Top Terminal Foundations

Today the Leitner Poma crew started pouring concrete for The Beavers Chairlift. They had, not only concrete trucks on site, they had a large pumper to push the concrete just where they needed it. Most of the concrete in lifts is buried. A huge part of any lift in underground. Just like the bottom of Lenawee Mountain Lift and the top of Zuma Lift, there will be two large, rectangular, concrete masses that support the two diagonal towers that hold up the motor room. Once the lift is finished, less 5% of the concrete is visible. There is a lot of concrete in this terminal. They also poured the footers for the lift operator building.

Next up, finish all the concrete work on the Summit, back fill all the concrete and start digging the tower holes.

Summer Trail Run #2

Despite a bit of a smoky day, 32 runners joined us for our second trail race of the season. Athletes ran up the Argentine / North Fork Trail to Black Mountain Lodge. From there, it was up to the top of Pali and then up the Cornice Run to The Summit. Runners came down the Upper Summer Road and the ANF Trail again to finish in the base area. The grueling course was 6.4 miles long with 1,700 vertical feet of climbing. Eva Hagen won the women's division in one hour and eight minutes and Mike Hagen won the men's division in just over an hour.

If this kind of event gets you excited, join us for the final running event of the season, the Discrete Cirque Series August 18. For more details go to https://www.arapahoebasin.com/event/cirque-series/.

Blogger Comment Issues

So we have discovered there is a problem with Blogger, the site that hosts this blog. Your comments used to come through directly. They don't anymore and Blogger doesn't seem to know how to fix it. The good news is that I can manually dig around on the back side of the blog and post your comments. The bad news is that I have to remember to manually dig around the back side of the blog.  I apologize that many comments have taken a while to get posted. I will try and get them out there as quickly as I can (remember to check). PLEASE, PLEASE keep sending in your comments.

Argentine North Fork Trail

The Argentine North Fork Trail winds its way from Mountain Goat Plaza in the base area up to Black Mountain Lodge. It is an easy 2 mile walk or a moderate 2 mile bike ride with a couple of tight, climbing turns. It is a great little hike. It is a great connection to the Lenawee Trail off the back side which is quite fun for hiking and biking. The Lenawee Trail is definitely a tough, but much admired bike ride.

Top 'O Pali

Here is a nice Summer view of the top of Pali from the top of Black Mountain Express. Slalom Slope, in particular, is a very lush, steep tundra slope. That lift is such an A-Basin icon. No doubt, it is my favorite chairlift anywhere. Biggest and best terrain for the shortest ride.

Black and Lenawee Mountain

While I love to see Black and Lenawee Mountains completely covered with snow, the summer views aren't bad either. There are scattered green patches of tundra among mostly rocks. With a little patience, you can often spot some white dots (mountain goats) moving around.

Black Mountain Express Weekends

Black Mountain Express will be open every Saturday and Sunday through September 2. You can ride the chair, hike down the Argentine North Fork Trail, hike up to the Summit or just enjoy some BBQ and a beverage on the Black Mountain Lodge deck. I ride it every chance I get. The view coming down is really fun.

Weddings

The Wedding Season is rolling right along. We have had plenty of fun up here and the views just can't be beat.