Arapahoe Basin - Frisco Inn on Galena

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

Arapahoe Basin (often shortened as A-Basin, or simply The Basin) is in the White River National Forest of Colorado. It is located 15 miles from the Frisco Inn on Galena. Arapahoe Basin is known for its extended season — often staying open from October until early July. Arapahoe Basin is located south of Loveland Pass on U.S. Highway 6 in Summit County.

Geography and climate

The Arapahoe Basin East Wall has a summit elevation of 13,050 feet (3,978 m). It is widely regarded as the highest in-bounds skiable terrain in North America. Due to its high elevation (at tree line) and its mostly north-to-northeast face, the Basin’s ski season is much longer than most Colorado resorts. Arapahoe Basin is known for a clientele of hardcore, yet relaxed folks that like simply to ski and avoid the glamour associated with resorts like Aspen. It has been known to stay open until July and opens for the season in mid-October, often making it the first ski area to open in North America.

Arapahoe Basin is located just below Loveland Pass and offers a spectacular view of the Continental Divide (which it borders) from the lifts. From the top of the East Wall and the North Pole, there are great views of Lake Dillon, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Loveland Pass.

The Basin is located 12 miles from the Frisco Inn on Galena.

Ski area information

Lodges

A-Basin has three day lodges. At the base is a full cafeteria, bar, and coffee bar. There is also a grill outside for warm days. At the peak of the Norway and Lenawee lifts is the Snow Plume refuge, a warming hut with tables and restrooms. New for the 2010-11 season, Arapahoe Basin opened its first high speed detachable quad lift named The Black Mountain Express. The Black Mountain Express takes the place of the Exhibition Lift, which was retired at the end of the 2009-10 season and runs nearly the same path. At the top of the Black Mountain Express, Black Mountain Lodge sits, serving an Alpine Bistro style menu.

Terrain

Though it is mostly known for advanced and expert terrain, Arapahoe Basin also has runs for the novice and intermediate skier, as well as a children’s program. The Black Mountain Express, Molly Hogan, and Molly’s Magic Carpet lifts service easy runs. The Molly Hogan is a slow lift running over the bunny slope, for use by those just learning to ski. Black Mountain Express services greens, blues, and two blacks: one named for the lift, and The Gulch which runs parallel to Black Mountain Express.

The Exhibition run features bumps, steep terrain, and a fair number of jumps. The Pallavicini lift services mostly black and double black terrain on the west side of the mountain, though it is possible to take some difficult blues back to the base. The Pallavicini face itself, a group of very steep and seemingly endless mogul runs, is rated double black diamond extreme. The Lenawee and Norway lifts take skiers to the top of the mountain, where they can access blues, blacks, and the East Wall. Opposite of the East Wall there is a blue called Cornice Run where skiers can take leaps from windblown cornices, though sometimes visibility can be a deterrent. Arapahoe Basin opened Zuma lift during the 2007-2008 season, which services blue, black and double black trails over the backside of Arapahoe Basin in Montezuma Bowl. The largest terrain expansion in the nation for the 2007-08 season marks an 80% increase in terrain for Arapahoe Basin. Montezuma Bowl offers everything from groomed intermediate runs to advanced cornice runs.

The East Wall contains the most difficult terrain at Arapahoe Basin. The Lower East Wall is rated black diamond and can be reached without hiking. Open primarily in late winter and spring, the Upper East Wall is rated double black diamond extreme and is only accessible on foot. A hike of approximately 30 minutes will take you to the North Pole, a very steep descent through rocky terrain over avalanche-blasted territory. Along the ridge prior to the North Pole is a group of chutes accessed through notches in the cliff band. One chute actually requires some rock downclimbing to reach skiable snow, an interesting experience in ski boots while holding a pair of skis. These chutes are often only a couple of ski widths wide and require mountaineering skiing ability. Most of the terrain is prone to avalanches and is regularly blasted by the ski patrol before they declare the wall open. The Lower and Upper East Wall is bisected by the East Wall Traverse which is quite long and accesses a lot of difficult-to-reach territory from above and below, leaving prime snow conditions available for those willing to make the trek. The entire East Wall is not groomed and should not be taken lightly since evacuation by the ski patrol in this area is a difficult undertaking.

History

Max and Edna Dercum started the Arapahoe Basin ski area along with the “Ski Tip Lodge” in the 1940s. Since then, it has expanded to include 105 trails served by 7 lifts.

Arapahoe Basin became the first ski resort in the United States to open for the 2006-07 season on October 13, when it opened one lift and one run. It was the first time in seven seasons that Arapahoe Basin beat Loveland ski area in the race to be the first ski area open in the nation. It repeated for the 2007-08 ski area by opening at 9:00 a.m. on October 10. This was the area’s earliest opening in 61 years and the earliest opening in North America for the season.

During the 2007-08 season, Arapahoe Basin expanded into Montezuma Bowl, with the largest terrain expansion in the nation for that season. Facing southwest towards Keystone, the terrain offers blue, black, and double black trails with all kinds of terrain, including: groomed runs, chutes, glades, and cornice runs, all accessible from the Zuma fixed grip quad. The terrain will be open each season between late December and early January through late April, conditions warranted.

Arapahoe Basin opened for the 2009-10 season on Friday, October 9, the earliest start in its history.

In 2010, Leitner-Poma replaced the Exhibition lift on the lower mountain with a high speed quad, the Black Mountain Express lift, Arapahoe Basin’s first detachable lift.