This Saturday will be paradise. A beautiful Arapahoe Basin summer day. A summer version of the Festival of the Brewpubs. A crazy 4-hour mountain bike endurance race. Bratwurst cooked on the grill in Mountain Goat Plaza. This is a good way to spend your Saturday. Check out Bikes, Brat, N' Brews
As I mentioned in a post earlier this summer, we are having a banner wildflower season. Every other Monday we do guided wildflower hikes that include a ride up Black Mountain Express. You might even get some A-Basin insider information out of your guide. For details and to register go to Guided Wildfower Hikes
Trevor and the Trail Crew continue to work on extending Up At Arapahoe to the Summit. The trail is now complete all the way to Lake Reveal. For the moment they are skipping the zone just above and below the Steilhang Hut. The road is a bit more mellow there. They are carving the trail into Norway Face. This stretch might have people most excited because it will eliminate that nasty, steep final pitch of the summer road. Nobody likes that stretch of road and the new stuff is going to be SWEET.
Tuesdays and Thursdays we host Mountaintop Yoga on the deck of Black Mountain Lodge. You get the bonus of enjoying a chairlift ride on Black Mountain Experess. I am not sure there is a better place to enjoy your Cobra pose. Some people hike down the Argentine North Fork Trail when they are finished. For details and to make a reservation, go to Mountaintop Yoga
When we designed our trail system, we made a key decision. We could have made every trail for everyone. Instead, we decided to make trails that were really focused on what the user was looking for. There are times when hikers and bikers can share trails and there are other times where it is nice to be separated. Instead of each trail being "OK" for every user, we want each trail to be exceptional for its intended user. That led us to three distinctive trail designations.
Two-Way Hiking and Uphill Biking Only. The Argentine North Fork and Up At Arapahoe trails form the main route to the Summit. Uphill bikers generally move kind of slower and on these trails hikers and bikers mesh well.
Downhill Biking Only. The Beavers Loop and Wheels Up Trails are for downhill biking only. On a good downhill trail, neither bikers or hikers want to encounter the other. These trails are designed for good fun downhill riding.
Hiking Only. The Halfmoon Trail is for hiking only. Portions of the trail are not suited for bikes and this is a good place for hikers to not have to worry about encountering bike riders.
This summer the 6th Alley Bar and Grill will be hosting two regular weekly events. Thursday nights are Burger Night and the restaurant will stay open until 8 PM. They will open at 10 AM Sunday mornings for Sunday Brunch. Have some fun and enjoy the good food. For details, go to 6th Alley Bar and Grill.
OK, sorry if I was mis-leading, but we did extend the pass renewal period for one more week. With all the weirdness and confusion of the past year, we thought we would give people one more week to renew their season pass for the 2024-25 ski season. But, this is it. The last day to renew your winter season pass at the discounted rate is Friday, July 19.
I love the Beavers Loop Trail. This past Wednesday, I had a chance to ride the bottom to top to bottom loop. We are lucky to have this high quality of a purpose built mountain bike trail in such a high alpine setting. I was having so much fun riding, but I felt guilty that I needed to be stopping more to take in all the views.
Don't forget, today is the last day to renew your 2024-25 Winter Season Pass at the discounted rate of $559. We will continue to sell season passes, but the renewal rate goes away and the price will be $659.
Similar to last summer, the Steilhang Hut will be open Saturdays and Sundays thru August 18. After a nice hike or bike, enjoy a bratwurst at 12,000' surrounded by stunning Arapahoe Basin views. Eventually, as our trail system is further built out and more people enjoy the A-Basin summers, I hope we can have Steilhang Hut open even more.
Hazel never disappoints. A lot of old friends and new friends got together today and enjoyed The Hazel Miller Band in Mountain Goat Plaza. As always, she put on an incredible show. It was beautiful. People were hiking, biking, disc golfing, chairlift riding, climbing, eating and playing. It was a classic Colorado Summer day in the mountains. Good music, good people and good fun.
Happy 4th of July. This morning CNN said "The West is sizzling....." Today at The Basin skies are blue and the temperature is a warm 58 F. A perfect day in the mountains.
Don't forget tomorrow, Friday, July 5, Hazel Miller is bringing her brand of jazz, blues and R&B to Mountain Goat Plaza from 1-4 PM. She always puts on a perfect show. We will be serving up Jambalaya, brats, beer and wine in the base area. Is there a better way to bring the A-Basin community together?
All of our summer activities are now open. All of the trails, including bike trails, are now open. The Disc Golf Course is open. Aerial Adventure Park, Via Ferrata, Scenic Chairlift Rides, Arapahoe Sports and 6th Alley Bar and Grill are all open. Our regular events like Guided Wildflower Hikes, Yoga on the Mountain and Trail Running Races start next week. For details, check out Summer At Arapahoe Basin
