Pioneer Willy

Pioneer Willy is an outstanding gladed ski trail out in the Western Territory of The Beavers. To get there, ski a little more than 1/2 way down Loafer and take a left at the Pioneer Willy sign. You will find a beautiful, modestly sloped, black tree skiing run that is really fun.

The trail is named after Willy Schaeffler, a historical figure not just at A-Basin, but throughout the entire ski world. Born in Bavaria, Willy qualified for the 1936 Olympics, but did not compete due to injuries. After brutal service in World War II, he moved to the United States. There he met A-Basin President Larry Jump. With Larry's help, he formed the Willy Schaeffler Ski School at Arapahoe Basin. He went on to coach the Denver University Pioneers Ski Team winning 13 National Championships. He was the Director of Ski Events at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley and was later named the Head Coach of the US Ski Team. He is a member of Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, Colorado Ski Hall of Fame and US Ski Hall of Fame.

Willy's stamp on The Basin is something we are very proud of.

Skiing Taos

Kay and I slipped away for a little trip down to one of our favorite ski resorts, Taos Ski Valley. Staying with some old friends down near town, we enjoyed some beautiful southwestern hospitality and skiing. The snow was great. We did 9 ridge hikes and old favorites, Tresckow, Stauffenberg and High Somewhere, did not disappoint. No trip to Taos is complete without a bratwurst and a full stein at The Bavarian. Despite having a tough month, the skiing and the employees were fantastic. Your A-Basin season pass is good for 3 days of lift tickets. This place is one of the classics. Don't miss it.

From Y Chutes

We had some fine skiing on the East Wall today. It was open below the traverse and the Tree Chutes Staircase was open. The North Pole and Willy's areas got dinged by the wind, but the other skiing was outstanding. I love the views from all of the hiking zones on The Wall. The view from the Y Chutes (pictured here) is especially cool.

Another Powder Day

Bald Spot Boot Pack

The Bald Spot is a great, little, gnarly ski below and west of the bottom of the Beavers Lift. It is kind of comparable in size and steepness to the Lower Alleys. The deeper the snow, the better the skiing is over there. Now that our base is over 50 inches deep, the skiing is getting really good. Friday, it was spectacular.

Once you ski the Bald Spot, there is an easy, quick little boot pack back to the bottom of The Beavers Lift. It is taking most people 5-10 minutes. So, if you like skiing the Lower Alleys and you don't mind a little walk, be sure and give the Bald Spot a spin.

Professor Avalanche

CDOT brought out the big howitzer and did a Professor Shoot Friday morning. Some of you might have been either caught in the road closure or sequestered in the A-Frame while this was going on. Those shoots take a while. There is a lot of hurry up and wait, but this one was quite effective. The objective is to make the path to slide when no is on it or under it. Another objective is have lots of little slides instead of one monstrous one. Compared to the size of the slide path, this wasn't a particularly big avalanche. That said, if you were standing right next to it, it would look quite large.

Snow 8 of the Last 9 Days

Over the last 9 days we have reported 27 inches of snow. We have actually had  reportable snow 8 of the last 9 mornings.We had one big day, last Saturday reporting 10 inches, but most of the days have been in the 1-4 inch range. We started today socked in by the clouds, but that has burned off. This afternoon is your classic, bluebird, perfect, gorgeous, powdery, A-Basin kind of day.

Snowy, Blustery Day

What a great day for storm skiing. I was out on the hill late morning skiing all over. It was snowing and blowing and the skiing was fantastic. Most of the time I couldn't see the mountains, but just as I pulled into the bottom of Zuma lift, the clouds broke showing off Independence Mountain. Good, good skiing.