Snowfence To Northern Spy

Our Summer Trail Crew has been building a few new permanent snow fences. This one, in Montezuma Bowl, is on the traverse into Northern Spy and ultimately over to the Mountain Goat Traverse and The Fourteeners. In the past we have used portable fences here. That was effective, but required snow on the ground to stand the fences initially. With the new fences we will be catching snow when the first flurries fly. Permanent fences are larger than the portable fences and a bigger fence catches more snow. The objective here is to get Northern Spy and East Zuma Bowl open and accessible a storm or two earlier in the season than we have in the past.

More Bike Race Images

Enjoy these Chad Maurer images from the Bike Race.

Crazy People in Breck

Kay and I rode our bikes over to Moonstone in Breckenridge to watch that very steep climb of the bike race. The people at the dance party were crazy (and really fun). We connected with Patio and "Bumpy" and the "Iowa Gang." I took another very entertaining (and some might say inappropriate) photo of the party scene. Both Kay and "Bumpy" advised me not to post it. If "Bumpy" says don't post it, I better not post it.  The racers were even having fun. Of course, the contenders were roaring up the hill. Some of the guys towards the back enjoyed the spectator show. A few added to the entertainment riding wheelies up that wicked, steep road. If you like costumes and music and crazy, fun people and super intense bike racing, Moonstone is the place to be.

Friday Afternoon At The Basin

Copper Mountain Start

Wednesday morning I went over to Copper Mountain for the Stage 3 start. It was good to see the riders looking fresh in the morning. They looked a bit rougher Tuesday afternoon at The Basin. Copper did an outstanding job sending Stage 3 towards Aspen. Thanks to Copper and all the USA Pro Challenge Host Cities that make this race possible.

Concert Images

More Dave Camara images from our concerts.

A Day To Remember

Yesterday was a very special day for Arapahoe Basin. Stage 2 of the USA Pro Challenge met everyone's very high expectations. It was FUN, FUN, FUN. Stage Winner and BMC Rider Brent Bookwalter took home a pair of handcrafted, A-Basin logo-ed SKILOGIC skis.Today I am in that foggy period and I just keep saying "WOW" to myself. Thanks to the riders. Thanks to the 1,000 people that made the race happen. And EXTRA, EXTRA THANKS to all of you that came out and made the scene.

Enjoy the Dave Camara photos.

Almost Here

The Festival Village is complete. The vendors are showing their goods. The Summit Stage buses are coming up full. There are more bikers on Highway 6 than I have ever seen.. The racers are two hours away. The guys in the bacon suits are here. The party is rolling. Oh yeah.

Traveling Bike Race

So we all know just how fun this bike race is. Hosting a Stage Finish is and has been a tremendous learning experience for me. One of the more intriguing aspects of it for me has been learning about the extraordinary logistics involved. The traveling road show associated with the race is a bit mind blowing. Since yesterday there has been a steady stream of trucks and trailers arriving at The Basin. The TV crew left Steamboat yesterday and arrived just after dark last night.  The activity right now in High Noon Lot around the finish can be described as orchestrated chaos. There are hundreds of people up there doing amazing things. It could be my inner nerd, but this back of the house stuff is fascinating.

It Has begun

Day 1 at The Basin was a terrific start to The USA Pro Challenge. A few people described it to me as an A-Basin reunion bringing lots of old friends together. There was no shortage of laughter and good times. The rain threatened a little bit, but in the end stayed mostly away. Two fantastic bands broke in the new stage. "The Samples" delivered a great show and "Brother's Keeper Featuring John Popper" closed out a starry night. It was cool.

Today is the big show. I heard through the grapevine that Stage 1 in Steamboat was a hoot. We are expecting that "extra lively" crowd here soon. Get your transportation plan organized and get up here and join the fun.

Not A Bad Venue

Race Orientation and New Sign

This morning we held our 2nd Staff Orientation for volunteers and employees for the bike race. The excitement level is high around here. Tomorrow will be a big set-up day for our staff with many people working. Monday is even bigger. Of course, we have the concert Monday night. Additionally, many truck loads of race fencing, finish arches, portable stages, cameras, TV production facilities and more will start showing up Monday afternoon. Tuesday is the BIG SHOW.

And we just got a groovy new sign for the Ticket Office remodel.

Getting To The Event

No doubt this is going to be a fun and exciting event. There are several ways to get here. You can reserve a campsite and get here early Monday. You can ride your bike up which would be especially nice after the road closes to general traffic at 1:30 Tuesday.

Another great way to get here is to ride the Summit Stage. There will be buses running between A-Basin and River Run at Keystone at the following times.

Monday  4-10 PM

Tuesday  9 AM - 2:30 PM amd 6 PM to 10 PM

I would try and get here a little early. Do not wait to catch the very last bus.

Black Mountain Close To Dusk

Request For Volunteers

The bike race is one day closer. On race day, there will be more 1,000 people here working the event. That includes riders, team crew, journalists, event specialists, roadies, police officers, medics, doctors, course marshals, cooks, cashiers, bartenders, equipment operators, parking attendants, musicians etc., etc., etc. While the majority of those people come from other organizations, A-Basin will have nearly 400 employees and volunteers working the event. We have plenty of employees. It looks like we may be short 2 or 3 dozen volunteers. So, that said, there is still time to sign up to volunteer. If interested, sign up on the "Volunteer" page at www.usaprocyclingchallenge.com. Not only will you get to pitch in on this groovy event, you will get all kinds of goodies. You will receive an A-Basin T-Shirt and a free A-Basin lift ticket for each 4-hour shift you work. You can't beat that. 

Steamboat to A-Basin

115 Miles

3 Major Climbs

Wicked Fun

Disc Golf

It probably comes as no surprise that we have several hard core Disc Golfers on staff. That gang has dragged me out to play a couple of times now. Not only is the game fun, it is a great way to spend some time walking in the meadows and woods with your friends. For many years they have suggested A-Basin install a course. Well, this past week we installed three holes just above the base area as well as  a practice basket in the base area. Those of you camping or spending the day at The Basin for the bike race should bring your disc bag and check it out. If you don't have any discs, you can pick some up at Arapahoe Sports. As a reminder The 6th Alley Bar and Grill is open 11-4, Thursday thru Sunday until September 6. Enjoy a summer day with a few holes of golf followed by a burger and a beer in The 6th Alley.

Trail Shots