Uphill N' Chill - Steilhang

We had a very successful Uphill N' Chill event at Black Mountain Lodge a while back. We are doing it again only this time at Steilhang Hut. On Saturday, May 7, Steilhang Hut will be open from 5:00 - 7:00 PM.  Items from it its normal menu will be available for purchases. All you skinners come on up for your Saturday afternoon exercise and then join us at the hut for sausages, streudal and beer. The place has only been open a week and a half, but it has been a big hit so far. The picture below speaks for itself.

Where Else?

Where else at the end of April can you ride a couple chairs, take a direct hike and ski some beautiful winter snow. No doubt, most of the resort has Spring conditions now, but, following that last storm, there was still a little bit of soft winter snow high on The Wall. And the view isn't bad either.

 

Best Coverage Yet

With all the snow I think we have the best snow coverage of the season. Definitely certain areas like the East Wall, including the hiking, have the best coverage of the season. Snow seems to clinging to almost everything. Aesthetically, the place is stunning right now. This afternoon I was doing the Long Chute mini-hike and had to stop at the top and capture the image below. I never grow tired of this place.

 

17" in 3 Days

With the 8" of new snow reported this morning, that made 17" in 3 days. The skiing, especially on the East Wall was really good - if you like skiing powder. The new snow triggered a pretty good turnout for a Monday and there were a lot of very happy skiers. I got a little tied up in the morning (parking cars and driving shuttles) and did not ski until the afternoon. I missed the powder, but the snow was still excellent.

Monday Morning?

Just in case you were wondering what to do Monday morning, here is a picture of the snow stake about 7:30 PM Sunday night.

 

It Is Nuking

 

Snowing Today

It is snowing nicely today. Sometimes these Spring do really well for The Basin and this weekend's storm appears to be a good one.

Steilhang Hut Open

Today we celebrated a soft opening at Steilhang Hut. Bluebird skies ushered the day. Chef Rybak and team served Bavarian/Arapahoe fare. Come check out the building and the deck. The views are top notch and the design is awesome. It is intentionally the opposite of a ski area large cafeteria. It is a small, beautiful, intimate place with a simple menu of delicious foods. Another wonderful Basin experience.

 

North Pole

Enjoy these North Pole images a friend shared with me from yesterday. Monday morning at The Basin - Powder day. Tuesday - Spring time in the Rockies.

Powder Day, Spring and Season Passes

We just finished more than a week of snowfall. With reportable snow 8 of the last 9 days and cold temperatures, winter had returned. Despite being my day off, I showed up early enough today to catch about the 10th chair on Pali. It was a fantastic. New snow and blue skies are some of favorites. North Glade, The Spine, The Face and Standard are so fun to ski in these conditions. By this afternoon Spring will have returned and appears to be here all week. We are in for some classic, bluebird "A-Basin Spring Days."  This will be a fabulous week.

This is an important week for season pass sales. We have sold about 44% of the passes we plan on selling this season. Assuming we don't sell out in the next few days, Thursday, April 21 is a very important day. It is the last day that current pass holders get the renewal rate of $519.  For everyone, pass prices go up Friday to $599. Sorry to give such a sales pitch in the blog, but if you haven't bought yet, I suggest doing it now. 

When we raise prices like this and end the renewal rate by a certain date, in marketing terms, that is a "Call to Action." We sold a decent number of passes the first day they went on sale. Since then, we have sold a small steady number each day. Typically, in the last 2-3 days prior to the "Call to Action" we sell the majority of our passes. We are just going into those final days. I don't know if we will sell out or not, but we are anticipating a lot of sales activity between now and Thursday night.

 

What A Show !!!

Yesterday's show was amazing. The Sweet Lillies and The Infamous Stringdusters lit up Mountain Goat Plaza. The Stringdusters had a little help from local band members of High Five. The music was fantastic. For me, what really made the day was the The Basin family. It had been a beautiful day of skiing that was topped off by an excellent show. People had so much fun and the spirit and warmth of the crowd was off the charts. This performance was exactly what the people of A-Basin needed. Thanks to the bands, thanks to the audience and thanks to the staff that pulled this off.

 

Snow Makes People Smile

Snow makes people smile and it snowed all morning.

