Earn Your Blustery Turns

East Wall hikers were rewarded with soft wind packed snow. It wasn't easy. Conditions up high were just a tad bit blustery but, the snow was excellent. With the wind, those turns were definitely earned. A lot of people enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day. There is some snow in the forecast the next 48 hours.

I love Springtime at The Basin.

Quite A Day

For the 4th time this week, we reported 4 inches of new snow bringing the storm total to 22". Rounding, I would call that 2 feet. As the pictures indicate, it has been a great week of skiing.

We did have some parking challenges this morning. There is a certain condition that happens a few times each ski season. Today was one of those days. Most of the other areas are closed. We get a bunch of snow. The skiing is fantastic. And a weekend rolls around. And way more people show up than we have parking for. People get stuck in traffic and then there is not a parking spot for everyone. That happened today. Interestingly, the same thing happened last year on the last Saturday of April.

Of course most people did get a parking spot and had a great day skiing. The Summit Stage ran some extra buses.  Not everyone was able to park at the ski area and some were quite upset. I received comments like, "you over market," "your parking sucks," "you are an idiot," etc. I am always bummed and sorry when we can't fit everyone in who wants to be here.

The Basin is a wonderful place and sometimes more people show up than we have capacity for. It is like showing up at great restaraunt to find an 1 1/2 hour wait for a table.

As always, I will stick to some very strong messages for busy days. Carpool. Ride the Summit Stage. Arrive Early OR Arrive Late. Plan Ahead. The Basin has a lot of great skiing. I want to see everyone enjoy the place. Unfortunately, not everyone can enjoy at once. We all tried to enjoy it at once this morning.

18 Inches From The Storm

Storm 34 of the season has delivered 18 inches of snow so far. It started Monday with 1" and we have since received 4", 4", 4" and 5" today. There is still more snow forecast for today, tonight and into tomorrow.

Our Snow Safety Team was in early today. They are on The East Wall already along with a team shooting the avalauncher.  Assuming their mitigation works goes well, we should have plenty of good skiing and hiking today. These are conditions to be savored. Get yourself skiing.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE CARPOOL OR RIDE THE STAGE THIS
WEEKEND !!!

The Clouds Break For A Second

Even with all the snowfall, the clouds break apart everyone once in a while. More snow coming.

Over A Foot Now - Carpool and Summit Stage

For the 3rd day in a row we reported 4 inches of new snow. Plus, it has been snowing since report time. We are well over a foot for this storm with more coming. I was able to take a few quick spins on the hill this morning. If you are fan of powder skiing, you would love being at The Basin right now. It is incredible, especially in the Lenawee Parks zone.

Now one thing that happens with Spring powder days is people carpool less. We have way more vehicles coming up with one person per vehicle. On big powder days, the parking can fill up quickly while traffic on the mountain is moderate with plenty of room for everyone.

Make sure you get up here in the next few days. It will be so worth it. We are going into one of those truly exceptional times. That said, avoid coming up solo in your vehicle. The Summit Stage is running normal hours Saturday and Sunday (no Stage on weekdays). Ride the Stage or carpool with a friend or two (or more).

You don't want to miss these conditions.

8 Inches And Tacos

The weather and the forecasts have been great this week. We have reported 8 inches of new snow over the last two mornings. It appears we have plenty more coming the next 72 hours. To top that off, the food trailer opens Saturday. Plan on some street tacos and other goodies. Can't wait.

Ski Tour Near The Basin

Kay, Whitney and I went for a great little ski tour about 2 miles SE of Montezuma Bowl Sunday morning. I always enjoy getting a perspective of The Basin that I do not normally see.  Nice to see how the place fits into the neighborhood. 

If you zoom in on the upper left corner of the upper photo you can see the trails in West Zuma, the top of Zuma Lift and the backside of Little Lenawee, The Notches and North Pole. The peak in the center is Lenawee Mountain (top of East Wall). The two big summits on the right are Torreys Peak (14, 267') and Grays Peak (14,270').

And the skiing and skinning was pretty darn fun.

Saturday Was A Beauty

Saturday was one of those amazing Spring Arapahoe Basin days. I took this photo at mid mountain at 9:45 yesterday morning. The East Wall, including the hiking, was open. Great snow everywhere. Excellent deck action at the restaurants. Lots of people participating in Earth Day activities. Good, good fun.

