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Colorado - Fri. 04/03/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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7 COLORADO SKI RESORTS WILL CLOSE THIS WEEKEND, LEAVING JUST 7 IN OPERATION
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Colorado’s ski season is rapidly winding down after a winter marked by low snowfall and early terrain closures, with seven more ski areas scheduled to close Sunday, leaving only seven resorts operating statewide. Ten ski areas have already shut down, and those closing this weekend include Wolf Creek, Eldora, Snowmass, Crested Butte, Keystone and Steamboat, while Telluride will briefly reopen Friday before closing for the season Sunday. Terrain availability at most resorts remains limited, with Wolf Creek the lone exception operating about 90 percent of its runs, while others range from roughly one-third open to single-digit percentages.
Recent storms brought meaningful snow to only a few areas, including Crested Butte and Wolf Creek, while most resorts saw minimal accumulation. After Sunday, the remaining open resorts will be Loveland, Aspen Mountain, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Vail, Winter Park and Arapahoe Basin, though several are operating with less than 15 percent of terrain available. Vail and Aspen Mountain are scheduled to close April 19, Copper Mountain is targeting April 26, and the remaining areas plan to stay open as long as conditions allow.
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SPACEX SAID TO FILE CONFIDENTIALLY FOR IPO AHEAD OF AI RIVALS
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SpaceX has filed confidentially for an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company closer to what could become the biggest-ever stock market debut. The company submitted a draft IPO registration to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing it to receive regulatory feedback before publicly disclosing details of the offering. The filing puts SpaceX on track for a potential June listing, which would place it ahead of other anticipated mega-IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.
People familiar with the matter said SpaceX could seek a valuation of more than $1.75 trillion, following its acquisition of Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI in a deal that valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. A listing could raise as much as $75 billion, far exceeding Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion debut in 2019. SpaceX is considering a dual-class share structure that would give insiders additional voting power and may allocate up to 30 percent of the offering to retail investors.
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COLORADO I-70 MOUNTAIN CORRIDOR PROJECT TO IMPACT TRAFFIC FROM GYPSUM TO EAGLE STARTING IN APRIL
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A resurfacing project on Interstate 70 between Gypsum and Eagle is scheduled to begin Monday, April 6, weather permitting, and will affect traffic along an approximately 8-mile stretch of the mountain corridor, according to the Colorado Dept. of Transportation. The project runs from Mile Point 139, just west of Gypsum, to Exit 147 in Eagle and is expected to cause minimal delays, though drivers should expect a reduced speed limit of 55 mph and single-lane closures throughout the summer. Work will include milling and paving asphalt, striping, repairing bridge decks, widening the westbound off-ramp at Exit 147, and replacing guardrails and signs. CDOT said the new guardrails are designed to meet updated safety standards and help keep vehicles on the roadway if they veer off course. The project is intended to provide a smoother driving experience and extend the life of the interstate by about 10 years, with completion expected in the fall.
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OFFICIALS GIVE UPDATE ON STATUS OF INDEPENDENCE PASS
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Independence Pass is not expected to open earlier than usual this spring, despite recent warm temperatures and a relatively low snowpack, according to officials from the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. CDOT and CAIC are continuing to monitor snow conditions, cornices and avalanche risk along the 12,095‑foot stretch of Highway 82, particularly near the Beeler Grade, an area known for avalanche danger. While portions of the road on the east side are already mostly dry, recent storms have added new snow at higher elevations, limiting how much of the roadway can currently be assessed.
CDOT crews have begun preliminary inspections beyond the closure gates but say significant maintenance work remains, including pothole repairs, guardrail fixes, drainage clearing and debris removal. Officials emphasized that safety and infrastructure needs will take priority over opening dates, and the agency continues to plan for a noon opening on the Thursday before Memorial Day, consistent with the typical seasonal schedule. For roadway updates, visit COTrip.org or download the COTrip Planner App.
