Arapahoe Basin Attractions
By Amanda May
Staff Writer
Rockies.com
Known as “A-Basin” or simply “The Basin”, Arapahoe Basin is west of Denver on US 6, on the west side of Loveland Pass, and is a local Colorado favorite. Arapahoe Basin activities include skiing, snowboarding and eating juicy hamburgers until late into the spring.
A skier makes their way down A-Basin's steep terrain.
Locals gather at A-Basin all season long, but especially when their Colorado Rockies are most flooded with tourists that come from less altitude-blessed parts of the country.
Skiing at A-Basin is excellent, in part because of their extremely high elevation within the White River National Forest. The ski area’s highest point sits at 13,050 feet and has bowls above the tree line. This altitude, along with its mostly north to northeast face, allows them to stay open, on average, for about another month each season after neighboring resorts have closed. (Until late June or early July). They also open earlier than most Colorado Resorts. In the last few years they have been the first to open a few times, usually around October 9th- 13th.
This ski area is so cherished because it has an extremely laid back atmosphere, yet enough tough terrain to get your heart beating. Basically, this resort is perfect for those turned off by all the glitz and glamour of Aspen. Tailgating is popular in their free parking lot, and their base area is sometimes called “the beach” because of its sunny, even warm afternoons.
Entertaining events punctuate the season, one of which is the Cardboard Derby. Each year entrants self-engineer these contraptions to throw themselves down the mountain in. If you’re not really that interested in being laughed at, grab a chair and watch the spectacle unfold by the finish line.
The ski area itself has been open since 1946, making it one of the oldest in Colorado. Its long history continues to grow, with new areas still being added. The Montezuma Bowl was opened during the 2007/2008 season and was the largest terrain expansion in the country that year. In fact, the expansion made the overall terrain at A-Basin grow a staggering 80%! The bowl offers blue, black and double-black runs with all kinds of terrain: groomed runs, chutes, glades and cornice runs, just to name a few.
The Montezuma Bowl added to their repertoire, which already included “Tree Line” and “High Divide” terrain parks, complete with jumps, boxes and rails.
Check out the killer view of the Continental Divide from A-Basin’s chair lifts and get your heart beating by hiking up the Upper East Wall for another great view and steep chutes to ride down. A popular powder spot is close by, just traverse over to the Lower East Wall.
The Pallavicini lift services mostly black and double-black terrain on the west side of the mountain. The face itself is super steep and has some very long mogul runs. It is rated double-black diamond extreme.
All the tough terrain is balanced nicely with fun, forgiving trails for those that want a relaxing day on the slopes. Lessons and kid-friendly terrain, including magic carpets and a bunny hill are also available.
A-Basin is home to three “lodges” where you can get something to eat. The base lodge has a full cafeteria, bar, coffee shop and grill outside on warm days. At the peak of the Norway and Lenawee lifts lies the Snow Plume refuge. It’s a warming hut that also sells some warm drinks and snacks. And at the top of Exhibition lift, Black Mountain Lodge has a restaurant that serves an alpine bistro-style menu.
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