For a winter attraction in Colorado, Christmas came early.

In its 13-year history around the country, it hasn’t been often the weather cooperates enough for Ice Castles to debut before the holiday. That happened for a second straight year in Cripple Creek.

And it will happen at another Ice Castles location elsewhere in Colorado’s mountains.

“For the first time in our company’s history, we are thrilled to open two Ice Castles locations in Colorado before Christmas,” Ice Castles CEO Kyle Standifird said in a news release Friday.

Cripple Creek’s Ice Castles opened Dec. 19. The first-year location in Eagle welcomed guests the next day.

Standifird credited “favorable weather this season” — overnight temperatures cold enough for artisans to stack icicles and spray water that freezes for Ice Castles to soar. Imbedded with color-changing LED lights, the result is a towering maze of walls, pinnacles, slides, tunnels and caverns.

“Every element is designed to immerse visitors in a whimsical, fairy-tale environment,” read Friday’s news release, which mentioned an addition this season: the Polar Pub Ice Bar. It’s billed as “the coolest spot in town to enjoy chilled beverages.”

Previously in Summit County, Ice Castles moved to Cripple Creek last year in what town leaders called “an overwhelming success.” More than 100,000 reportedly flocked to the historic, remote center of the Pikes Peak gold rush-turned-casino hub, where officials have aimed to diversify the tourist economy.

In a previous interview, the official who courted Ice Castles, Jeff Mosher, suggested it might have been the best winter ever for small businesses.

“I would say so unless you go back to the early 1900s, when Cripple Creek was booming,” said the city’s special projects director.

Tickets are now on sale at icecastles.com. They are listed at $29 for visitors 12 and older and $23 for ages 4-11.