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SNOWMASS TO CLOSE FOR THE SEASON THIS SUNDAY
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Snowmass will close for skiing and riding for the 2026/27 season on Sunday, April 5, a week earlier than its originally scheduled April 12 closing, based on current conditions. The closure follows earlier season-ending shutdowns at Buttermilk on March 25 and Aspen Highlands on March 29. While recent snowfall was welcomed, SkiCo said it was not enough to maintain terrain and safety standards. Snowmass will mark its final weekend with an end-of-season party at Elk Camp Restaurant on Saturday, April 4, which will be open until 4 p.m., with the last upload on the Elk Camp Gondola at 3:45 p.m. Beginning Monday, April 6, daily lift ticket prices will be reduced to $98 for adults and $81 for teens and children, offering discounted access to what remains of the season on Aspen Mountain. SkiCo said Aspen Mountain will remain open for as long as possible, with the company aiming to keep spring skiing available where conditions allow.
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PITKIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS APPOINT KARA SILBERNAGEL AS COUNTY MANAGER
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Pitkin County commissioners unanimously appointed Kara Silbernagel as county manager during a special meeting Wednesday, formalizing her role after four months as interim manager and 12 years of service with the county. Silbernagel succeeds Jon Peacock, who announced his resignation in November after 15 years in the position. Commissioners praised Silbernagel’s leadership during her interim tenure and highlighted her role in advancing major county initiatives, including securing federal grants tied to the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport modernization project.
Silbernagel began working for the county in 2014 as a Best and Brightest Fellow while completing a master’s degree in regional planning and public administration, later serving as a policy analyst and deputy county manager with work spanning broadband expansion, public health, housing, resiliency and the county’s Vision 2050 comprehensive plan. As county manager, she said her focus will be on guiding large-scale projects in 2026 and 2027, including the airport, landfill, mobile home park acquisition and open space initiatives. Her approved contract includes an annual salary of $284,000.
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DENVER WATER ENACTS AGREEMENT TO TAKE MORE WEST SLOPE WATER FOR LIMITED TIME
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Facing one of the worst snowpack years in roughly 50 years of recordkeeping, Denver Water has enacted a temporary agreement with Xcel Energy allowing it to divert additional water from the Western Slope. On March 18, the Front Range water provider implemented the Shoshone call reduction agreement, cutting the call at the Shoshone hydropower plant in Glenwood Canyon in half, from 1,408 cubic feet per second to 704. The agreement can only be triggered when two drought thresholds are met, including an April to July Colorado River streamflow forecast at or below 85 percent of average and July 1 reservoir storage at or below 80 percent full.
The March forecast for the Colorado headwaters was 56 percent of normal, and Denver Water has declared a Stage 1 Drought with outdoor watering restrictions planned this summer. Under the agreement, which runs through May 20, Denver Water will make 10 percent of the additional water available to Western Slope users in coordination with the Colorado River Water Conservation District, while allowing additional storage in Front Range and Western Slope reservoirs to support late summer flows.
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HOSPITAL HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR ORGAN DONORS AS NEARLY 2,000 COLORADANS AWAIT TRANSPLANT
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Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital raised a white “Donate Life” flag Thursday to mark National Donate Life Month and draw attention to the nearly 2,000 Colorado residents currently waiting for an organ transplant. Hospital leaders and Donor Alliance officials joined liver transplant recipient Linda Seavey to emphasize the life-saving impact of organ, eye and tissue donation and to encourage more Coloradans to register as donors. Seavey shared her story of receiving a liver transplant in 2011 from a 10-year-old donor, crediting the donation with giving her 15 additional years of life.
Hospital officials said St. Mary’s recorded nine organ donors in 2025, benefiting 28 transplant recipients, along with 64 tissue donors that resulted in about 4,800 tissue grafts. Donor Alliance representatives noted that the Donate Life flag is typically flown only when a donation occurs but will remain raised throughout April to honor past donors and raise awareness of the ongoing need for registered donors statewide.
