Argentine North Fork Trail Extension

Our Trail Crew has been hard a work building an extension to the Argentine North Fork Trail. None other than Joey Klein, IMBA Trail Solutions trail designer and builder extraordinaire, has been leading the charge.  He conducted a trail building school and is now out on the hill showing our crew how it is done.

Previously, hikers and riders had to travel up the water tank road a quarter mile to reach the trail head. Now the trail will start near Tower 1 of the Black Mountain Express and work its way up the hill and around Molly Hogan to the existing ANF Trail.  

Thinking About Via Ferrata

We are gearing up to start building the Via Ferrata on the East Wall. Tony C and I spent Thursday afternoon out on the East Wall working on some basic logistics of the operation. This will be an extraordinarily fun adventure in an extraordinarily stunning setting. Via Ferratas are quite popular in Europe and a few of them are popping up in the US and Canada. If you are fairly fit, love climbing around and playing in the mountains and seek out rugged, exciting places, this could be for you. We are scheduled to open the Via Ferrata to the public in Summer 2020.

If you are not quite sure what I am talking about, check out the video of  Jackson Hole's Via Ferrata .

Saturdays

We dodged the afternoon rain and had a fantastic Saturday. Chef Rybak was serving up the Low Country Boil. I had the shrimp and grits and an andouille sausage. Wood and Wire played some awesome Texas bluegrass. I enjoyed a good hike on the Argentine North Fork Trail. The first disc golfers of the season enjoyed the Front Nine. It is hot in Denver and busy in town. Perfect time to visit The Basin.

Front Nine Open

The Front Nine of the Arapahoe Basin Disc Golf course is open for the season. The Back Nine is still a bit wet. Hopefully we get that open soon. With all the gorgeous weather we are having, it is a great time to come up for a stroll and and to toss a few discs. As a reminder, Black Mountain Express is open Saturdays and Sundays. Arapahoe Sports and the 6th Alley Bar and Grill are open Friday thru Monday.

It Is Summer Time

We are in full blown Summer. Denver is breaking records for high temperatures and  the weather at The Basin is just perfect. The Argentine / North Fork Trail is in fine shape. The Disc Golf Course is almost open (stay tuned for details soon). We have Yoga available Friday and Sunday. Sunday we will be also offering a guided wild flower hike. The chairlift runs Saturday and Sunday. The 6th Alley and Arapahoe Sports will be open Friday thru Monday. Come on up and enjoy the fun.

North Fork Flowing High

Most people that ski North Fork don't realized that when the snow is gone, North Fork is quite a stream. We are halfway through July and it is still flowing at a very high level. Looking at it today, it is hard to realize we actually ski there in the winter time. Skied in conjunction with TB Glades, North Fork is definitely one of our favorite kid trails. I think it is pretty fun too.

Trail Run #1

Yesterday 31 runners took part in the Arapahoe Basin Trail Run #1. The course started in Mountain Goat Plaza and went up the Argentine North Trail to Black Mountain Lodge. From there they headed down the Summer Road to near the top of the Winter North Fork Trail. There, they turned on to the Lower Argentine North Fork Trail back to Mountain Goat Plaza completing a 3.8 mile course. Many of the runners headed to the 6th Alley to enjoy lunch and a beverage.

64 Riders and Skiers

I think the experiment worked. 64 riders and skiers showed up to play in the park today. The remaining snow surface was pretty small and a little dirty, but that didn't stop these guys from having some fun. The snow and weather circumstances of this July allowed us to offer a couple extra park weekends. I am not sure we can do this every season, but we will try when the conditions all line up. Thanks to all that joined us.

Some Highway Problems Today

We had a beautiful Summer day up at The Basin. Unfortunately, there were highway closures that kept most people from getting here. The day was mostly a bust. We did have half a dozen intrepid skiers and riders that had the Terrain Park to themselves. Tonight's wedding attendees and participants are gearing up for a fun evening at Black Mountain Lodge..

So, some good news. There will be no highway closures Sunday. I hope a few more people will join us for one more day in the Terrain Park. Summer Trail Run #1 is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM. Yoga Sunday will happen at 11 AM on The Perch. We might see some afternoon showers so get here early.

The Low Country Boil has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 20.

I apologize for inconveniences caused by today's road closures.

