The Enduro

Wednesday is the annual Arapahoe Basin Enduro. Teams of two will ski 10 hours from 7 AM to 5 PM on 20 different lines on the Pallavicini Lift. A handful of the teams will be competing with each other to see who "unofficially" skis the most runs. For almost everyone else, it is a cool day to be on the hill with their partner, skiing the best they can, maybe setting a personal record and mostly just having fun.

The event is followed by a great party in the A-Frame with dinner, a silent auction and a live auction by auctioneer Tony C. This year we are auctioning off a Norway Chair. All of the proceeds from the event go to a unique cause. Sometimes that cause is a local organization. A few years ago we donated the funds to Building Hope, a Summit County non-profit focused on suicide prevention. Other times we donate the proceeds to one of our friends or neighbors that could use a hand.

This year those funds are going to Matt Norfleet, aka "Norf" the A-Basin Assistant Patrol Director and Rio the avalanche dog handler. He has been working his way through a cancer battle. Matt is well known for many things. He is quite an artist and has designed many of the Enduro T shirts. Matt is one of the principal leaders of CRAD (Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment) whose mission is to cultivate, inspire and produce dog teams for successful avalanche search and rescue. For many years Matt was on the US Whitewater Rafting Team, competing around the world. In 2020, he and seven buddies rowed the 5th fastest time through the Grand Canyon at 37 hours and 55 minutes (Grand Canyon Speed Runs). On top of all that, Matt has been our steadiest hand, guiding and leading the A-Basin Ski Patrol for the last 20 years.

The party Wednesday night is especially fun. The A-Basin community is less about where we physically are and more about a state of mind. While the event itself is sold out, there is still plenty of room at the dinner and the party. Coming to The Enduro, enjoying the party and giving "Norf" a hand is a great way to be a part of that community. For details go to A-Basin Enduro

Luau

Saturday night was our Randonee Luau Moonlight Dinner at Black Mountain Lodge. That means there was no chairlift. Guests either skinned, snowshoed or hiked to BML. Dinner was awesome, as always. Throughout the evening Polynesian dancers entertained the crowd with rites from Hawaii, Samoa and New Zealand. The evening was capped out on the deck with fire dancers. In A-Basin style it was snowing nicely as the barefoot Polynesians put on a crowd pleasing, fire tossing show. We finished the night with a peaceful, snowy walk down Wrangler.

And we reported 5" of new snow Sunday morning.

 

You Never Know

 You never know who will see at The Basin in the Spring.

Beautiful Afternoon

The day started out with bluebird skies. Pretty quickly, gray skies rolled in, but by the afternoon the sun had mostly popped out. It is hard to beat riding the Pali Chair in April with the sun on your face.

 

Park and Winds

For the 75th Anniversary party, the Terrain Park Crew held a Rail Jam adjacent to Black Mountain Lodge. The features have been a hit and we plan on keeping them there for a while.

The last few days have been a tad bit breezy and cold. Finally, we will see some relief the next couple days with mostly sunny skies, reduced winds and temps in the 30's. Spring is back.

Staff Actions

I am not really sure what these guys are doing, but I think it has something to do with a scavenger hunt and The Basin's 75th Anniversary. I think they are having fun.

 

75th Anniversary Dinner

Last night Chef Clint and team hosted an incredible steak, scallop and baked Alaska "75th Anniversary Dinner" in The 6th Alley. Incredible. We were very lucky to have Alice Jump, Marnie and Larry's daughter, join us for dinner. I continue to be amazed at the vision Larry and his team had in 1946.  With very few models for a ski resort, they created Arapahoe Basin. We owe that generation of pioneers many, many thanks.

 

Happy 75th