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LA PLATA ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION EXITS TRI-STATE AFTER DECADES-LONG POWER PARTNERSHIP
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La Plata Electric Association officially exited Tri-State Generation and Transmission at midnight Wednesday, ending a wholesale power relationship that began in 1992 and marking what the cooperative’s leadership described as the most significant moment in its history. The transition followed months of regulatory filings and minor infrastructure adjustments rather than a physical switch. The co-op’s board voted in 2024 to leave its long-term contract with Tri-State, which was set to run through 2050, citing lower costs, reduced emissions and greater local control over energy decisions. LPEA, which serves about 37,000 homes and businesses, expects the move to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 20 percent, increasing its decarbonization level from roughly 30 percent under Tri-State to 50 percent as of April 1.
The exit is also projected to reduce wholesale power costs by about 10 percent, despite higher transmission and generation expenses and a nearly $70 million contract termination payment. LPEA plans to invest in local energy resources, expand programs to manage energy use and costs, and strengthen regional cooperation, and will host a member-focused energy forum, CommunityPowerX: The Regional Energy Future Forum, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 23 at the Durango Arts Center, with tickets priced at $5 and reservation fees donated to the LPEA Round Up Foundation.
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MORE THAN 5 MILES OF MANCOS RIVER NOW PROTECTED BY MONTEZUMA LAND CONSERVANCY
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More than five miles of the West Fork of the Mancos River are now permanently protected following the completion of a conservation project by the Montezuma Land Conservancy that began more than two decades ago. The final phase, completed at the end of March, added a 165-acre property to a series of conservation easements that together form a continuous protected corridor along the river, beginning near state-managed land and flowing downstream through privately owned parcels. Landowners along the river voluntarily relinquished development rights, allowing the conservancy to permanently restrict future development and safeguard riparian habitat, water quality and wildlife movement.
The project represents the conservancy’s 96th conservation easement in Southwest Colorado, and staff will continue monitoring the land to ensure it remains in good condition. Conservancy officials said the protected corridor is a significant win for the Mancos watershed, preserving a clean, undisturbed river system that supports stream species and the broader ecosystem dependent on it.
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EAGLE COUNTY COMMITS $5.75 MILLION TO MAKE TIMBER RIDGE UNITS MORE AFFORDABLE FOR COUNTY’S LOWEST EARNERS
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Eagle County has committed $5.75 million to partner with Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley to further reduce the cost of 15 affordable housing units at Timber Ridge Village in Vail, targeting households earning between 35 percent and 80 percent of the county’s area median income. The Eagle County Board of Commissioners approved the funding agreement Tuesday, marking the county’s largest per-unit investment in affordable housing to date and the first time the county housing authority has supported a significant number of deed-restricted units in Vail. The contribution will buy down purchase prices for a mix of two- and three-bedroom units, with estimated county support ranging from $240,000 to $470,000 per unit, depending on final sales.
The town of Vail is separately contributing $5 million to support a total of 30 Habitat units at Timber Ridge Village, a 302-unit redevelopment north of Interstate 70 that is already welcoming its first residents. All Habitat units will carry 0 percent interest mortgages and permanent deed restrictions, expanding homeownership opportunities for lower-income workers in a community where housing costs remain a major barrier.
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EAGLE COUNTY ALREADY OUTPACES THE STATE AND NATION IN RECYCLING RATES
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Eagle County exceeds both state and national averages for recycling and overall waste diversion, but sustainability leaders say significantly higher participation will be needed to meet the county’s climate action goals by 2030. According to data compiled by Walking Mountains Science Center, Eagle County diverted 23 percent of its waste from the landfill in 2024, with a recycling-specific rate of 31 percent, compared with the statewide diversion average of 15.7 percent and a national recycling rate of about 21 percent. The county’s climate action plan sets targets of 40 percent overall diversion, 80 percent organics diversion and 100 percent diversion of construction and demolition waste by the end of the decade.
Officials credit Eagle County’s relatively strong performance to widespread recycling access, local policies requiring recycling in some municipalities, zero-waste staffing at large public events and outlets for hard-to-recycle materials. Still, experts say improving resident participation, reducing contamination and expanding education will be critical, particularly in multifamily housing. Statewide changes under Colorado’s Extended Producer Responsibility program are expected to help by covering recycling costs and expanding access, though funding is not expected to flow until later in 2026.
