Arapahoe Basin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arapahoe Basin |
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Arapahoe Basin's East Wall in December 2005
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 Arapahoe Basin
Location in Colorado
Arapahoe Basin
Location in the United States
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| Location | White River National Forest Summit County, Colorado, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Keystone Denver: 68 miles (110 km) |
| Coordinates | 39°38′30″N 105°52′18″W / 39.64167°N 105.87167°W |
| Vertical | 2,530 ft (771 m) |
| Top elevation | 13,050 ft (3,978 m) |
| Base elevation | 10,780 ft (3,286 m) |
| Skiable area | 1,428 acres (5.78 km2) |
| Runs | 145 : 7% Easiest : 20% More Difficult : 49% Most Difficult : 24% Extreme |
| Longest run | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) |
| Lift system | 9 chairs (1 high-speed quad, 2 quads, 1 triple, 2 doubles) , 2 magic carpets and 1 surface lift |
| Terrain parks | 2 (High Divide and Treeline) |
| Snowfall | 350 in (890 cm) |
| Snowmaking | 125 acres (0.51 km2) |
| Night skiing | No |
| Website | arapahoebasin.com |
Arapahoe Basin (pronounced ə-RAP-ə-hoh), often called A-Basin or just The Basin, is a popular ski area in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, U.S.. It's known for having one of the longest ski seasons in North America. While most other ski areas close in early April, A-Basin often stays open until early June, and sometimes even into July! You can find it in Summit County, south of Loveland Pass.
Contents
Geography and Climate
Arapahoe Basin is located very high up in the mountains. Its highest point, the East Wall, reaches an elevation of 13,050 feet (3,978 m). This makes it one of the highest ski areas in North America. Because it's so high and faces mostly north, A-Basin gets a lot of snow and keeps it for a long time. This is why it's usually one of the first ski resorts to open in mid-October and the last to close in June.
The ski area is just below Loveland Pass. From the lifts, you can see amazing views of the Continental Divide. From the top of the East Wall and the North Pole, you can also see Lake Dillon, Breckenridge, Keystone, Montezuma, and Loveland Pass.
Arapahoe Basin is about 68 miles (109 km) west of Denver.
Ski Area Information
Lodges
A-Basin has three main buildings where you can relax and eat. At the bottom of the mountain, there's a cafeteria, a bar, and a coffee shop. On warm days, you can also grab food from an outdoor grill or a taco truck.
Mid-mountain, you'll find the Black Mountain Lodge. It's at the top of the Black Mountain Express lift and serves tasty barbecue. A newer spot, Il Rifugio, is an Italian bistro. It's a bit tricky to get food there because of its location, but it offers a special experience.
Arapahoe Basin does not have places to stay overnight. The closest hotels and lodging are at the Keystone ski area, which is about 6 miles away.
Terrain
Arapahoe Basin is famous for its challenging slopes, but it also has runs for beginners and intermediate skiers. There are even special programs for kids learning to ski.
The Black Mountain Express is a fast chairlift that takes you to easy, medium, and some difficult runs. The Molly Hogan and Pika Place & Hogan's Magic Carpet are conveyor lifts perfect for beginners.
- Pika Place is near the main lodge and is great for very young kids or those trying skiing for the first time.
- Hogan's Magic Carpet is on the bunny slope, close to the parking lot. It helps beginners get ready for the Molly Hogan chairlift.
- Molly Hogan is a slow chairlift over the bunny slope, perfect for learning how to ride a chairlift.
The Black Mountain Express serves green (easy), blue (medium), and black (difficult) runs. Some of the black runs include The Gulch, Exhibition (known for bumps and jumps), Lower Standard, and Lower International.
The Pallavicini lift takes you to mostly black and double black (very difficult) terrain. The Pallavicini face itself has very steep, bumpy runs and is rated double black extreme. It also leads to the Steep Gullies.
The Lenawee lift goes to the very top of the mountain. From here, you can reach blue, black, and the famous East and West Walls. On the West Wall, Cornice Run lets skiers jump off snow formations.
The East Wall has some of the most challenging terrain at A-Basin.
- The Lower East Wall is a black diamond run and doesn't require hiking.
- The Upper East Wall is double black diamond extreme and you have to hike to get there. A 30-minute hike can take you to the North Pole, a very steep area. Some chutes in this area are so narrow you might need to climb down rocks to reach the snow! This area is prone to avalanches, so ski patrol checks it carefully before opening. The East Wall is not groomed, so it's very wild and natural.
The Zuma lift takes you to "Montezuma Bowl" on the backside of A-Basin. This area has blue, black, and double black trails. You can find groomed runs, chutes, tree skiing, and cornice runs here.
The "Beavers Area" is a large section with 468 acres of terrain. It's serviced by a chairlift and has blue and black runs. This area includes open powder bowls, tree skiing, and rocky chutes, plus two groomed intermediate runs.
