Arapahoe Basin first state ski resort to open
Oct. 23—Arapahoe Basin Ski Area workers cranked up its base lift Black Mountain Express on Sunday, and welcomed a throng of excited skiers and snowboarders to become the coveted "first-to-open" ski area in the state.
With an 18-inch base of manufactured snow, and a little fresh powder sprinkled on top Sunday morning, The Basin officially started the state's 2022-23 ski season.
"Mother Nature knew that we were opening," Spokesperson Jesse True said of the fresh "pow."
Customers arrived as early as Friday evening, camping in vehicles in a line outside the still-locked parking lot gates, True said. Skiers and snowboarders kept gathering until Sunday morning, many of whom cooked breakfast in an early-morning tailgate at their vehicles in the parking lot once it finally opened.
True said they wouldn't have it any other way.
"It was great," he said. "People were very excited. We had a line for lift tickets and then we also had a line for the Mug Club. Both were pretty fun places to be."
Arapahoe Basin's Oct. 23 opening isn't the latest opening for a Colorado ski area history. That "dishonor" came in the 2015/16 season, when the first ski area, Arapahoe Basin, didn't open until Oct. 29. The earliest opening in recent memory was in 2009-10 when Loveland opened on Oct. 6, according to website snowbrains.com.
The race to open is a fun competition between Colorado ski resorts, but True said the important thing for a resort or ski area is simply getting open.
"It is a fun race to get open, we really think it does sort of start the season," he said. "We're just glad to be open. We open as soon as we possibly can, that is sort of our M.O. (method of operation)"
Conditions at Arapahoe Basin were "great" Sunday, True said. The base was at 18 inches and as the sun came up, snow began to fall on the mountain, he said.
But in all reality, snow sport veterans know The Basin's opening day is more for bragging rights as opposed to getting a full day of skiing in. More time is spent at the very-long one lift line, at the mountain's watering holes, or tailgating at the infamous Arapahoe Basin "beach" as regulars call it — parking spots in the base lot where runs end.
Snow covered the Loveland Pass area Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Sunday afternoon, 3-5 inches were expected to fall and continue into the night. A winter weather advisory for the area was issued, set to expire at 6 a.m. Monday. More snow could find its way on to the mountain by Wednesday.
Arapahoe Basin has one run and one lift open at this time: The Black Mountain Express and High Noon. Opening later with more snow: An improved upper-mountain lift, Lenawee Express, that should triple the amount of people going up the hill in less time. It was installed in the off-season.
The new high-speed "six pack," formerly a fixed grip triple, alleviates a bottleneck that caused long lift lines on busy days as it was one of the few ways to get to the mountain's famed Montezuma back bowls. True hopes the improvements will all-but eliminate those lines and delays.
"We really are a little different than our competitors in that we are focused on making sure the quality of the ski experience is the highest it can be as opposed to just driving a quantity of skiers through the lift maze," True said.
Skiers and snowboarders who want to shred at The Basin must buy a lift ticket before heading out. Arapahoe Basin cannot guarantee day-of lift tickets and doesn't sell them on site.
