Jon Reveal

Sadly, the ski world lost one its finest stars this week. Jon Reveal passed away Thursday in Idaho. He had a 55+ year career in skiing with many stops along the way including Keystone, A-Basin, Aspen, Yellowstone Club and Tamarack. Being a buddy of Warren Miller, Jon skied in 15 of his movies. 

Jon was the General Manager at A-Bain from 1978 to 1983. Following Keystone and Ralston Purina's purchase of The Basin, Jon led the charge during the summer of 1978 as buildings and lifts were removed and remodeled. Four new chairlifts were installed that summer including the Black Jewel, Pallavicini Chairlift - version 1. While the Pali zone was already part of the ski area, Jon's effort and guidance in building the new chair allowed so many more people to enjoy this incredible terrain. A couple years ago Jon and I had a wonderful series of emails and phone calls that resulted in him sending me a couple hundred photos from that 1978 construction season. They are priceless. Most of you recognize his name from spring and summer pond skimming on Lake Reveal. He stayed at A-Basin until 1983 when he left to climb Mt. Everest. 

Jon had an enormous impact on Arapahoe Basin. While I never worked directly with Jon, I feel very lucky to have known and spent time with him. He will be deeply missed.

Jon Reveal (center) on the Lower Mountain in the late 70's.

 Jon Reveal (right) near the Top of Pali before there was a chairlift, 1978.

Why?

Why we love The Basin.

 

East Wall

The East Wall was skiing very nicely this afternoon. You still need to keep your eyes open for rocks, but the snow itself, with some pockets of untracked, was excellent. The EW Traverse is open about halfway across to the "Hot/Cold Closure." And for the most adventurous, there is still some very good skiing in Narrow North Pole. The day was mostly sunny and crisp. Nearly perfect. I think Saturday and Sunday will be even better.

 

Addressing DEI at A-Basin

We have always thought The Basin was an open and inclusive place. With George Floyd’s death and other events of the last couple years, we have taken another look at ourselves. A group of employees started tackling these issues and we realized that we were not as inclusive of a place as we thought we were. Our next steps involved hiring a consultant to  take a deeper dive by completing an audit.

It came as no surprise that our staff and guests were almost all white. What was a surprise was that our recruiting, hiring, retention and advancement policies needed some work. On top of that, an internal employee survey identified that not everyone on the team felt as included as they should have.

Moving forward, we have begun taking the following steps. We are creating a detailed DEI Action Plan. We are identifying Year One Priorities to keep our efforts highly focused. We are updating our recruitment policies. We are providing foundational DEI training for all of our staff from senior to brand new employees.

Arapahoe Basin has a tremendous impact on tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of people. It is time for us to do our best to include everyone as we share and work at this magical place.

To learn more about what we are doing go to DEI at A-Basin.

Photo credit - Try Cissell   We have welcomed Colorado Blackpackers to The Basin several times. Check out their website Colorado Blackpackers

Good Skiing

The skiing is so good. While we didn't get as much snow as other Colorado resorts, we did score a healthy 6 inches from this past storm. The skiing was good before the storm and really, really good after the storm. No surprise that North Side is a treat right now (actually, it almost always is). 

I probably publish a disproportional amount of photos from the location below. I can't help it. I am so often dumbstruck when I get off Black Mountain Express or walk out of Black Mountain Lodge. I never get tired of the view of the Upper Mountain.

 

Narrow North Pole

The open terrain on the East Wall is expanding. Today Narrow North Pole could be accessed from the North Pole gate. The entrance is a little better than usual. I do the East Wall hikes for two reasons. One, to get some really good skiing. And two, just to be there. Being up on the East Wall is such an uplifting experience.

This Is Not The Spine

This is not The Spine. It is the left side of Beaver Bowl. It has a similar aspect and slope to The Spine and is about 3/4 mile S/SW of The Spine. At times it catches snow just like The Spine. Today it was soft and buffed and offered sweet, arcing turns. It is another spot for you to keep your eyes and skis on.

Baby Booter

The East Wall hiking program has to start somewhere. This season it has started with a staircase up North Pole. As the pictures show, there is some nice skiing to be found up there. With a good forecast this week, this EW hiking program will be expanding soon.

And there aren't many things cooler than being up on The Wall.

 

Loveland Pass

Riding down the Black Mountain Express, we are looking directly at Loveland Pass.

 

International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association

This week A-Basin has been hosting several events for the International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association. The events have been held on the western side of Montezuma Bowl. Young people have been skiing all kinds of incredible lines and showing off their "goods." It has been a really fun show for spectators.

 

A Little Snow At Dusk

 

Bacon Bloody Mary

I know some of you are Arapahoe Basin Bacon Bloody Mary fans. Some historians believe, the drink was actually invented here. Elevate Distillery prepares a "Bacon Flavored Vodka" specifically for Arapahoe Basin. Check out the bottle's wonderful artwork and text, featuring The 6th Alley and Montezum Bowl.

 

End Of The Day

As the work day winds down, I get to lean back in my chair, look out the window, reflect on the day and try and figure out "What is next?

 

Lenawee Mountain Express

I am a huge fan of the terrain off Lenawee Lift, Lenawee Parks, Dragon, East Wall, etc. While the Lenawee triple has been a great workhorse servicing this terrain, we look forward to installing the new Leitner Poma Lenawee Express 6-pack Chairlift this summer. The new chair coupled with the Black Mountain Express will do a stellar job giving people access to the Front Side core of the mountain where all of our facilities are located.

 

Skiing Jump

Checking out the soft wind blown snow in Jump. This morning we had a plentiful 2" of new snow followed by mostly sunny skies. It has been another fine Saturday.

West Zuma

Today the wind was kind to portions of West Zuma. I found some fun skiing in Jump and took a few minutes paying homage to Larry, A-Basin's first President. We may have a few of inches of new snow to ski on Saturday.

Friday Afternoon Club

Friday Afternoon Club is back. Online you can pick up a $59 ticket to ski from 2 PM until close. The 6th Alley will have live music, all kinds of good beer and food and plenty of fun.

 High Five

Talking About Chairlifts

 

You Know When.......

You know when the wind blows just right and the snow is flat and soft and creamy. And the turns are about as sweet as turns get. And after skiing a pitch with those conditions, you just cannot stop smiling and laughing. And all the people in your ski group are about as giddy as they get.

The Spine was like that today.

You Won't Believe This

You won't believe this, but we are heading towards another beautiful weekend. We had a few inches of snow again. It was a bit cold the last couple of days, but temps have warmed up today and look very good for Saturday. Skiing around this afternoon, I was in awe. The snow, weather and mountain were fantastic. The blue in the photo below is real.

Dinners Are Back

The A-Basin dinners are back. After a very long, COVID induced pause, The 6th Alley Supper Club and Black Mountain Lodge Moonlight Dinners are returning. This Friday, February 4, we will be hosting Curry Night at the A-Basin Supper Club. Menu highlights include ginger marinated chicken skewers and Panang curry. The following week, the Moonlight Dinner Series returns Saturday, February 12 with a Taste of Italy. With everything from ravioli to porcini sacchetti to tenderloin medallions to chocolate mousse, you don't want to miss this feast.

For details and for booking go to:

 A-Basin Dinners

I love these dinners.