Watering

So after all the seeding, composting and mulching it is time to water the grass. Hiking up the Argentine / North Fork Trail, you may have to dodge or time your walk around a few sprinklers. We have planted native grasses and flowers with the intent of returning the base area vegetation to a more natural condition. Watering through dry periods will help speed this return. We look forward to having lush vegetation that retains water instead of shedding water.

As soon as I wrote about the monsoon 10 days ago, it stopped raining. Let's hope Mother Nature kicks in a few more rainy to give this re-veg a big boost.

Goats on Lenawee Face

A couple of days ago I was on the Summit and encountered about a dozen mountain goats hanging around the snow fence at the top of Lenawee Face. Sorry the clarity on this photo is a little weak. The goats are interesting creatures. If you get too close, they scatter. If you stay a few hundred feet away, they don't seem to be bothered by our presence. On this particular day, I was driving on the service road and the Lift Maintenance crew was working at the top of Zuma. They seemed to care little about our presence. Lesson here - give the goats plenty of room and leave them in peace.

Mid Mountain

Enjoy the view.

Cornice Run

Today I wandered up the Cornice Run from the Top of Pali Lift to the Summit. All the cool stuff was around, flowers, tundra, snow patches, mountain goats on the East Wall, great views. I just cannot get over how nice summer is around here.

Walls

Seed, Fertilizer and More Mulch

Today we laid down wild grass and wildflower seed, fertilizer and more mulch in the base area. With this work and plenty of watering, we should see green and colorful plants sprouting soon. We have a couple of more chunks that will need this treatment once the base area grading and paving is down.

Arapahoe Sports Remodel Update

We are making some good headway on the Arapahoe Sports remodel. The excavation work is substantially done. The footers are poured. The foundation walls are poured. The electrical conduits are installed. The slab is poured. I think we will be seeing framed walls going up soon.

We have made similar progress on the deck, walkway, ramp and plaza remodel. A fair bit more excavation work to go. The footers are poured and the concrete forms are being prepared for the foundation wall pours.

Saturday Afternoon at BML

View From Highway 6

I always enjoy the view of The Basin from Highway 6 as I am heading Westbound and approaching the entrance to the Upper Parking lots. Enjoy this image taken early one morning this week.

Re-built Entrance To Early Riser

Some of you have been very justified to give me a hard time about how rough the upper entrance to Early Riser has been. The pot holes and lumps on it were horrible. Well, we spent the last couple of weeks re-building that driveway. That involved a significant excavation followed by the installation of geo-tech fabric, softball sized rock and lots of road base. The materials were graded and compacted and the entry is now much, much, much better.

Monsoon

The monsoon has rolled in a bit this week. As I left the ski area this afternoon, it was raining fairly heavily. This is good news for A-Basin and all of Colorado. Portions of the state have been dry with increased fire danger. These storms have delivered some much needed rain taking some of the edge off fire worries. We have been lucky at The Basin. Our very green look will only get greener.

Good Summer For Flowers

There is great flower viewing along the Argentine / North Fork Trail.

Tree Chutes

Saturday, I took a lunch time hike up to the top of the 6th Tree Chute. It was a short, but very rugged, gnarly and steep walk and climb. I had to use my hands a few times to hold on. As the pictures show, the views from there are extraordinary. Marjorie Bowl (named after Marnie Jump) is off the back of the Tree Chutes. It was in fine form with flowers and greenery down low and mountain goats wandering on the tundra up high. The Basin side wasn't too bad either.

Just In Case You Were Considering.........

If there happens to be a wedding in your upcoming plans, you should consider Arapahoe Basin and Black Mountain Lodge as the venue. Below is a link to video outlining what a great place The Basin is to get hitched. You can't beat this setting.

Also, keep in mind if you are considering holding a fun, non-wedding event in an incredible location for a work or social group, we can host those functions also.

How Long Do The Snow Patches Last ?

Almost every year there are snow patches to be found into July and/or August. In even the driest winter coupled with a very warm spring, we will have patches of snow into June. Snow patches remain the very longest near the Summit along the Cornice Run on the Front Side and along Zuma Cornice on the Backside. 1995, 1996 and 1997 were all great snow years. Significant patches of snow along the Cornice Run never fully melted during those years. 

Green

The mountain has been especially green this summer. While it has been warm and dry at lower elevations, we have had just enough rain to keep the place very green. On a tour to the Summit today, I saw several mountain goats and marmots. We have just a very few snow patches lingering on.

Black and Lenawee Mountains

COOL !!!!!!

New Walkways and More

As part of the summer revamp, we have re-paved and rebuilt the walkways throughout the base area. By the time we are done, there will be paved, smooth paths from the Early Riser Lot level to the A-Frame. Additionally, we have imported compost, prepared at the Summit County landfill, to most of the areas disturbed from the last few summers worth of work. Next week we will be hyrdro-seeding these areas with native grasses and flowers. I know this area has looked a little rough the last few years, but we are on the verge of being done with much of our work. It will look very nice in the coming summers..

Black Mountain Lodge Weddings

It is wedding season up at Black Mountain Lodge. Saturday's bride and groom scored the perfect weather. BML makes an ideal venue for a gathering like this. I think this group enjoyed the evening. Enjoy Saturday's photos.

Evening Stroll

Friday evening I took a little stroll down the Argentine North Fork Trail from Black Mountain Lodge to the Base Area. It was the perfect time of day. The light on the East Wall and Black Mountain was superb. The wild flowers are coming in very strong this season. I saw a couple of deer wander through TB Glades. Not bad, not bad at all.

Disc Golf

The Disc Golf baskets are installed for the summer. We have three holes set up just above the Base Area. Feel free to come play a few holes a few times. My favorite part of playing Disc Golf is wandering around the woods with your friends. Remember, The 6th Alley Bar and Grill is open Friday through Monday from 11 AM to 4 PM. Top off your round with a burger and a beverage.

We are considering adding another six baskets. 

Pouring Concrete

Today the contractors working on our A-Frame/Arapahoe Sports remodel poured the new foundation walls. Next week they should be back filling those walls. Before too long we should see some vertical structure going up above grade and we will get a good sense of what this new addition will look like. The team is also hard at work regrading the area and rebuilding the area between the Guest Services Building and the A-Frame. I think right now we are at that maximum "torn up" phase. In the coming weeks pieces of this project will be coming together and it will really start to take shape.

Mountain Clean Up Day

Today was Employee Mountain Cleanup Day. Our summer staff hiked all across the mountain picking up Winter ski trash. While no real treasures were found, they were some beautiful sights to see.