#Arapahoe Basin, Colorado.
| Arapahoe Basin Ski Area |
May has been a godsend for skiers who refuse to let winter die.
Thanks to nearly 50 inches of snow this month — easily one of the snowiest on record — Arapahoe Basin announced it will extend Colorado’s ski season by at least a few days, with limited lift service during the bonus weekend of June 12 to June 14. Officials could add even more bonus weekends if the weather stays cool and cloudy.
A-Basin is now one of four ski areas still open in the states, along with slopes in Oregon, Wyoming and Washington.
Regular daily operations at A-Basin will continue through June 7. That was the ski area’s original closing date for most of a dismal season, but then winter finally arrived in late spring and brought nearly 84 inches between April 16 and Memorial Day weekend. The Basin even broke all-time skier records on May 10.
After June 7, ski lifts and skier services will be closed Monday through Thursday. The ski area will reopen for lift-served skiing on June 12 and remain open through June 14, with limited skier services.
During the bonus weekend, the Black Mountain Express and Lenawee Mountain lifts will run from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Terrain availability will depend on conditions. Before heading out, be sure to check the A-Basin terrain status page orFacebook page.
“With our snowy and cool spring weather, the skiing conditions are better than we have seen for years at this time in May,” said Alan Henceroth, A-Basin’s vice president and chief operating officer. “We will be re-opening for at least one more long weekend.”
This isn’t the first time A-Basin has extended its season thanks to random late-spring snow, and if history is proof, it won’t be the last. In 2014, a similar round of late storms kept the season going until June 22, and skiers have celebrated the Fourth of July five times, the last time during the record-breaking season of 2011. The latest it ever closed was Aug. 10 in 1995.
During the bonus weekend — and any future bonus weekends — skiers and boarders get access with a 2014-15 or 2015-16 A-Basin season pass, the A-Basin Spring ‘15 Pass and all 2014-15 Vail Resorts season passes.
Individual lift tickets for June 12-14 will be $54 for adults (ages 19 to 69), $44 for youth (ages 15 to 18) and $32 for children (ages 6 to 14). Children ages 5 years old and younger ski free. Seniors ages 70 and older ski for $25 per day. Discounted single-day tickets for the bonus weekend can be purchased in advance at tickets.arapahoebasin.com.
If you want to ski more than one day, special two-day tickets are $79 for adults and $52 for children. Three-day tickets are $108 for adults and $64 for children. These special tickets are valid during the bonus weekend only.
Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.
