Colorado ski resorts are investing heavily in snowmaking. Climate change isn’t the only reason why.

Colorado ski resorts are investing heavily in snowmaking. Climate change isn’t the only reason why.

Over the past two summers, Alterra Mountain Company has shelled out $37 million to upgrade Winter Park’s antiquated snowmaking system, one that was installed in the late 1970s when lift tickets cost less than $12. The goal was to extend the length of ski seasons, enabling the resort to open well before Thanksgiving and stay open deep into spring. But the snow gods have smiled on Winter Park recently. As of Thursday, the resort had received 340 i…