Early Riser Waterline

If you have driven by The Basin lately, you may have noticed some heavy equipment and gravel in the Early Riser Lot. We are replacing the waterline that runs from the Kids Center building to the shop. The water that line carries is critical for our vehicle maintenance shop and our wastewater treatment plant. If you have been around a while, you may remember two or three times when we dug very large holes in the parking lot to repair water line breaks (during ski season of course). I think this line was installed in 1978 or maybe earlier. We are taking the big step and doing a complete replacement. Not necessarily an exciting or sexy project, but a really important one that needs to be done.

BMX Bullwheel

This week the Lift Maintenance team ticked off one of their bigger projects of the summer. Immediately after closing on Oktoberfest Sunday, they began the process of replacing the bearings on the bullwheel at the bottom of Black Mountain Express. This is not an easy task. First, they have to de-tension the lift so the haul rope can remain on all of the towers and the top bullwheel while taking the rope off the bottom bullwheel. Once that is complete, they lower the 5,000+ pound bullwheel to ground where they can actually remove and replace a very large set of bearings. Upon completion, the team  reverses the process, putting the bullwheel back in place, putting the rope back on the bullwheel and, finally, reversing the de-tensioning process.

And The Willows

And the Willows have also been exceptional this fall.

Aspens 1st Steep Gully

While there are lots of aspens along the road as one drives towards The Basin, there are not actually very many aspens within the ski area boundary. There is a nice little grove at the bottom of the Zuma hike back. There is also a nice patch at the bottom of the 1st Steep Gully. They are not big and stately, but are more small and shrubby. When they turn gold in the fall, they really stand out from Highway 6.

Found A Single Chair

The blog post worked. Rob Diehl reached out to me to say that he had one of the original single chairs installed for the 1947-48 season. He was excited that we were interested in it. We are going to take some time to refinish it and then display it in a place for everyone to enjoy.

Another Snowmaking Photo

Another fun snowmaking photo from Saturday morning.

Washington, DC

For several years now I have been lucky to be on the Board of Directors for the National Ski Areas Association. The Board and, especially, the staff have done great work on a variety of issues like COVID management, employee training programs and government relations.

Every few years, I break out the suit and tie and join the Board for a trip to DC to meet our legislators. I flew into Dulles last week for several congressional meetings. We connect with as many senators and representatives as we can from both sides of the aisle. We talk about important ski industry subjects like Climate Change, keeping work visas available for international students and workers, and "let's make sure the ski areas on public lands can remain open in case the government shuts down." It is a good idea to work with and know our elected officials in advance, before there is a crisis.

This is the fourth time I have participated in a trip like this and I learn and grow so much every time. 

And I can't wait to get that tie off.

Oktoberfest Action Shots

And Sunday we have another day of Oktoberfest........

First Snowmaking

About 3 AM this morning the snowmaking team fired up the system. The wet bulb temperature dropped down to 25 F. The primary objective of the session was testing. The temps were a bit colder than we expected. The system components worked well. Over the next week or two, we will do this a few more times. At some point, the temps will drop even further, stay colder longer and the snow will start to pile up. You know what happens after that.

 

Last "Not Winter" Weekend

Come join us for the last two days of the "Not Winter" season. There is so much going on with free chairlift rides, hiking, biking the Beavers Loop Trail, disc golf and, of course, Oktoberfest. These are the final two days for the Aerial Adventure Park and Via Feratta this year. 

The forecast looks great with sunny skies and comfortable temperatures. The next time we are open, we will be skiing.

Oktoberfest

Time to dust off my lederhosen. Not only are this Saturday and Sunday the final two days of summer operations, they are also Oktoberfest. Grab your best German attire and head to The Basin for a little dancing, a little bratwurst eating and a little beer drinking. These are some of my favorite days of the year.

Starting To Turn Yellow

While the leaves are not bright yellow yet, the fall colors have started to emerge. You can see it on the aspens and the willows already. More to come soon.

Iowans, California, Mt Whitney and A-Basin

I am not quite sure how this happens, but a bunch of Iowans ended up in California climbing Mt. Whitney and they were all wearing A-Basin hats. I think that is good karma.

Pali Chair and Rope Sale

Over the next month we will auction off two Pali chairs. When the original Pallavicini Chairlift was removed, we auctioned off a few chairs and donated the proceeds to local non-profits. We planned on auctioning off two more. We fell a little behind on that and then COVID happened and we lost all our mojo and momentum on the project.

Well, the mojo and momentum are back. Not only are we auctioning the two chairs, we are selling pieces of the Pali wire rope. All of the proceeds will be split between three extraordinary Summit County organizations, Summit Foundation, Summit Community Care Clinic, and Family Intercultural Resource Center.

 For details check out, Pali Chair and Rope

More Snow Pics

I love these early snow storms, but don't get too excited just yet. Most of this snow will melt very soon. The weekend looks to be gorgeous, sunny skies with high temps near 60. Hazel Miller will be rocking the place Sunday afternoon. Come check out our second to last summer weekend. It is going to be fun.

Looking out my office window I can see the snowmakers preparing all their equipment.

Zuma Snow

We have a bit of snow in Montezuma Bowl this morning.

 

Hazel Miller

Colorado's force of nature, Hazel Miller is "Bringing It" to The Basin Sunday afternoon. Her powerful voice and strong spirit are a perfect match with the A-Basin scene. Join us for this classic Arapahoe Basin day. Not only was last year's crowd blessed with Hazel's brilliant performance, but a bull moose walked right through the base area during the show.

For more details check out our website at Hazel Miller

 

Up At Arapahoe

No longer called "Trail 5", the first segment of our newest summer trail, "Up At Arapahoe" is open. The trail is for two-way hiking and uphill biking. The route is about .6 miles and almost 300 vertical feet. Learning from our early trail building, the climbing on "Up At Arapahoe" is easier than on the "Argentine North Fork Trail." The layout is beautiful and, most importantly, it gets people off the summer road 😎

September Via Ferrata

I had a great day Sunday climbing the Via Ferrata. Mike Friedman, the course designer and builder, and a few other industry friends from Aspen and other resorts joined for a beautiful fall climb. During the middle of the climb, the weather got a little testy, but as we got close to the top, the sun popped out for a beautiful summit climb.

Summer operations will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday for two more weekends.

Mountain Bike Hut Trip

Every once in a while I write a post that seems to have nothing to do with A-Basin. These posts are meant to share experiences that I think A-Basin community members would enjoy.  

With a group of six, we recently enjoyed a 75 mile 4-day mountain bike hut trip on the Uncompahgre Plateau. It was incredible. We rode through spruce, ponderosa, cottonwood and aspen forests as well as red rock canyons. There were stunning views of Grand Mesa, the Raggeds, the Sneffels Range and the LaSals. While some of the route was on jeep roads, a bunch of it was sweet single track. The trip was unguided, but it was supported. Each day our bags and fresh food were delivered to the next hut. The food was delicious. The huts were clean and efficent, almost perfect for this trip.

The trip was booked through Colorado Backcountry Biker in Fruita. Check out their website, Hut Trip. This was an A+ experience.