Fall In Telluride

Just had a great Fall weekend in Telluride. Did a great cross country mountain bike ride. Rode a few awesome flowy, lift served, freeride trails. Soaked in some beautiful yellow aspens. Had delicious food and drink at Smuggler Union Brewery. Took a spectacular hike above 12,000' just North of town. All and all, it was a great way to spend a Fall weekend.

Speaking of Fall and weather. We might see a change in weather by week's end. Stay tuned for the possibility of some cooler weather.

More Via Ferrata Images

The Via Ferrata will be a guided climbing experience high on the East Wall between Willy's Wide and North Pole. There will be fixed safety cables for climbers to clip into. Additionally, rungs will be installed in the rock to make for better, easier climbing. This will be a very cool and very unique experience taking people to a truly dramatic place. 

A Hint of Via Ferrata

The Via Ferrata construction is under way. This photo is the first hint of what is to come. Kind of cool.

Afternoon Light

The light this time of year is extraordinary, especially in late afternoon. 

Our snowmakers are continuing their testing and fine tuning. In the next day or two we will likely turn the full lower mountain system on again. These systems are large and complicated. Below the base area, we have a reservoir with a pump station adjacent to it. At mid-mountain we have a booster pump station. Strung between the reservoir and pump stations are miles and miles of water pipelines and power lines. Everywhere along the way are countless breakers, switches and valves. It takes a lot to keep it all in top shape, especially considering the impacts of being outside, moving soil and water and marmots and critters that like to gnaw on just about anything.

Our snow day is coming.

Fall Arrived

The calendar now says it is Fall. We have known that for a little while. It has snowed a couple of times. We have made our first snow. All the flowers have fallen off. There is a morning chill each day. The heat in my house kicked on. And the aspens are starting to turn. They are a little behind schedule though. I did find this beautiful grove riding my bike through Frisco this morning.

Snowmaking This Morning

We turned 'em on this morning. The wet bulb temperature dropped below 28 F. This isn't a big snowmaking session, but it is a snowmaking session. Getting the system going is a small step, but a very important step. We like to test the gear and work out any kinks. These actions are important to help us be ready when the really cold temperatures come.

.............And everybody likes a little snow.

New Trail Open

I just took a couple of laps on our newly opened downhill mountain bike trail. Way fun. The IMBA crew did a brilliant job designing and building this one. So this is kind of  a first taste. Over the next couple of summers we plan on building several additional trails for hiking and biking. Eventually, riders will be able to ride a full loop to the Summit and down on all purpose built bike trails. I get so excited just thinking about.

For now, come check out this first phase. Ride up the Argentine North Fork Trail and down the new one. It is a couple of miles with a 330' ascent and descent. Do it as a warm up loop for the Lenawee Trail or come do it multiple times for a good ride.

It will be available for use until snowmaking or natural snow close it down.

A-Basin Single Chair

I did a post similar to this a few years ago.

The first two chairlifts at A-Basin were roughly in the location of Black Mountain Express and the former location of Norway Lift. Both of these lifts were single chairs.

I would love to get my hands on one of the original single chairs, restore that chair and display it in a prominent place somewhere at The Basin. If you happen to know where one of these chairs might be, please let me know. I would love to be able to share it with the A-Basin faithful.

Thanks.

End of Summer

Our regular Summer activities are over. We had a fun closing weekend with Oktoberfest. With the exception of a couple weddings, we are very focused on finishing up our Summer projects and getting ready to open for skiing. For now, the mountain remains open for hiking and biking and disc golf. The forecast for the next week looks mostly like highs about 60 F and lows pushing 30 F. As soon as the temperature consistently drops below 28 F (wet bulb) we will fire up the snow guns. Until then, you have about a week or two, feel free to get out and about and enjoy the hill.

A-Basin Guitar Tattoo

I saw all kinds of cool things at Oktoberfest including this A-Basin, reflection in a lake, guitar tattoo. Pretty cool.

Oktoberfest

We scored. The day was perfect. The food was great. The Austrian Guys were awesome. A gorgeous day in the mountain, high spirits and German beer, food and music............. you can't go wrong. The day was a treat.

Wildlife Safe Passages

Louis and I went on a very interesting field trip today up on Vail Pass. It was led by a consortium of people known as Summit County Safe Passages. Staff from USFS, CDOT, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, A-Basin, Summit County, Eagle County, Denver Zoo and Rocky Mountain Wild attended. The group's mission is "Making Summit County Roads Safer for Wildlife and People."

Much like was done to Highway 9 north of Silverthorne, this group is looking for ways, like wildlife underpasses and overpasses, to reduce vehicle/wildlife collisions and improve wildlife habitat and connectivity. Both sides of the I-70 are rich with just about every kind of wildlife (elk, deer, moose, mountain lions, black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, etc.) found in the Colorado mountains. 

The project is currently in its early design phase. It will likely take several years to fully complete the design, secure the funding and build the structures. Locally, we will be hearing more and more about Safe Passages in the coming weeks, months and years. 

To learn more about the organization and to learn how to help and support Summit County Safe Passages go to:

Safe Passages

A Touch of Snow - Reminder

We had another touch of snow last night. These late August and September dustings remind us winter is around the corner. It is just about mid-September and we will be open in October. The snow guns are on the hill. We need to button up those Summer projects and keep our eyes on the thermometer.

We will be closing out the Summer with Oktoberfest this Saturday, September 14. Join us for the day with Those Austrian Guys, FREE Chairlift Rides, Knockwurst, Schnitzel, German beer and more. Find details on the website.

Less Than A Mile From The Basin

Today was a beautiful late Summer / Early Fall kind of day. We went for a nice hike wandering around the back side of the East Wall. Ideal weather, stunning scenery, 14,000' peaks all just over the ridge from The Basin.

'

More Bike Trail Images

Miami Beach

A very fun line that you won't find on a trail map.

Snowmaking Reservoir

The snowmaking reservoir is full !!!

Tower Gun Standing

The Sundance gun is standing. After a little bit of wiring, it will be ready to go by week's end.

New A-Frame Bathrooms

We are completely overhauling the A-Frame bathrooms this summer. We had a few plumbing and venting issues in there. This is a complete overhaul. We ripped out all the pipes, flooring, stalls, insulation, fixtures and most of the drywall. Almost everything will be new (and fresh smelling) including low flow sinks and urinals. Exciting stuff  - I know.

Via Ferrata Trail

To access the Via Ferrata our Summer Trail Crew is building a trail through the talus to the base of the cliffs between North Pole and Willy's Wide. They have built what is almost described as a stone staircase. It is very cool and barely visible. When finished, a very tricky scramble will become a very nice walk. It blends in so well, most people will never notice it.

Fan Guns On The Hill

Happy September. Most of the fan guns are out on High Noon. In the coming weeks, the snowmakers will be setting up hydrants, hoses and power cords. They have already done their annual maintenance on the equipment and will begin doing the Fall testing of pipelines, fan guns and electrical circuits.

Then they wait for cold temperatures.....................

A-Basin IMBA Bike Video

Check out this video.

A-Basin IMBA Bike Video

Aerial Adventure Park Construction

Our friends from Adventure Development have been working on our Aerial Adventure Park. It is in the tree islands just above the base area between Ramrod and Black Mountain Express and between Ramrod and High Noon. So far several platforms have been built. In the coming weeks, they will finish the platforms and connect them to each other with all kinds of groovy climbing features. Our Park will open in the Summer 2020. 

If you are unclear what an aerial adventure park is (or just want to watch a fun video), check out the link below from Sandy Spring, MD.

Sandy Springs Aerial Adventure Park