Storm Total - 9 Inches

The storm is moving out after dropping 9 inches of snow. The skiing yesterday was good all over. Pali and its nooks and crannies (see photo below) were great fun and I heard a report of excellent conditions in Willy's Wide. We should see 2 or 3 mostly sunny days and then lots of snowflakes appear in the forecast again. Darn good conditions out there.

4 Inches And Still Snowing

Winter has definitely returned. Today 4" and yesterday's 3" gives us 7" so far and it is still snowing. Looks like today will be fun.

Faceshot Gully

Here is a photo I took in Faceshot Gully this afternoon. It is one of the gladed trails in The Beavers. From the West Wall Saddle, it is the gully heading almost straight West. It is already very good skiing. We will do a very small amount of tree removal opening the lines up just a bit making the skiing incredible. You will love the sliding in this zone.

......And it just started snowing again.

Stormy April Day and Earth Day

Today was a classic stormy April day. It snowed off and on all day long. We collected a couple inches of snow by the time the lifts closed and it looks like we have received another inch or two more since then. Opensnow.com is forecasting decent snowfall Thursday and Friday and another storm next week. There may be powder days in our future.

Join us Saturday for our Earth Day Celebration. We are partnering with POW and you can expect an apres ski party, raffles and FREE Smartwool socks for the first couple hundred carpoolers. For details, check out:

http://arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/mountain/calendar.aspx?id=efc362b8-0a62-46d5-b811-10024a05f23b

Happy Easter

I sometimes find myself in very interesting situations. 

Happy Easter.

Zuma Spring Skiing

I found some excellent skiing in Montezuma Bowl today. An afternoon ski on Schauffler found perfect spring conditions. It was soft and fun to turn in but not too gloppy.  The high temperature at mid-mountain was 42F. We have entered prime Spring Skiing which makes perfect sense since there is snow in the forecast for next week.

Enduro Was A Success

The Enduro was a huge success.  I never heard the exact number for most runs skied. While it is competitive for a very small number people, for most it is a beautiful, long day on the hill skiing with friends, enjoying the mountain and striving for personal bests. The spirit of the skiers and riders was extraordinary. The fund raising side of the event was fantastic, raising nearly $20,000 for Devon, Becky and Amelia. Thanks to the many, many kind and thoughtful people that pitched in.

Amelia, welcome to A-Basin and this great ski and mountain world.

Photos by Dave Camara.

You May Have Been Wondering...........

You may have been wondering what that big white trailer was doing, first in High Noon Lot and then in the Base Area. The graphics guys completed their wrap yesterday. Our latest culinary offering is going to be a food trailer. Prior to opening we are getting the utilities set up and getting through the Health and Fire Department permitting processes. We anticipate it opening within the next two weeks.

The food theme will be from South of the Border. If you like breakfast burritos, street tacos and margaritas, you may need to visit. Initially, the venue will be open Fridays, Saturday and Sundays. The project has multiple objectives. We want to increase food capacity during peak periods. Some people like to avoid the A-Frame and we wanted give them a food choice. We wanted to take advantage of a very nice outdoor dining opportunity. Lastly, both Chris and I love street tacos.

And you might be able to get a Bacon Bloody Mary there also.  Stay tuned for more details.

..........And They Are Off

The Enduro had a good LeMans start at 7 AM this morning. Thirty five teams of two people will be skiing Pali until 5 PM. The skiers and riders will be trying to ski as many runs as possible on twenty pre-designated lines. Good, good fun. The best fun may be this evening. We will be throwing a great party in The 6th Alley tonight with dinner, music and a silent auction.

All proceeds for the Enduro will go to Becky, Devon and Amelia Haire. Amelia was born March 8 and has had an extended stay in the hospital. I hope you can join us tonight for this great community event and A-Basin tradition.

