Loafer

With a ski down Loafer Saturday, I took my first my first spin of the season in The Beavers. Below timberline, there was a very consistent 20 inches of snow on the ground. The skiing was quite good. Above timberline still needs a few storms and a lot of snowcat work. The fences near the ridge have caught a decent amount of snow. The two steep pitches need the most work.  Folowing future storms, the snowcat drivers will push the drifts on to those steep pitches. We have a ways to go, but this is a great start.

All these steps that our Patrollers, Snowmakers, Cat Drivers and Lifters take in the fall become the foundation for great skiing throughout the season.

 

Directed Skiing

Over the last few days, the Ski Patrol has led some Directed Skiing on Slalom Slope, West Wall and Lenawee Parks. This really helps the snow set up nicely. They start by doing ski cutting and foot packing with some of the earliest snow. After more snow they let a few people ski it up and pack it down. Following subsequent storms this is repeated until there is enough snow to handle a full opening. We don't want to just open it up and ski it to ground. Each time it is skied or disturbed, the snow gets a little more packed. Patiently packing in those first few storms of snow makes for a really good ski surface.

 

Lenawee Opens Thursday

Lenawee Lift will open Thursday. I took a couple of runs on Lenawee Face and Dercum's Gulch this morning. It is fantastic. The staff spent the entire day getting the trails ready. The snowmakers moved their equipment out of the way. The snow cat operators dozed and manicured the snow. The lift team prepped their terminals. The ski patrol deployed their ropes, pads and signs. With the added lift and terrain, we can host a few more people. This is good.

We just spent the last 24 hours dealing with a royal pain in the $%&. Our internet provider wasn't providing the last 24 hours. That means the website, e-store and lots of other stuff doesn't work so well - or at all. For that time period, even though we added more tickets to the e-store inventory, no one could buy tickets. That is all fixed. If you were unable to buy a ticket, go check the store again. There are more tickets now and the store is working.

And the skiing is great.

 

Thanksgiving Surprise

We may have an Upper Mountain surprise on Thanksgiving.

 

Lenawee Face Snowmaking

Slowly, but surely, we are getting there.

 

The Calm

Today was a beautiful, calm day before the storm moving in tomorrow.

 

Lenawee Next

In a typical year, following the High Noon opening, our snowmaking efforts would move to Ramrod in preparation for its opening. This is anything but a typical year. Our next move is to open Lenawee Mountain Lift and Lenawee Face and Dercum's Gulch ski trails. This will give us another lift to spread out skiers and riders. More snow is forecast for the weekend. We have stored a decent amount of water in our reservoir. We have done a bit of ski packing and machine packing on the Upper Mountain. Following the weekend, snowmaking up there will kick into high gear.

Lenawee Parks

 A Patroller ski cutting in Lenawee Parks Thursday.

Voluntary Request - Season Pass Holders

We are looking good. We are open. We reported 4" new this morning (you know it skied more than that). We have another storm heading this way for the weekend. There are some unique things going on and I am expecting the next three days to be fairly busy. There are not many other ski areas open and there is a lot of pent up demand from last Spring's early closing and this Fall's delayed opening. We only have one chairlift open. Opening day excitement still abounds. And it is the weekend.

I am so happy that reservations are not required for A-Basin season pass holders. In my September 10th blog when I announced this policy, I did say there may be voluntary requests to avoid busy periods. I am making one of those requests. Over the next three days, could each of us ski a little less? Is it possible to move your ski day to a week day? If you were going to ski two days over the next three, could you ski just one? Could you ski in the afternoon, say after 1 PM, when there are far fewer people around?

Again, this is a voluntary request. We are going to get Lenawee Mountain Lift open as soon as we can. More ski areas will open soon to spread people around. Paring skier visits down a bit for the next three days will be really helpful. Thank you so much for considering this.

 

Is It Normal Yet?

Has life at The Basin returned to normal yet? No, I can't say that, but we are open for skiing and riding. We opened yesterday afternoon with very little promotion. We are taking management of the resort in the COVID era very seriously. We did not want to see a typical, crowded, rowdy opening day. Our strategy worked. With Wolf Creek and Keystone already open, that took away some of the opening bluster. By opening for a couple hours in the afternoon, we took even more of the edge away. Lastly, our plans for A-Basin passes, Ikon Passes and lift tickets worked well these first couple of days.

We are so excited to be open. With everyone wearing masks, I did not see a lot of friendly faces, but I heard a lot friendly voices. It is good to be skiing.

Is It Normal Yet?

Has life at The Basin returned to normal yet? No, I can't say that, but we are open for skiing and riding. We opened yesterday afternoon with very little promotion. We are taking management of the resort in the COVID era very seriously. We did not want to see a typical, crowded, rowdy opening day. Our strategy worked. With Wolf Creek and Keystone already open, that took away some of the opening bluster. By opening for a couple hours in the afternoon, we took even more of the edge away. Lastly, our plans for A-Basin passes, Ikon Passes and lift tickets worked well these first couple of days.

We are so excited to be open. With everyone wearing masks, I did not see a lot of friendly faces, but I heard a lot friendly voices. It is good to be skiing.

WE ARE OPEN

We are open for the 2020-21 season. Black Mountain Express, servicing the High Noon trail, will be open until 4:30 this afternoon. Tuesday (tomorrow), the lift will be open from 9 AM - 4 PM.

If you have an A-Basin Season Pass or Any Day Pass, come on up.

If you have an Ikon Pass, you can ski or ride today without a reservation. Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, you will need a reservation.

Lift ticket must be purchased online and in advance.  Tickets are available for today thru Friday, December 18.

The A-Basin ski season has begun and it is snowing.

Remember, COVID rules apply.

This Is Better

More natural snow last night. Great night of snowmaking. Snow cat operators are dozing piles. Snowmakers have shut down the system and are re-positioning equipment. Today's news is even better than yesterday's news !!!

This Is Good

As forecast, the snow came in after midnight and the temperature dropped down into the teens. We have had a few inches of natural snow. The fan guns are cranking and should do so all day (and night). The reservoir is re-charging nicely. The forecast calls for more snow and more cold temps.

This is good.

 

Last Weekend

I think this will be the last weekend of the Fall that we are not going to be open for skiing. The 6th Alley and Arapahoe Sports will be open. The Rental Shop will be open selling a bunch of last season's demo gear (a lot of good stuff there). Of course the Ticket Office will be open to pick up your season pass.

The delayed opening has been caused by some challenging snowmaking conditions. It looks like a lot of that is changing Saturday night. I am starting to feel pretty good about opening sometime next week. Let's see what happens with this upcoming storm and cold snap.

 This could be your season pass.

Mid Mountain

 

A Good Night

We have more water heading into our reservoir now. Last night's wet bulb temperature was near 20 F. The snowmakers had a good night on High Noon.