Vaccine Bus

The Vaccine Bus was a big hit at The Basin the last couple days. It seemed to be especially popular with "my generation" of friends getting their booster shots. The line was a very social place. About 300 people chose to be vaccinated here. 

My hope this winter is to have Arapahoe Basin operating in as "normal" of a manner as we possibly can.

Upper Mountain Snowmaking

We made some decent progress on the Upper Mountain this week. Temps were good. Streamflows were good. The wind was a bit of a challenge, but we made some headway. We are taking a couple days off from snowmaking. We will let the reservoir re-fill. The Snowmakers can get some rest and maybe sneak in a little fishing. We will be hard at it early next week.

FAC Is Back

The Friday Afternoon Club, FAC, is back. Starting this, and each Friday through November 19, we will be hosting FAC at The Basin. There will be discounted tickets from 2-4 PM and food and drink specials in the 6th Alley.

This is really about getting together with your friends and family, making a few turns, catching a few chairlift rides and catching up on the week, month or year. Come on up and join the fun.

 

Heaven and Hoses

It is a good night for snow at The Basin. Mother Nature is doing her share and putting a few inches on the ground. The temperature is dropping and on its way to the low teens. The snowmakers are busy running at full capacity. Snow is falling from heaven and hoses.

Nothing To Do With Today

This photo has nothing to do with today. I was just day dreaming about skiing powder.

Nothing To Do With Today

This photo has nothing to do with today. I was just day dreaming about skiing powder.

Vaccine Bus

The Vaccine Bus is coming to A-Basin Friday and Saturday, October 29th and 30th from 9 AM - 4 PM. First shot, second shot, booster shot, whatever you need. Get vaccinated and get a Bloody Mary (or other select beverages) in the 6th Alley. Come join us. Enjoy ski day - vaccination - après ski. Hope to see you there.

The Meadows

Check out the snowmaking progress looking across The Meadows just above Black Mountain Lodge.

 

A Couple Decent Nights

We have had a couple of decent nights of snowmaking on the Upper Mountain. It hasn't been near as cold as last week, but we have made a little progress. The weekend looks so-so for temperatures. We will have to see how that goes. Maybe starting Tuesday night, we will see colder temps again.

Snowmaking on the way to Lenawee Lift

 

Next Steps - Snowmaking

The snowmakers have moved their equipment to the Upper Mountain. Physically moving all the guns, hoses, cords, and hydrants takes some time. Their next objectives are to get Lenawee Face, Dercum's Gulch and Lenawee Mountain Lift open. Prior to last year, our next snowmaking objective after High Noon had been Ramrod. Last year, we saved Ramrod for later and went straight to the Summit. We liked that so much, we are doing it again.

Enjoy the photos of Upper Mountain snowmaking grooming from November 2019.

 

Corduroy And Rails

 Sunday will be fun with some fresh corduroy and a couple of fun rails.

Snowcat Time

The Snowmakers have done their part. Now it is time for the snowcats. Today Scott and Dorse came in and started pushing the snow around on High Noon.  The cat drivers (operators) have some more work to do during the day Saturday. They will be in again Sunday morning before we open to craft the finishing touches. I walked down the trail this afternoon. With the beautiful work by both teams, we are going to have one heck of an opening Sunday. 

A-Basin Opens Sunday

Arapahoe Basin will open for the season this Sunday, October 17. Black Mountain Express will be running and skiers and riders can cruise High Noon. We just might have a few features in the Banana Terrain Park. These are exciting times. It is so fun to get chairlifts spinning again. I can't wait to see all of your smiling faces on the hill.

Creatures Of The Night

The snowmakers are working 24/7 these days. They are making good snow during the day and they are making incredible snow at night. It takes a special creature to make snow all night. This morning the wet bulb temperature was down to 12F. The forecast has come true and this has been an exceptional week of snowmaking. Stay tuned for more details.

 

Skipped A Night

We skipped snowmaking last night. The temperatures were so-so. We could have made a little snow, but chose to delay to conserve water. The forecast still looks great the next few days. Water is not unlimited. We chose to skip the small snowmaking opportunity and save the water  for the big opportunity coming today. Later today we will turn the guns back on. We should have an excellent session.

The photo below is from yesterday morning.

 

Another Great Night

The Snowmakers had another great night. They have made substantial progress on High Noon. Conditions this evening look so-so, but beginning Tuesday night, the forecast for snowmaking looks really good the rest of the week. Good enough, that I am getting a little excited.

 

That Was A Great Night

That was a fantastic night. It got cold with a wet bulb temperature of 21F. The Snowmakers had a very successful session and are still going strong as I write. We anticipate turning off sometime today, but tonight could be another good session and more are expected through the week. On top of that, we have had 5 or 6 inches of natural snow which is nothing, but great news for snowmaking. Often snowmaking starts with a lot of baby steps. Last night was a big, big step.

 

Snowing Again

It is snowing heavily again this afternoon.

 

A Couple Wet Inches

So far so good with the weather. Last night we had a couple of wet inches of snow, probably a little more on the Summit. It wasn't quite cold enough for snowmaking, but tonight could have some decent temperatures. The forecast for the week looks OK for snowfall and pretty good for snowmaking.

These mornings with fresh snow, blue skies and clouds are beautiful.

 

Feels Like Winter

 It is cold. It is gray. It is spitting snow. It feels like winter.

Testing, 1, 2, 3, Testing

The Snowmaking Team was out doing more testing and training this morning. While temperatures still aren't quite there yet, the forecast is looking more promising. We might see a little snow tonight and a bit of snow this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for colder and snowier weather next week.

 

Lenawee Express 6-Pack in 2022

We are excited to announce that A-Basin has signed a deal with Leitner Poma to replace Lenawee Lift in the summer of 2022. We will be removing the 2001 Triple Chairlift and installing a brand new Detachable 6-pack Chairlift. In addition to 6-packs being more stable in high winds, we felt this lift would do the best job of increasing capacity. Through our planning we felt the need to upgrade the capacity of Lenawee from 1800 people per hour (pph) to 2400 pph. While this could technically be achieved with a quad chair, we felt that in actual use, the 6-pack would be far more effective achieving that goal of 2400 pph. We all know Lenawee lift lines get backed up now and again. This lift will do a great job of knocking those lines down and spreading people out better.

 

Full Reservoir

Our Snowmaking Team is ready to go. They have been testing and working on their equipment all summer. The fan guns are in place on the hill. The snowmaking reservoir is full. Streamflow levels are good and good streamflow means good snowmaking. According to the forecast we are still probably a week away from good snowmaking temperatures, but we are definitely getting closer. Like most of you, I am getting very excited for snowmaking. It won't be long.