Mountain Goat Kids

The mountain goats continued to be out and about near the Summit. More and more kids are visible - and so incredibly cute. Andrew Greene send me these wonderful photos he took earlier today.

 

Half Moon Trail Open For Hiking

Half Moon Trail is now open for hiking. This trail is actually a hiking only trail. Starting at Black Mountain Lodge, it winds through meadows and forests topping out right a treeline with commanding views of the East Wall. There are still some muddy spots along the way, but it is ready for hikers.

Opening Day At The Park

Today is opening day at Aerial Adventure Park. Pre-maintenance is complete. Park Ranger training is complete. The snow is gone and the Park is dry. It is time to get up there and start climbing. I think is a great activity for anyone with a moderate fitness level and a sense of adventure. It is beautiful and it is fun. Great for a any group of family and friends.

ANF Open For Hiking

The Argentine North Fork and Wheels Up trails are clear of snow. Both are still quite wet in places.

The Argentine North trail is open for hiking to Black Mountain Lodge. Wheels Up is still closed while we wait for the trail to dry out more. There is still no on-hill mountain biking, but I expect that to change very soon. While it is hard to pin point a date, I think Wheels Up, Half Moon and Up at Arapahoe will be open within a week or two.

Via Ferrata Guide Training

It has been a big couple weeks for the Via Ferrata crew. They have been through their annual inspections with the Forest Service, State of Colorado and third party engineers and inspectors. The snow only very recently melted off the course so it was time to give the gear a very close look. and review. It has also been a big time for training, both for returning and new guides.

Opening day for summer operations and the Via Ferrata is Friday. The Via Ferrata brings an entirely new perspective to checking out The Basin and the East Wall.

 

3 Critical A-Basin Messages

Since the February announcement that A-Basin was being to sold to Alterra, we have been in a holding pattern while the sale closes. The closing is still likely a few months away. That holding pattern and the lack of new information to share with our guests has caused a lot of uncertainty. There are still many questions that remain unanswered, but today we have three new important messages to share that will bring some clarity to your A-Basin thinking.

Ikon Pass Access - There will be no change to Ikon Pass access at Arapahoe Basin for the 2024-25 season.

Season Pass Renewal - Friday, July 12 will be the last day to renew season passes at the adult pass rate of $559. We will continue to sell season passes, but the adult rate goes up to $659 after July 12.

Season Parking Passes -  For unrestricted A-Basin season pass holders, Season Parking Passes will go on sale Tuesday, July 9 at 10 AM. For details go to Parking Reservations.

The rumor mill has proven to be a very inaccurate source of information about A-Basin. For the most up to date and accurate information, please check out our website Arapahoe Basin

Argentine North Fork Trail

Yesterday I walked up the Argentine North Fork Trail to Black Mountain Lodge. We had a couple of good nights of rain and there is still a bit of snow on the trail. It is still too wet and snowy to open, but our crew is working to remove snow from the trail where they can. The forecast for the coming week shows a lot of sunshine. While I am hesitant to predict a day for the trail opening, with the weather forecast, I think it will be open fairly soon.

The Snow.......Going, Going......

We had a very successful closing day. Skiers and riders had loads of fun. There was a good turnout. Lake Reveal delivered. It was good. I am not sure we could have squeaked another day out of the snow. Our Snow Cat team did an amazing job holding the snow together, but by Monday Mother Nature was taking charge. Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest, sunniest day of the year and the snow is melting fast. We are prepping for summer operations.

 

Great Season - Thank you

That is a wrap. The 2023-24 season is in the record books. Despite a slow start, we had an excellent ski season. From the January storm cycles to a near perfect East Wall hiking season to many Spring storms, this season was very special for me. This incredible mountain and its staff and guests have come together to create a culture that is hard to find elsewhere. Thanks to all of you for creating another phenomenal season at The Basin.

Now it is time ride the bikes, float some rivers and climb the Via Ferrata. I hope we will continue to see you through the summer. Those of us working here have a lot to do in the coming months. Stay dialed into A-Basin for announcements regarding summer activities and events, season pass updates, parking pass updates and, of course, the sale to Alterra.

This has been joyful season. We'll do it again in four months. Thank you.

Alan

Mountain Goats Are Thick

I went out for a few laps first thing this morning. The snow was soft and the place was gorgeous. The mountain goats were thick. There were so many goats, it was hard to count them, but I spotted at least 25 different animals. There was a teeny, tiny, cute kid. We will see more of the little ones in the next few weeks.

See you tomorrow, closing day.

Two More Days Of Summer Skiing Fun

 

Last Ski Weekend - Almost Summer

Can't wait to open the chairlifts Friday morning for the the final 3-day weekend of skiing.

Summer is almost here. Summer operations begin Friday, June 28. We have been doing an awesome pre-season sale for the Aerial Adventure Park and the Via Ferrata. We are even doing a "Summer Pass" combing these and other activities. The Summer Pass has an almost $900 value  and is on sale for $199. The pre-season prices are only available through Sunday, June 16.

If you like A-Basin in the winter, chances are you will love it in the Summer. Be sure and check out the summer portion of our website A-Basin Summer. Please take a close look at the Summer pre-season sale items.

One More Weekend

We are open for one more weekend, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 - 2:00. This morning Rob gave me a snowmobile ride to the Summit. I took my time skiing down. To no one's surprise, our snowcat team  has done an A+ job holding the snow together to be open in mid-June. The trails are a little narrow, but the snow is plenty deep. The weekend will be a hoot. Skiing this time of year attracts its own special breed of skiers and riders. The experience is as much about people enjoying the mountains as it is about sliding on snow.

Shauna Farnell at Ski Magazine just wrote a sweet article on summertime skiing at The Basin. Check it out at A-Basin Summer Skiing

See You On Friday

We have had a very nice weekend. People enjoyed sliding across Lake Reveal, skiing the slushy snow, being entertained by the mountain goats and, generally, soaking up the mountain beauty. We will be closed Monday thru Thursday and then we will re-open for our final weekend of skiing Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 14-16. See you then.

Lake Reveal

The "Lake Reveal Games" have begun.

We Are Open

We have re-opened for skiing and riding. We will be open today, Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM. Ditto for next weekend June 14-16.

On Wednesday, there was a significant power outage in our region. While power returned in the afternoon, the outage caused some significant damage to our phones and IT system. By Thursday night we were able to get all of our systems back online. I know some of your frustrated trying to reach us or buy lift tickets during that period. Sorry for the confusion and inconvenience.

The good news is that we are up and running and OPEN !!!

The Bighorns

Caught a glimpse of the bighorns driving to work this morning. I look forward to skiing again this Friday, Saturday and Sunday - and the next week.

Extending To June 16

With this much snow still on the ground, we are going to extend the ski season to June 16.

So, looking forward, we will be:

    -Closed Monday-Thursday, June 3-6

    -OPEN FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JUNE 7-9

    -Closed Monday-Thursday, June 10-13

    -OPEN FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JUNE 14-16

We will be turning Black Mountain and Lenawee Express chairlifts from 8:30 - 2:00 on the days we are open.

Sunday, June 16 will be closing day for the 2023-24 season.

June

We made it to June and today is about as nice as it gets. The snow is fun and the skies are blue. We are going to be open until  AT LEAST JUNE 9.