Low Country Boil, Music and the Mountain

A new event, The Low Country Boil, is happening tomorrow, Saturday, July 13. Chef Rybak and crew will be serving up this Southeastern Coast feast. The menu includes shrimp, andouille sausage, cajun potatoes and buttered corn. Classic rock sounds will come from Yesterday's Tomorrow.

The snow is going fast. The place is greening up and the flowers are starting to show. The Argentine North Fork Trail is open for hiking. It is still a little too wet for bikes. Join us this weekend for a hike, a chairlift ride, some music, delectable treats and fun. Time to get out and enjoy the "other" season at The Basin.

Check out arapahoebasin.com for details.

Planting 300 Trees

Today, staff from Arapahoe Basin and the US Forest Service planted 300  Engelmann Spruce seedlings. Working together, crews from the two organizations planted trees on the cut bank on the uphill side of the Lower Last Chance Parking Lot. While some natural regeneration has occurred, we wanted to see a little bit more. It will be fun to watch these trees grow over the coming years.

Yoga On The Mountain

Yoga On The Mountain is this Thursday, July 11. Participants will walk up the hill to Black Mountain Lodge, work their way through an inspiring yoga session on the deck and enjoy a scrumptious lunch. There is still some snow on portions of the Argentine North Fork Trail. We may call a bit of an audible on how people get up to BML. We will decide that later in the week. Either way, there will be a fine yoga session and meal at mid-mountain. Hope you can join us. Check out the website for more details.

Summer Park

The park was fun. We had a good turnout. The crew had 7-8 features set up. All the guest were smiling and appreciative. I hope riders join us again tomorrow.

Thank You From A-Basin

It is deeply emotional to bring this season to a close. There have been a number of extraordinary events. Coupled with steady, consistent snowfall, this is a year for the memories and the record books.

Looking back, a lot has happened over the last 12 months. We built the Beavers Chairlift and fine tuned the Beavers terrain. We did a major remodel in the A-Frame kitchen. We had a good early October 19 opening. Excellent late November and early December snowfall delivered the Beavers Chairlift inaugural season and an early North Side opening. Il Rifugio opened in the Snow Plume Refuge. We chose to not renew our partnership with Vail. Heavy March snowfall and avalanches closed the highway (and the ski area) for two days. Great April, May (and a little June) snowfall provided extraordinary Spring skiing and hiking especially on the East Wall. And we topped it all off by staying open until the 4th of July.

This season was special. There will be plenty more great ones, but 2018-19 really meant something. The winter season will open again in about 100 days with, I am sure, all kinds new and exciting "stuff." All of us at The Basin are lucky and honored to share this place with you. Thanks for joining us. 

........Groovy T Shirts.

Al

The Day Could Not Have Been Better

We are going to be talking about this July 4th for a long, long time. I am not sure how it could have been better. I took a pre-opening spin to the Summit to be greeted by about 40 mountain goats. Our skiers and riders arrived with a bang. The parking lots were full at 8:45. The lines were long. We ran out of 4th of July T-Shirts at 9:30. Despite all the people and all the chaos, the day was a blast. People had so much fun. The spirits were so, so, so high. What happened at The Basin yesterday doesn't happen any place else. It was a combination of this magnificent place, its abundant snow, the incredible sport of skiing and riding, our guests and our employees. All of that mixed with a beautiful Colorado, sunny Summer day made for something very special.

Being open on the 4th of July doesn't happen often. Let's hope we don't have to wait 8 years again for the next time.

4th of July

We are almost there. Tomorrow we will be celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence by skiing at The Basin. For July, the mountain looks great. Several cat drivers have been working hard to get the place ready. The snow is where we want it, the lifts are spinning and we are ready to go.

Check out the link below to a video that shows what it takes to be open for the holiday. See you in the morning.

Being Open on July 4th

Terrain Park Surprise - July 6 and 7

I am looking forward to skiing the 4th of July, closing day for the 2018-19 season. It has been a great season.

Following that, we will roll directly into the A-Basin Summer Season. Summer operations include Black Mountain Express (BMX) being open to the public on weekends. We are going to try something new. Starting at 11 AM we will have a terrain park with a few features on Upper High Noon this Saturday and Sunday, July 6 and 7. To access the park, riders will have a short walk after travelling up BMX.

Park riders will have to purchase a $25 lift ticket at the ticket window. No season passes will be valid.

If the snow holds up and if park riders turn out, we may do this more than one weekend.