Zuma Bowl and The Fish Fry

This Friday come enjoy our final dinner of the season at The 6th Alley Bar and Grill. Chef Rybak will be hosting the Good Friday Fish Fry with all you can eat haddock, hush puppies, chopped salad and coleslaw. Finish the night off with some chocolate mousse pie. We have about a dozen seats left. Make your reservation at http://arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/mountain/dining/sixth-alley/default.aspx#dinners. I recommend a good afternoon of skiing. Go for a skin to mid mountain and then enjoy dinner and the evening in The 6th Alley.

Good skiing in Montezuma Bowl especially on Larkspur. The forecast shows lots of sun the next three days. This is an ideal time to enjoy some Spring skiing.

Climate Change Panel

Yesterday afternoon, we hosted an excellent panel on climate change. The room was full as 70 people turned out for the discussion. Drs. White, Musselman and Friedrich reviewed the fundamental basics of climate science. The presenters shared recent climate research data. Climate change models were presented showing what we can expect in the coming decades. It is very clear we are on a troubling trend. While climate variability has always existed, the increase in man made green house gases over the last hundred years is contributing to recent warming.

I would encourage everyone to learn as much as you can about climate change. Avoid the politics and zero in on the science. Thanks to our presenters for a great presentation and thanks to the audience for all the great questions.

More Good Times On The Spine

We enjoyed more good times on The Spine today. At mid-day the upper portion was still just barely Winter snow. Halfway down the snow  had turned into Spring conditions. It was soft and carve-able and just got better as the day went on. Time to close a fabulous Spring day with a skin up to Black Mountain Lodge for the Polynesian Luau Randonee Dinner.

West Vert

Today was another good one. The day started out a little gray but, that burned off. Zuma skied well. The groomers on the Upper Mountain were ideal winter snow. Lower Pali softened in the afternoon. The Spine remained buffed winter snow. I shared the day with some old, close friends from Taos. That Taos - A-Basin connection is a good one. 

Best skiing on the mountain, West Vertical Cornice.

The Basin From Above

A friend of mine took this shot flying over The Basin today.

.....And Another Stellar Day

Yesterday seemed impossible to beat but, today was close.  We had another gorgeous day. The skiing was superb and the skies were blue. I was listening to the local radio station, KYSL 93, and the DJ was talking about his day at The Basin. He went on and on and he said Zuma and front side were awesome and his hike up North Pole was fantastic. We are in that very special "Basin Time."  .........And it is supposed to snow again this weekend.

The Future of Skiing: The Science Behind Snow

I hope you can join Arapahoe Basin and POW Saturday afternoon at 4 PM in the A-Frame for an excellent panel discussion, "The Future of Skiing: The Science Behind Snow." Three renowned Colorado scientists, James White, Katja Friedrich and Keith Musselman will discuss climate change and its effect on the snowsports industry. These experts from the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research will share the facts about climate change and what it means for those of us that love to work and play in the snow.

Cold, Blue, Snowy

We reported 5" of snow this morning. That was the 9th day in a row that we reported new snow. Granted, the numbers have been 1 - 4" per day but, the numbers are adding up. The surfaces out there are excellent. The snow in North Pole felt like it was in double digits. I had a fantastic run down Long Chute in Montezuma Bowl. It was like ideal winter conditions. Today was about as perfect as it gets.

Snow Cam

Typical Spring Day

Wednesday is going to be GOOD !!!!

Lots of Smiling Lately

While these two photos were taken last year, they are indicative of what has been going on lately. Conditions have been excellent. We have more snow on the way with unsettled weather in the forecast the next 10 days. For April 3, the snowpack is still 133% of the median. We are shaping up for a vintage Basin Spring.

A Four Hike Sunday

Yes, the East Wall was the big winner out of the storm event. We took four hikes up there today skiing West Vertical Cornice, North Pole, Snorkelnose and Booger. All four of them were fantastic. The snow was loose and soft with fresh powder in places. I still enjoy every minute of hiking and skiing up there. We went through the Snorkel Door a couple of times and had a fantastic time. We finished the afternoon with Bumpy having an early dinner in Marnie's. A perfect day off. 

Good Skiing

Well, our storm didn't quite pan out. I let myself get too excited. With this morning's inch and yesterday's two inches, however, the skiing is still fantastic. Pali is excellent and today's real treat is the Upper East Wall. We were also lucky to have a beautiful cloud and sun show. Great day to be on the hill.