Lucky

Another reason we are lucky to live in or spend time in Colorado.

Downloading Pali

I downloaded Pali Lift this week. That is one steep chairlift with some extraordinary views. Some people claim it is the best chairlift anywhere. I might be one of those people.

Bear Proof Waste Containers

Check out the sleek, shiny and new bear proof waste containers now adorning Mountain Goat Plaza.

Wandering

I spent the afternoon wandering the Upper Beavers and Upper Montezuma Bowl area. We got a little wet, but managed to miss most of the bad weather. It was beautiful. The place just keeps getting better.

Summit Concrete Completed

The Beavers Lift top terminal concrete work is now complete. The forms have been pulled. The concrete has to set for a while and then it will be back filled by an excavator. There are three structures, two for the motor room tower pedestals and one for the lift operator house.

When I walked the upper lift line this afternoon, the spider hoe was working on its 5th tower foundation hole (of 15 towers).

Spider Hoe

The Spider Hoe is in action. This machine will be digging the tower holes and bottom terminal site work for the Beavers Lift. The unique mechanism allows the machine to travel through very rugged terrain leaving minimal ground impacts. The wheels and legs are articulated in such a way that the machine can gently creep down a slope. We used one to build Zuma Lift in 2007 and, today, you cannot find evidence it was ever there. The images below are of digging Tower 15's foundation hole this morning.

Rain

Some much welcomed rain.

Top Terminal Foundations

Today the Leitner Poma crew started pouring concrete for The Beavers Chairlift. They had, not only concrete trucks on site, they had a large pumper to push the concrete just where they needed it. Most of the concrete in lifts is buried. A huge part of any lift in underground. Just like the bottom of Lenawee Mountain Lift and the top of Zuma Lift, there will be two large, rectangular, concrete masses that support the two diagonal towers that hold up the motor room. Once the lift is finished, less 5% of the concrete is visible. There is a lot of concrete in this terminal. They also poured the footers for the lift operator building.

Next up, finish all the concrete work on the Summit, back fill all the concrete and start digging the tower holes.

Summer Trail Run #2

Despite a bit of a smoky day, 32 runners joined us for our second trail race of the season. Athletes ran up the Argentine / North Fork Trail to Black Mountain Lodge. From there, it was up to the top of Pali and then up the Cornice Run to The Summit. Runners came down the Upper Summer Road and the ANF Trail again to finish in the base area. The grueling course was 6.4 miles long with 1,700 vertical feet of climbing. Eva Hagen won the women's division in one hour and eight minutes and Mike Hagen won the men's division in just over an hour.

If this kind of event gets you excited, join us for the final running event of the season, the Discrete Cirque Series August 18. For more details go to https://www.arapahoebasin.com/event/cirque-series/.

Blogger Comment Issues

So we have discovered there is a problem with Blogger, the site that hosts this blog. Your comments used to come through directly. They don't anymore and Blogger doesn't seem to know how to fix it. The good news is that I can manually dig around on the back side of the blog and post your comments. The bad news is that I have to remember to manually dig around the back side of the blog.  I apologize that many comments have taken a while to get posted. I will try and get them out there as quickly as I can (remember to check). PLEASE, PLEASE keep sending in your comments.

Argentine North Fork Trail

The Argentine North Fork Trail winds its way from Mountain Goat Plaza in the base area up to Black Mountain Lodge. It is an easy 2 mile walk or a moderate 2 mile bike ride with a couple of tight, climbing turns. It is a great little hike. It is a great connection to the Lenawee Trail off the back side which is quite fun for hiking and biking. The Lenawee Trail is definitely a tough, but much admired bike ride.

Top 'O Pali

Here is a nice Summer view of the top of Pali from the top of Black Mountain Express. Slalom Slope, in particular, is a very lush, steep tundra slope. That lift is such an A-Basin icon. No doubt, it is my favorite chairlift anywhere. Biggest and best terrain for the shortest ride.

