening, Wentzle Schotts, Carter Niemkiewicz, Connor Erwin and Jay McDonald ran 3:28.67, faster than the qualifying time last year.

The New Worlds halfpipe competition was held at Breckenridge Ski Resort on Saturday, April 18. The new competition, intended as an ode to snowboarding’s pioneer years, celebrated the 40th anniversary of one of the most pivotal moments in snowboarding history: the 1986 World Snowboard Classic.

Besides the current conundrum about the usefulness of owning a gasoline-powered vehicle of any sort, an emerging, less-volatile pre-war issue saw two other camps face off against each other: Button people and screen people.

The Tesla phenomenon of all-screen, no buttons, quickly impacted wide swaths of the automotive industry as physical controls became gauche and old-fashioned to Tesla-styled drivers. 

But consumers, who are not all universally touchscreen fans, have barked back, and many brands said they would work to once again include physical controls – often just as simple as a cotton-pickin’ volume knob – rather than force drivers to rely on learning and using slippery touchscreens for important functions.

Mazda, in what might be a surprising move, has gone the exact opposite direction with the new 2026 version of the popular CX-5 crossover. Externally, and under the hood, there’s not a gigantic difference between the 2026 and the previous generation of Mazda’s sprightly, not-too-big-or-small SUV, especially if you get one colored in eye-searing, nail polish-styled Soul Crystal Red Metallic paint. Yes, it’s now 4.5 inches longer overall, but you’d hardly notice on first glance, or drive.

Set yourself inside the cabin and, wow, things have certainly changed, however. Rather than the swirly input knob we’d taken for granted for years — or even the left-hand-drive-oriented volume knob — the 2026 CX-5 moves 95% of its controls onto a horizontally oriented touchscreen, with a Google operating system.

In the $41,000 2.5 S Premium Plus model I drove, that was an optional, semi-gigantic 15.6-inch color display (or 12.9 inches on lower models) that commands a whole lot of real estate on the dash. It’s also critical for absolutely every function on a vehicle that seems like it sure has been set up for a full-self-driving future that isn’t quite here yet.

Even more than, say, Range Rover, you’ll have to get a precocious five-year-old to teach you all of the on-screen clicks, pinches and swipes you’ll need to adjust the temperature and volume. Don’t just go into it blind on a first drive, as I did — it’s not going to make a lot of sense at first, especially while behind the wheel.

Get more ambitious about the CX-5’s literal litany of controls and you’ll discover what are more than three dozen safety and security system settings. The 10.25-inch digital instrument panel shows maybe 40 potential warnings when you start up, along with some soothing but ominous musical tones.

Principally, and while it does not offer next-generation self-driving — yet — both the instrument screen and the giant central touchscreen show the road you’re driving and sort of ghostly, dancing images of nearby traffic, much the same as new Audis or even much more expensive Rivian EVs. Proactive features such as lane-change assist and even automatic speed reduction on curves — a la Toyota and Lexus — are also included, as is a driver-monitoring system to make sure you’re actually behind the wheel while driving. 

This all seemed like overkill in a vehicle that’s still supposed to be a reasonably scaled, fun-to-drive family vehicle, with a single, carryover 187-hp 2.5-liter engine choice and standard all-wheel drive, and a $30,000 base price. 

As noted in Motor Trend’s review of the car, the other curiosity is that the relatively considerable areas of now button-free console (you still do get a very, very tiny set of defrost buttons, hidden between the air vents) are finished in a slightly less-than-appealing plastic — seemingly at odds with the premium look of the tan, leather-trimmed interior everywhere else. 

I mention all of this because you’re going to be spending a lot more time looking at those features (thank goodness there’s still a bunch of actual buttons on the steering wheel) than you will outside the car, so it’s something to consider.

Otherwise, the 2026 hasn’t vastly changed the CX-5’s driving character. Power is of a just-right scale here, and also means up to 30 mpg on the highway. You’ll find the driving feel of a moderately sporty stature – the slightly lower-profile CX-50 may be a little more engaging.

In working with Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Mikaël Kingsbury, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail mogul program director Freddy Mooney has witnessed Olympic gold-level discipline firsthand.

And yet, Kayla Broecker‘s dual commitment to skiing and distance running is still a little eye-opening.

“Any time we’re in a hotel room and we had two hours in the morning before departing to go somewhere, I go sneak in workouts and she’d be on the treadmill,” Mooney said of his 14-year-old pupil. “Or I’m driving to the grocery store and she’s running down the road next to the houses where we’re staying. She found ways to continue her training for running.”