 

Great Skiing , The Infamous Stringdusters and Carpooling

The skiing on The Spine this morning was tremendous. While the snowfall numbers have not been huge, we have had good, steady snow all week with really favorable winds. The Basin has transitioned from Spring back to Winter and I am loving it. 

Saturday from 4-6 PM, The Infamous Stringdusters will be playing their Americana Vibes in the Mountain Goat Plaza. I am told that the Dusters themselves most favorite things are skiing, friends, music, cold beer and a big hang. There might not be a better place for that than Arapahoe Basin. For details go to Infamous Stringdusters.

Between the great April skiing and the Stringdusters there might be a few people around on Saturday. There has never been a better day to carpool or ride the Summit Stage. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE and THANK YOU.

 The Spine this morning.

And They Are Off

The Enduro has begun.

 

The Enduro

Wednesday is the annual Arapahoe Basin Enduro. Teams of two will ski 10 hours from 7 AM to 5 PM on 20 different lines on the Pallavicini Lift. A handful of the teams will be competing with each other to see who "unofficially" skis the most runs. For almost everyone else, it is a cool day to be on the hill with their partner, skiing the best they can, maybe setting a personal record and mostly just having fun.

The event is followed by a great party in the A-Frame with dinner, a silent auction and a live auction by auctioneer Tony C. This year we are auctioning off a Norway Chair. All of the proceeds from the event go to a unique cause. Sometimes that cause is a local organization. A few years ago we donated the funds to Building Hope, a Summit County non-profit focused on suicide prevention. Other times we donate the proceeds to one of our friends or neighbors that could use a hand.

This year those funds are going to Matt Norfleet, aka "Norf" the A-Basin Assistant Patrol Director and Rio the avalanche dog handler. He has been working his way through a cancer battle. Matt is well known for many things. He is quite an artist and has designed many of the Enduro T shirts. Matt is one of the principal leaders of CRAD (Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment) whose mission is to cultivate, inspire and produce dog teams for successful avalanche search and rescue. For many years Matt was on the US Whitewater Rafting Team, competing around the world. In 2020, he and seven buddies rowed the 5th fastest time through the Grand Canyon at 37 hours and 55 minutes (Grand Canyon Speed Runs). On top of all that, Matt has been our steadiest hand, guiding and leading the A-Basin Ski Patrol for the last 20 years.

The party Wednesday night is especially fun. The A-Basin community is less about where we physically are and more about a state of mind. While the event itself is sold out, there is still plenty of room at the dinner and the party. Coming to The Enduro, enjoying the party and giving "Norf" a hand is a great way to be a part of that community. For details go to A-Basin Enduro

Luau

Saturday night was our Randonee Luau Moonlight Dinner at Black Mountain Lodge. That means there was no chairlift. Guests either skinned, snowshoed or hiked to BML. Dinner was awesome, as always. Throughout the evening Polynesian dancers entertained the crowd with rites from Hawaii, Samoa and New Zealand. The evening was capped out on the deck with fire dancers. In A-Basin style it was snowing nicely as the barefoot Polynesians put on a crowd pleasing, fire tossing show. We finished the night with a peaceful, snowy walk down Wrangler.

And we reported 5" of new snow Sunday morning.

 

You Never Know

 You never know who will see at The Basin in the Spring.

Beautiful Afternoon

The day started out with bluebird skies. Pretty quickly, gray skies rolled in, but by the afternoon the sun had mostly popped out. It is hard to beat riding the Pali Chair in April with the sun on your face.

 

Park and Winds

For the 75th Anniversary party, the Terrain Park Crew held a Rail Jam adjacent to Black Mountain Lodge. The features have been a hit and we plan on keeping them there for a while.

The last few days have been a tad bit breezy and cold. Finally, we will see some relief the next couple days with mostly sunny skies, reduced winds and temps in the 30's. Spring is back.

Staff Actions

I am not really sure what these guys are doing, but I think it has something to do with a scavenger hunt and The Basin's 75th Anniversary. I think they are having fun.

 

75th Anniversary Dinner

Last night Chef Clint and team hosted an incredible steak, scallop and baked Alaska "75th Anniversary Dinner" in The 6th Alley. Incredible. We were very lucky to have Alice Jump, Marnie and Larry's daughter, join us for dinner. I continue to be amazed at the vision Larry and his team had in 1946.  With very few models for a ski resort, they created Arapahoe Basin. We owe that generation of pioneers many, many thanks.

 

Happy 75th