Black and Lenawee Mountain

While I love to see Black and Lenawee Mountains completely covered with snow, the summer views aren't bad either. There are scattered green patches of tundra among mostly rocks. With a little patience, you can often spot some white dots (mountain goats) moving around.

Black Mountain Express Weekends

Black Mountain Express will be open every Saturday and Sunday through September 2. You can ride the chair, hike down the Argentine North Fork Trail, hike up to the Summit or just enjoy some BBQ and a beverage on the Black Mountain Lodge deck. I ride it every chance I get. The view coming down is really fun.

Weddings

The Wedding Season is rolling right along. We have had plenty of fun up here and the views just can't be beat.

WE ARE OPEN - Local Band Jam Day

So we are open today. The Triple Bypass bike ride will be going over Loveland Pass. The East side of the pass will be closed from 10 AM until 2 PM. Access from Keystone and the West side will be open all day.

It is Local Band Jam Day. Come listen to Stagger Home, Old Herman, John Truscelli Band and The Frisco Funk Collective. Play some disc golf. Ride the Black Mountain Express. Enjoy the 6th Alley or Black Mountain Lodge decks. Have the kids play some yard games. Go for a hike. Bring your binos and spot the mountain goats on the East Wall. Avoid the summer crowds and enjoy The Basin.

Lots Of Helicopter Work

In addition to the "Old 105 Tower", we kept the helicopter quite busy yesterday afternoon. We flew tools and equipment into the Beavers bottom terminal to start lift construction there. We flew concrete to the top of Pali for a modification to the Ski Patrol Hut up there.

We also flew all of the Norway towers to the base area. Of all the materials in this decommissioned lift, we will either sell or recycle 99+% of it. Our next step on the lift is to rehabilitate the lift tower and station sites.

Helicopters always bring out people and cameras.

The Old 105 Tower

We pulled the "Old 105 Tower" today. It was lifted with a civilian version of the Blackhawk helicopter. This tower was part of the CDOT / A-Basin partnership for doing avalanche work on The Professor and The Widowmaker. For the late 80's, 90's and early 2000's, this was a workhorse of the program. Back then there was a 105 mm Howitzer and a few other weapons stationed there. Patrollers and Mechanics from that era spent many a very dark and cold morning driving the CDOT crew up to the tower in an old Tucker Snowcat and supporting them while they fired the weapon.

As standards have changed over the years, the tower was no longer suited for stationing heavy duty military hardware. For those of you that are sentimental, don't fret. We are re-using the tower this summer in a modification of our East Wall Avalauncher Tower.

18 Hole Course

Welcome to the Arapahoe Basin 18 Hole Disc Golf Course. Ben, Taylor and quite a few others have been hard at work all week getting the final 9 holes built. They were opened today. It is a really great, fun and exciting course........and a great walk in the woods. Basically, from where Basket 8 was last season, the holes moves West across the ski area to the old 105 Tower. From there Hole 14 is long, booming shot down Slalom Stadium. We eliminated old Hole 9 and have added another big long closing hole down High Noon to the bottom for Hole 18...............just outside The 6th Alley.

Another Good Weekend Ahead

"Maybe April" plays at Mountain Goat Plaza Saturday. Another beautiful weekend in store. Rumor has it that the back nine of the Arapahoe Basin Disc Golf Course will be opening VERY, VERY soon. Come spend a quiet weekend at The Basin.

Next Generation?

Tikka

Tundra and Wildflowers

The tundra is green and the wildflower display has been robust and beautiful. I have been sneaking in hikes whenever I can. As I have said before, I can't get enough of wandering around this place.

Dillon Amphitheater

Friday night I went to the first concert at the new Dillon Amphitheater. The town did an amazing job. The venue has always been one of my favorite locations to catch a show. With Lake Dillon in the foreground and the Gore Range and Ten Mile Range in the background, the setting is stunning. It is a very cool place to catch up with friends, watch the sunset, tip a pint and enjoy some music. Summit County summers are about as perfect as perfect gets.