Another Good Day On The Hill

Winter is hanging on. 

Late Day On The Wall

Check out the very nice view of the late day light on the East Wall. It is supposed to be Spring. I am looking out my office window and it is snowing. While we were getting into spring conditions, the weather has changed and the place is skiing like it is winter again.

Japanese Ski Resort Visitors

Yesterday, we hosted several Japanese ski area managers at The Basin. Hailing from Tomamu, Nekoma and Tanigawadake Tenjindaira resorts, they were on a fact finding / best practices mission in Colorado. After they skied almost all day, we had a wonderful visit in Il Rifugio exchanging ideas about operating ski areas in both Japan and the US. They had insightful and thoughtful questions about why and how we do things. Mostly, we had a great time and shared a lot of laughs. The beautiful snow and weather and sweet skiing only added to the fun. I am lucky to have opportunities like this.

 

Today's Light

Today certainly was a return to winter. With colder temperatures and new snow, the skiing was really good. Kay and I spent some time on the North Side skiing Standard, East Avenue and North Glade before doing the North Pole hike and skiing West Vertical Cornice. The light, with the clouds, snowflakes and hints of sun, gave the place an almost eerie look. Zachary Jara shared a couple of excellent photos from the day. One from near the top of Pali another from the top of the Y Chutes. Both extraordinary images. They are worth a look on a big screen. I added a third photo from West Vert.

Forecast

The forecast the next ten days is looking pretty good, especially for tomorrow.

 

Norway Wind Buff

This afternoon I found some nice wind buff down the left side Norway Face. Looks like it is going to start snowing tomorrow morning.

Very Nice Place

The Top of Pali is a very nice place to enjoy some late day light.

 

Passes, Parking Reservations and The Ikon Pass

Our 2024-25 season passes went on sale today. Some of those passes include 3 days at Monarch and a day at Silverton in the unguided season. The Adult Arapahoe Basin Season Pass Renewal will be available for the same rate as last year, $559. Complete season pass details can be found at Arapahoe Basin Season Passes .

Until the sale to Alterra actually closes, we are still working for Dream and not Alterra. While not contemplated yet, upon closing there may be changes to Ikon Pass access. 

Parking has always been our pinch point for controlling busy days. In an effort to further focus on a quality guest experience, we will be implementing an online parking reservation system for the 2024-25 season. This has nothing to do with Alterra or the Ikon Pass. We are doing this to take care of the guest experience at Arapahoe Basin. Limiting season pass sales, ticket sales and Ikon Pass access has mostly worked well to control daily skier numbers. We will continue to do those things, but as many of you have noticed, the skier numbers are creeping up again. Following what is going on in other places, we now think implementing a parking reservation system is the best and most logical next step. With parking reservations we will physically limit the number of vehicles here at The Basin and reduce Highway 6 congestion around The Basin. 

Reservations will be required weekends, holidays and other peak days until 1 PM from mid-December until early May. General parking reservations will be available for $20 per vehicle. While a daily reservation is required for every vehicle, a limited number of parking season passes will be available for $150 to cover fees for the entire season. For carpoolers, vehicles with four or more people are still required to have a reservation, but the reservation will be free.

I have discussed the parking reservation concepts with several A-Basin skiers and riders. Responses from guests have varied from skepticism to immediate embracement. There is no doubt that requiring reservations will take away some of the spontaneity of skiing. That spontaneity, however, can be a major contributor to parking problems, especially on powder days. Some told me they would be in favor of reservations knowing that when they got to The Basin, they would have a parking spot. They thought reservations would reduce stress and eliminate the frantic rush to get here.

Currently, we are working to identify parking system vendors to create a reservation plan that will work for The Basin and its guests. We will be evaluating the different approaches and preparing for implementation. As our planning moves further along, complete details about the online parking reservation system, including information on how to make a reservation, how many reservations a person can have at once and the impacts to uphill access, will be released this Fall.

We are singularly focused on the quality of the Arapahoe Basin ski experience. Implementing a parking reservation plan is the next logical step to maintaining that experience. 

North Pole

The weather this week has been as good as was forecast. Monday, Kay and I had a nearly perfect hike up to Little Lenawee and then a ski down North Pole. The big winds of last week's storm had a favorable impact to the snow in the North Pole entrance. Skiing it was soft and carvey. There was still a rock a two, but the skiing was great. Making turns down the right lower 3/4 of the chute was so fun. Of course that was followed by a hike up Willie's Wide and a cruise down Snorkel Nose. I treasure the hiking and skiing this time of year.

East Wall

Yesterday in my blog, I tried to describe the beauty of early spring skiing. The picture below may do a better job than my clumsy words.

Early Spring Skiing Week

Spring is starting to arrive at The Basin. Early Spring that is. The forecast this week has sun in the forecast every day and high temps in the low 30's. The north facing slopes should still hang on to winter conditions while spring conditions are starting to be found on the south facing slopes. This afternoon, about 1 PM, I found perfect early spring conditions on Jump. No deep slush, but soft on top. Really fun, playful turns. The mornings will still be fairly cold, but late mornings and afternoons will be ideal. This is a great week to get on the hill.

March Days

March skiing can be so incredible. Today was nearly perfect. We are coming off a big storm that has packed out nicely. There is still a chill in the air so we are not into spring slush yet. Today saw partly sunny skies. The ski surface is soft and carveable. The picture says it all.

