BIG CROWD WELCOMES SKI SEASON AT A-BASIN
arapahoe basin» The 131-day wait is over. That’s how long it has been since Arapahoe Basin became the final Colorado resort to close last season — on June 12 — and Friday, when the Loveland Pass mountain officially launched the start of skiing and snowboarding in North America.
“I’m just, like, so stoked,” said Julie Brown of Silverthorne as she stood in a cow costume with dozens of others waiting for ABasin’s only open lift to start turning. “I’m so ready to get back on the mountain, even if it’s only for a couple of runs.”
That was the spirit of opening day, where the snow on the one open run wasn’t particularly great but the level of excitement was high. At any ski area — but especially at ABasin — kicking off winter is more about bragging rights and a neon ritualistic celebration of Ullr than actual snowsports.
It’s a sharing of universal stoke and a warm, often alcohol-fueled, welcoming of what’s to come.
As one man in the lift line put it: “It might not be great, but it’s the best snow I’ve had in six months.”
“That’s why I am here,” said Darren Droge of Lakewood while standing in an orange 1988 neon one-piece ski suit next to a
pair of his precarious-looking snow blades. “I moved here from New York (23 years ago). I came here to ski.”
Droge said it was at least his 20th opening day. He was one of dozens who were waiting in line more than an hour before the ski area’s single open lift began carrying skiers and snowboarders up the slopes at 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, in A-Basin’s famed “beach” parking lot, others were dressing up in furry, pink one-piece outfits and sipping beer while wearing other costumes likely more appropriate for Halloween than skiing or snowboarding. The resort was packed with thousands aching to get back on the slopes.
This ski and snowboard season comes after a record year in 2015-16 during which Colorado’s resorts saw more than 13 million visitors. That was up from about 12 million in 2014-15, and there are high hopes of maintaining the upward trend.
Chris Linsmayer, public affairs director for Colorado Ski Country USA, said getting an early start on the season helps remind people across the country to get going on their ski and snowboard plans. He explained that it’s hard for people to think about snowsports, for instance, when it still feels very much like fall on the Front Range.
“From our perspective, this is about showing what’s to come,” he said. “We are the first state with a ski area that’s open in the country.”
Al Henceroth, A-Basin’s chief operating officer, agreed and said he looks at opening day not only as a marketing tool, but a base on which to build the season.
“It takes a while to get going,” he said. “It feels good to get started.”
A-Basin began making snow Oct. 3 and decided this week it had a deep enough base — 18 inches — to open one intermediate run and its Black Mountain Express lift. Henceroth said it likely will be another week before a second run is open and two to three more weeks before they have summit-to-base skiing.
The ski area’s earliest-ever opening stands at Oct. 8.
Loveland Ski Area, which typically opens at about the