A couple weeks after posting a pair of top-25 finishes at U.S. Moguls Freestyle national championships in Palisades Tahoe, California, Broecker broke a talented field to win the 1,600-meter run at the Husky Invitational by 18 seconds. On a cold Tuesday afternoon, the Summit freshman went wire-to-wire in 5 minutes, 14.74 seconds. Just for context — her solo effort at altitude was just 10 seconds shy of the program freshmen mile record set by former state cross-country, track and nordic ski state champion and current CU runner, Ella Hagen.

“I was just like, oh have fun with this, you’re just a freshman — you have other opportunities and chances to get better at the sport,” Broecker said of her mindset. After bursting onto the statewide scene when she finished second by 0.5 seconds at the 4A state cross-country meet last November, Broeker is poised to contend in both the 3,200 and 1,600 meter runs at Jeffco Stadium this May. Given the physiological demands of a mogul ski run more closely mimic the 100-meter dash, it’s a pretty rare pairing.

“Moguls helps me work different muscles which also can help me in running,” she said. “I kind of use both to make me better at (each) sport.”

During the winter, Broecker said she cross trains on the bike or in the pool on high-volume ski days. When the mogul sessions are shorter, she runs longer. While running is her favorite sport, the SSCV FIS team member was thrilled about her progress on snow, too.

“I started doing back tucks, I made nationals, so I was super proud about that,” she stated.

In Tuesday’s race, Broecker clipped off her goal pace of 78 seconds a lap with metronomic precision. When she came through the halfway point, she had a two-second lead on another skier who likes to run far: Eden DeMino.

The Battle Mountain sophomore, who won the Colorado state slalom title in February and was fifth in state cross-country as a sophomore, boldly tracked Broeker. Always a gutsy competitor, DeMino said her objective was to hang on for as long as she could.

“I know she does skiing, too,” DeMino said of Broecker. “I haven’t like, looked at times or anything, so I don’t know how fast she’s going, but it’s definitely in mind. I was just trying to see what I can do.”

Fifty yards behind DeMino, a group of four Summit athletes flanked fellow Husky Caroline Provencher. Provencher is pulling off another wild dual sport assignment this spring, squeezing in workouts whenever she’s not scoring goals for the No. 1-ranked Battle Mountain girls lacrosse squad. Tuesday’s fifth-place finish was her first mile “in a while.”

“It was good to get back. It felt a little bit like cross-county, especially going up against Summit,” Provencher said after running 5:45.25. “It was good to see them again and have a competitive race.”

Summit’s Leah Noble and Lily Benbow surged after DeMino on the final curve. With 100 to go, Noble took off, catching DeMino at the line to take second in 5:32.89 to the Husky runner’s 5:33.01. Broecker crossed the line alone.

“I was kind of just hoping to see where I’d place and compete with these girls,” she said.

A conversation with Broeker reveals a serious but smily, humble yet bold racer. Mooney said his pupil “speaks with her athletic achievements and is very quiet other than that.”

“She’s reserved,” he said. “But on the inside, she’s totally a driven athlete.”

This story is from VailDaily.com.

On the same day Copper Mountain Resort announced it will stay open into May, Breckenridge Ski Resort announced it will close this Sunday, April 19.

A Facebook post from Breckenridge stated the resort is “melting down,” but it plans to close with a bang and a few inches of late-season snow in the forecast this weekend. The resort will host its New Worlds halfpipe competition April 18-19 and will have free parking for everyone starting April 18.

On April 25, Breckenridge will have its Peaks and Beats party. While the slopes will be closed, the event will feature a free concert, a barbecue for passholders and more.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct that Copper Mountain will have $49 lift tickets for the final week of the season.

Copper Mountain Resort announced Thursday, April 16, that it has moved its closing day from April 26 to May 3.

A news release from the resort stated this is the fourth-straight season Copper will have stayed open into May. The resort’s high elevation and north-facing slope helped preserve enough snow to make the extension possible, despite the lack of snow this season, according to the release. It also stated that the areas that will remain open have a strong base thanks to early-season snowmaking.

Late-season storms and cooler forecast weather in coming weeks also factored into the decision, the release stated.

Copper will have a Party Laps event May 1 to celebrate the extension. Anyone with lift access can join the after-hours event for laps on the American Eagle and Excelerator chairlifts from 4-7 p.m. Aerie food hall will have food and drinks as well as a DJ at the top of American Eagle.

The resort will have $49 lift tickets for the final week of the season, according to the release. Interior parking lots, excluding the Ten Mile and Flyer lots, will be free starting April 27, but there will be no shuttle services.

The Skimmy Dippers Pond Skim will still take place Sunday, April 26, which had been the scheduled closing date.