 

After The Storm

That was quite the storm. Usually the decision to remain closed is extremely difficult. The decision to remain closed yesterday was a relatively easy one. It was not about the snow. It was about the wind. There was no way to safely operate the lifts in that kind of wind.

After 18 inches in two days, and to no surprise, people were eager to get out and ski today. It was a good crowd for a Friday. From the wind, the snow was just a bit stiff first thing. The more it was skied, the better it became. I was kind of busy until about 2 PM when I finally got out skiing. The snow was incredible. Completing my 6 lift tour, I found sweet skiing everywhere I went. The next couple days are forecast to be partly sunny with temps in the 20's. Saturday and Sunday will be beauties.

Expect An Almost Normal Opening Friday

The good news is that we received a lot of snow over the last 24 hours. The bad news was the wind. There was no way we could have operated the lifts most of the day today. Luckily the wind is dying down and is expected to be quite reasonable Friday. We anticipate an on time opening tomorrow. The back lifts, Zuma and Beavers, may come on line a little later in the morning.

Thanks for your patience today. Someone once said A-Basin belongs to Mother Nature. She just lets us use it. She took it back for a while today.

We Will Not Open Today.

With the intensity of this storm, snowfall rates, high winds and avalanche concerns, Arapahoe Basin will not open today. At this time, we are unable to operate our lifts because of the high winds. We do have patrollers, lift mechanics, snowcat drivers, plow drivers and our base area crew on site working to get the place ready for tomorrow. Throughout the day, I will try and post photos. For now, we have to wait for this weather to die down.

The highway to A-Basin is closed. Please, do not attempt to come up here today. We will have some great skiing - just not today.

 

Snow Stake

The Snow Stake at 3:30 AM Thursday.

 

It Has Started

The snow has started falling at The Basin. We are right on the edge of this monster Front Range storm. It is going to snow a lot........somewhere. Over the next 48 hours, it should be dumping in the foothills. We shall see how much of that spills over the Divide and lands on A-Basin.

Random

Every once in a while I am just wandering and some random image really captures my eye. I am not sure what to call this one, but it definitely grabbed my attention. I think this is why I never get tired of The Basin.

Stay tuned for the storm brewing Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Snorkel Door

Nothing beats a journey through the "Snorkel Door." I am so happy that it is East Wall Season. Today, Kay and I hiked to the top of Little Lenawee and a little further. After a fun run down North Pole, we climbed to the top of the Willie's Wide staircase, paying homage at Borgy Rock along the way. Smiling from ear to ear, we slipped through the Snorkel Door. Looking down Snorkel Nose, we were tempted, but we took the extra five minutes to side step to the top of Booger. And it was worth it. Beautiful skiing all the way down.

There is nothing fun about the Willie's hike, but it delivers in a way that you can't find anywhere else. For me this is the pinnacle of all A-Basin experiences.

 

Spitting Image

Sunday was the spitting image of Saturday. Enjoy the photo taken from the top of Long Chute.

Panorama Kind Of Day

I think people in Colorado realized that today was going to be one of those that is hard to experience anywhere else. They came. We were busy, but the day was magnificent. This morning the temperature was close to zero, but it warmed up very nicely. There were no clouds. The snow was perfect. Every view I looked at, was a magical panorama. "It was an A-Basin Kind of Day."

Beautiful Day

The phones are working again, the skiing is great and it is starting to snow.

Storm Skiing

Over the last three days we received about a foot of snow. We did have some wind holds, but for those willing to brave the elements, we had some incredible storm skiing. Saturday and Sunday saw afternoon closures in Zuma and The Beavers, but the mornings were excellent in those areas. We found sweet powder skiing on The Spine, The Steep Gullies, Digger, Jump and Lenawee Parks (and just about everywhere else).

The rest of this week looks unsettled and we are forecast to see another foot of snow. While I love skiing bluebird days, I am always a fan of getting out in the stormy weather (wind, snow, cold) and getting the very best of the snow. Get up early and get after it.

A-Basin Passes

As we have said a few times, for now Arapahoe Basin is still owned by Dream. Until the deal with Alterra closes, there is a lot we do not know about the future. There are a few things we do know that may help some of you out.

A-Basin season passes go on sale March 21. We are still working on many details, but there will be an Arapahoe Basin only season pass. It will be priced very closely to this season's pricing. There will be Monarch days on the pass. As other passes go on sale in early and mid March, I hope this information is helpful.

The Spine

Yesterday, I wrote a blog post titled, "She's Buffed." Today, multiply that comment by 10. The Spine is unbelievably good. With these conditions, skiers have an intimate connection with the snow. Carving turns on the wind buff is soft and beautiful and almost effortless. It is so over the top that it is a little weird. Incredible.

Now tonight and tomorrow, we will see some of that moisture that has been pounding the coastal mountains the last few days. The perfectly buffed snow surface covered with several inches of snow will make for near perfect skiing. You can count on me being in line for first chair Sunday morning. Don't miss this one.

Bluebird Weather

The last three days here were stunningly beautiful. Literally, you could stop just about anywhere and find a spectacular view. One of my favorite places to stop and soak it in is the Steilhang Hut deck

She's Buffed

The wind is blowing from the right direction. There is loose snow on the ground to be transported. And The Spine is buffed. The skiing there is so sweet and those buffed sections are popping up in other places, The Knolls, along the Cornice Run, Humbug and more.