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WHY SOME COLORADANS ARE SEEING BIGGER REFUNDS ON THEIR 2025 TAXES
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Some Coloradans are receiving larger federal tax refunds in 2026 due largely to provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a Republican-backed tax and spending package passed in July 2025 that retroactively applied to income earned beginning Jan. 1, 2025. Because federal withholding tables were not updated last year to reflect the new deductions, many taxpayers paid more throughout 2025 than they ultimately owed, resulting in higher refunds this filing season. The law extended the 2017 tax cuts and introduced new or expanded deductions for tips, overtime pay, seniors, children, vehicles and housing, though many benefits are income-tested and capped. Mountain resort counties are seeing especially large average tax cuts, with Pitkin County ranking second nationally at more than $22,000 per filer, according to a Tax Foundation analysis.
At the same time, lower-income families may see limited benefit as enhanced state tax credits are unlikely to trigger next year due to slower revenue growth, and cuts to programs such as Medicaid and SNAP could outweigh refund gains. While federal refunds are up more than 10 percent year over year, Colorado’s TABOR refunds are smaller this year, reflecting lower state revenue and lawmakers redirecting surplus funds into other forms of relief.
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GOVERNOR POLIS, STATE FOREST SERVICE ANNOUNCE $8.5 MILLION IN WILDFIRE MITIGATION GRANTS
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Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado State Forest Service have announced $8.5 million in Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation grants to support 35 projects across 24 counties, aimed at reducing wildfire risk and improving forest health amid record low snowpack, severe drought and an increasingly year-round fire season. The funding is part of the long-running FRWRM grant program, which since 2017 has supported 312 projects covering more than 30,000 acres statewide. Grant recipients must provide matching funds ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent depending on economic vulnerability, bringing the total investment for this funding cycle to $17.6 million. The Colorado State Forest Service received 73 eligible applications for the 2025-2026 round and will announce the next funding cycle in fall 2026.
- Creating defensible space, reducing hazardous fuels and removing beetle-killed trees in high-risk subdivisions
- Improving safety along critical evacuation routes for residents and emergency responders • Protecting critical watersheds and drinking water sources
- Reducing wildfire risk to critical water infrastructure, wildlife habitat and community resources
- Building capacity through education, outreach and planning for future fuels reduction projects
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COLORADO HOME INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE SOARING FASTER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
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Colorado homeowners are facing the steepest home insurance premium increases in the nation, with average costs doubling since 2020 and projected to exceed $4,000 a year in 2026, according to reporting by The Denver Post. Insurers cite intensifying hailstorms, wildfire risk, rising construction costs and expensive reinsurance as key drivers, even as Colorado’s overall loss ratio remains below levels seen in some other high-risk states. The rapid increases are straining household budgets, with insurance now consuming a growing share of income and prompting more non-renewals, higher deductibles and reduced coverage options. Industry analysts say Colorado is now viewed globally as a high-risk insurance market, similar to Florida or California, due to its exposure to both hail and wildfire catastrophes.
- Average Colorado home insurance premiums have doubled between 2020 and 2025, the largest increase of any state
- Premiums are up 55 percent since 2023
- Average annual premiums reached about $3,996 by the end of 2024 and are projected to rise to $4,164 in 2026
- Colorado premiums now run more than $1,000 above the U.S. average
- Home insurance consumes about 4.6 percent of household income on average in Colorado
- Hail accounts for roughly 54 percent of premium costs statewide
- Wildfire risk contributes between 1 percent and 25 percent of premiums, depending on county
- Colorado ranks second nationally for hail-related insurance claims
- Loss ratios averaged 81.6 percent from 2020 to 2024, exceeding insurers’ preferred range
- Non-renewals are running about 25 percent higher than in 2018
- Nearly one in 10 Colorado homeowners now go without insurance coverage
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MARKET UPDATE - 04/02/2026 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 04/02/2026)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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