The Steep Gullies are part of the Beavers Area and offer the most challenging skiing at Arapahoe Basin. These are very steep, narrow chutes rated "extreme" (double-black diamond). After skiing them, you have to hike back to the bottom of the Pallavicini Lift.
History
Arapahoe Basin was started in 1945 by Larry and Marnie Jump, Max Dercum, and Sandy Shaufler. It first opened for skiing in 1946. Over the years, it grew to have 147 trails and 9 lifts.
A-Basin has often been the first ski resort in the United States to open for the season.
- In 2006, it opened on October 13, beating Loveland Ski Area.
- In 2007, it opened on October 10, which was its earliest opening in 61 years!
- In 2009, it opened even earlier, on October 9, making it the earliest start in its history.
In 2007-2008, Arapahoe Basin added a huge new area called Montezuma Bowl. This was the biggest terrain expansion in the country that season! It added blue, black, and double black trails, including groomed runs, chutes, and tree skiing, all reached by the Zuma lift.
In 2010, the old Exhibition lift was replaced with the Black Mountain Express, a new high-speed quad lift. This was A-Basin's first detachable lift, meaning the chairs slow down for you to get on and off easily.
In 2016, the Forest Service approved adding 468 more acres to the ski area. In 2017-2018, 329 of these acres opened in the Beavers and Steep Gullies sections. At first, you had to hike to these expert areas. But in 2018, a new chairlift was built there.
In 2019, Arapahoe Basin announced it was leaving its partnership with Vail Resorts and the Epic Pass. Soon after, it joined the Ikon Pass for the 2019-2020 winter season.
Statistics
Elevation
- Lowest point: 10,520 ft (3,207 m)
- Base: 10,780 ft (3,286 m)
- Summit: 13,050 ft (3,978 m)
- Vertical rise (how much you go up): 2,530 ft (771 m)
Trails
- Skiable area: 1,428 acres (5.78 km2)
- Total trails: 145
- 7%
Easiest - 20%
Intermediate (More Difficult) - 49%
Advanced (Most Difficult) - 24%
Expert (Extreme)
- 7%
- Longest run: 1.5 miles (2.4 km)
- Average yearly snowfall: 350 inches (890 cm)
Lifts
- Total lifts: 9
- 1 high-speed detachable quad (Black Mountain Express)
- 3 fixed grip quad chairs (Zuma Lift, Beavers Lift, Molly Hogan Lift)
- 1 triple chair (Lenawee Mountain Lift)
- 1 double chair (Pallavicini Lift)
- 2 conveyor lifts (Molly's Magic Carpet, Pika Place)
- 1 rope tow (Lazy J Tow)
Opening Dates
Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Area often compete to be the first ski resort to open each year, a friendly contest called #RaceToOpen. Here are some of A-Basin's opening dates since they started making snow in 2002:
- 2003-2004: October 30 (Thursday)
- 2004-2005: October 22 (Friday)
- 2005-2006: October 23 (Friday)
- 2006-2007: October 13 (Friday)
- 2007-2008: October 10 (Wednesday)
- 2008-2009: October 15 (Wednesday)
- 2009-2010: October 9 (Friday) - Earliest opening ever!
- 2010-2011: October 25 (Monday)
- 2011-2012: October 13 (Thursday)
- 2012-2013: October 17 (Wednesday)
- 2013-2014: October 13 (Sunday)
- 2014-2015: October 17 (Friday)
- 2015-2016: October 29 (Thursday)
- 2016-2017: October 21 (Friday)
- 2017-2018: October 13 (Friday)
- 2018-2019: October 19 (Friday)
- 2019-2020: October 11 (Friday)
Zuma Bowl Opening and Closing Dates
The Zuma Bowl is a popular area that opens later in the season. Here's how long it's been open in different years:
- 2007-8: January 12, 2008 - May 22, 2008 (132 Days)
- 2008-9: December 30, 2008 - May 14, 2009 (136 Days)
- 2009-10: February 24, 2010 - May 16, 2010 (82 Days)
- 2010-11: December 18, 2010 - June 5, 2011 (170 Days)
- 2011-12: February 24, 2012 - March 25, 2012 (31 Days)
- 2012-13: February 13, 2013 - May 27, 2013 (104 Days)
- 2013-14: January 10, 2014 - June 1, 2014 (143 Days)
- 2014-15: December 29, 2014 - June 3, 2015 (157 Days)
- 2015-16: December 23, 2015 - June 3, 2016 (164 Days)
- 2016-17: December 23, 2016 - June 3, 2016 (164 Days)
- 2017-18: January 13, 2018 - TBD
- 2018-19: December 7, 2018 - TBD
Key Dates
- Earliest opening: October 9, 2009
- Latest closing: August 10, 1995
- The longest season was 2018-2019, lasting 258 days from October 19, 2018, to July 4, 2019.
See Also
- Piste#Ratings
Images for kids
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Arapahoe Basin's East Wall in December 2005
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The base area of A-Basin on October 29, 2004
