Willy's Staircase Open

The Willy's Staircase has been open for about a week now. Spectacular skiing can be found in Willy's Wide, Snorkelnose, Booger and Corner Chute. I am embarassed to say that I have not hiked it yet, but that will change soon. I am hearing reports of superb conditions. Can't wait to get up there.

20" At Taos

Kay and I just had the pleasure of skiing two fantastic days at Taos. Sunday was mostly clear with 20 inches of new snow in 48 hours. Great hikes to West Basin and Highline. As good as you can imagine. Monday was snowing and downright creamy. If you have been to Taos before, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't been to Taos, you are missing one of the country's VERY BEST SKI RESORTS. It has terrain that is every bit as exciting as A-Basin. The Southwestern/Europe culture is a unique blend that can't be found elsewhere. Check out the German beer and bratwurst at The Bavarian.

.......And most Arapahoe Basin season passes are good for 3 days at Taos. 

Treeline Terrain Park Preview

The Treeline Terrain Park is on the verge of opening. We have tweaked its location a bit, moving it slightly to the Northwest of past locations. Tyler thinks we will have a better pitch to set the features on. You can look forward to jumps, jibs, a whale tail and a quarter pipe. Be sure and check this out.

Another Perfect Day At The Basin

Latest Sustainability Report

We just posted the latest Arapahoe Basin Sustainability Report on our website. In it we outline our energy consumption, our solar energy production, our waste, recycling and compost stream and our sustainability initiatives. We describe the green elements of the Kids Center, share our Sustainability Goals and even offer a few tips to help you reduce your impacts. The report can be found at the link below.

http://arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/document-library/ABS2015_Environmental_Report.pdf

Evening Photos

Enjoy these evening photos of Snow Plume Refuge and Black Mountain Lodge (thank you Marc Doucette).

Can We Have Too Much Snow ?

A lot of people have been asking, "Can we have too much snow?" The answer is yes and no, it all depends on your perspective.

If your time horizon is longer and you are looking at the entire season, I think the answer is, NO you can't have too much. There could be some worries of Spring flooding or avalanche cycles. Overall, however, more snow creates better conditions and the season lasts longer.

Now if your time horizon is much shorter, like the next hour or the next day, we can have too much snow. Big snowfalls can slow things down. Transportation on the hill goes slower. Snow removal takes longer. Avalanche work takes longer. There could be delays that take hours or days to get terrain open. On top of that, big snow storms complicates highway travel. 

So I say, the more snow the better.  It does creates a lot of work and getting to and getting up the mountain may take longer than you like. In the end, big snowfall means lots of great skiing. This last storm has shown the wait Tuesday and Wednesday was definitely worth the tremendous conditions that followed.

3 North Pole Hikes

You read that right. The Ski Patrol opened The East Wall today. The North Pole, Middle and Lower gates were open. The Upper East Wall gate needs some more snowcat work and is still closed. Kay and I took 3 hikes through the North Pole gate and skied 2nd Notch, West Vertical Cornice and North Pole proper. All were outstanding with that first run down West Vert being creamy, over the top, absolutely, unbelievably phenomenal. Yes, that good. Maybe even better.

After our 2nd hike we were standing at the top of Little Lenawee Peak talking with a couple ski patrollers. Kay asked, "Are you guys burned out from 6 straight weeks of intense snow work?" Kyle Hagadorn replied, "Absolutely not. Giving people the chance to ski terrain like this is the highlight of my season." We owe that team in red a big thanks for this gift.

The Willy's staircase isn't too far away.