Another View Of Pali

Walking out of The Beavers yesterday, I had a very nice view of Pali as I approached the base area. It was a view that is a bit different from what most of us are used to.

Mother Nature Tried

Today was our Cirque Series Trail Run and BBQ. Mother Nature tried to be a little difficult. I have to admit I was a little discouraged with the morning's early, steady rain. Almost immediately after 200 runners headed up the hill, it stopped raining. The athletes enjoyed a cool, cloudy mountain run, but it wasn't raining. They ran to the Top of Pali, to The Summit, down and back up Zuma Cornice, to the top of Little Lenawee and back to Mountain Goat Plaza.  With 40 Oz. To Freedom playing on the stage, lots of BBQ, The 6th Alley cranking and plenty of slightly oxygen deprived runners about, we had a really fun day.

And Old Mother Nature spared us on the rain.

Zuma, Goats, Marmots, Fox

Beautiful morning on The Summit today.  Perfect light looking into Montezuma Bowl. Lots of goats on Little Lenawee. There are several "kids" running around. Very cute.  Also plenty of marmot and pika and even a fox near the top. Wonderful morning.

Towards Loveland Pass

Patrol Headquarters Remodel

With The Beavers and Steep Gullies terrain coming online next winter, our Ski Patrol staff size is increasing. Those patrollers need someplace to use as a base. As a result, we are doing a small remodel/expansion at Patrol Headquarters. We need a little more room for lockers, ski storage, increased amount of sign stuff and maybe a couple of extra chairs and a bigger refrigerator.

This project is underway. The footers are poured. The foundation walls are next and we should be framing soon.

Lenawee Bullwheel Bearings

During the winter our Lift Maintenance team keeps quite busy doing two daily lift checks, weekly lift checks and monthly lift checks. They are continually monitoring the machines as they operate, making adjustments and repairing or replacing parts as needed.

In the summer, the crew gets really, really busy. There are big annual checks to do and at times, there are very big maintenance projects to complete. Right now the group is in the midst of replacing the bullwheel bearings at the top terminal of Lenawee Lift. It is a significant process. They fully de-tension the top terminal of the lift. Once completed, they remove the bullwheel. While it is stacked on cribbing, they replace the bearings. All this is followed by putting the bullwheel back on the lift and re-tensioning the lift. No small task.

Sunday Disc Golf

Enjoyed a mellow day off up at The Basin. Kay and I and a few friends played 9 holes on the Disc Golf Course. The wild flowers were in peak form. Playing with the discs and baskets is definitely fun, but also just wandering in the woods with your friends is a really great way to spend a few hours. We topped it off with lunch and a cold beverage on the 6th Alley deck.

Fun Saturdays

Everyone was having fun at The Basin today.

New Snowfences

Most ski areas that have much terrain above timberline use snowfences to capture and manage snow. We deploy a lot of snowfences at A-Basin. From the top of our Upper Mountain Lifts, Pallavicini, Norway, Lenawee Mountain and Zuma, numerous snowfences exist to capture snow. In these high places, there is no shortage of snow but, sometimes the wind likes to deposit the snow in places difference from where we like to deposit snow. Fences slow down the wind and snow a bit and the snow falls to the ground on the down-wind side of the fence. A well placed fence literally catches tons and tons of snow.

So far this summer we have already built hundreds of feet of fences in some of the highest places in The Beavers. These fences will deposit snow on some of the more wind swept areas and the snowcats will connect the dots (snow piles) creating ski trails that lead  to areas of heavy wind deposited snow. We have used this same strategy to make great ski trails out of Columbine, Larkspur, Lenawee Face, Norway and Grizzly Road. The fences are extraordinary tools.

Beavers Hike and Events

I went for a beautiful hike out in The Beavers this morning. Flowers were blooming and the sky was blue. Great walk. Four deer spent some time checking me out.

The next couple of days we have some fun events going on.

Tomorrow, July 21, we start Yoga Fridays. Come and enjoy yoga on The Perch from 11 - Noon and follow that up with a discounted lunch in The 6th Alley. Register on our website or show up a little early and register in Guest Services.

Saturday from 11 - 3, our Summer Event Series continues. Join us for some Nashville Southern Rock with The Cordovas at the Mountain Goat Plaza. Free Concert. Free Chairlift Rides. Free Hiking. Free Disc Golf. Free Summit Stage Service.

Top that off with some goodies from the Taco Truck or The 6th Alley Bar and Grill.

Did I mention Free Concert and Chairlift Rides?

Local Jam Band Day

Join us this Saturday for our first Saturday event of the summer season.   Local Jam Band Day will kick off at 10 a.m.  We have a great line up which includes local favorites; Hobo Village, Old Herman, Strung High String Band, John Truscelli, and High Five.  The day will end with a jam session - all the bands will get together and play some fun tunes together.  We will have the Taco Truck and the 6th Alley open for food and drinks.  I hope to see you up here enjoying local music, food and a beverage.

We also have FREE chairlift rides from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. The Summit Stage will be running this Saturday from Keystone starting at 10:00 a.m.  

Arapahoe Basin Disc Golf

The new disc golf baskets are installed for the summer.  We have nine holes now.  The course runs up to just about North Fork Trail and then works its way back down the mountain.  Come up and play our new course. The best part of disc golf is hanging out with friends and wandering around the woods.

We are holding our first disc golf tournament on August 5th.  Get some practice rounds in and remember The 6th Alley Bar and Grill is open Friday through Monday from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M..  Top off your round with some tasty food and a beverage.

     

Argentine North Fork Trail

The Argentine North Trail is open for the season. Hikers and bikers are welcome. Please be extra careful if the trail is wet. Bikers should walk their bikes through wet areas. The flowers are blooming and the creeks are running. The deer are working their way back up valley and one of our employees saw a bear the other day. Enjoy your walk or ride.