Arapahoe Basin, Colorado.
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| David Camara / Arapahoe Basin Ski Area |
Colorado’s last haven for skiers and snowboarders will stop turning its lifts after this weekend.
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area announced Thursday that its last day for winter operations will be Sunday, June 22. The ski area will be open for lift-served skiing and riding Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“With all the warm temperatures, this was the last weekend we could squeeze out,” said Adrienne Saia Isaac, spokeswoman for the resort.
The resort will have live music Saturday, which will coincide with the summer solstice. Visitors who don’t want to ski or ride can still hang out at the midmountain restaurant by purchasing a $20 pass that pays for the lift ride and $15 to spend at dining areas.
Isaac said she expects to see people on closing day grilling, hanging out in fun costumes and pond skimming.
“It’s just a really electric atmosphere,” she said, “and it’s our guests who create that.”
A-Basin was the first ski area to open in Colorado in 2013 on Oct. 13.
This winter and spring, the resort received more than 440 inches of snow and extended its season past its initial June 1 closing date. February was the snowiest month for the ski area, with more than 90 inches of recorded snowfall.
By Sunday, A-Basin will have operated for 241 days, including the three extension weekends. While not the longest season on record, this season was one of the resort’s busiest and most successful.
“It was such a good year,” Isaac said. “Just awesome.”
On-mountain improvements this season included a $1 million renovation to the 6th Alley Bar & Grill, the ski area’s popular après spot. In May, A-Basin received the NSAA/Ski Magazine Golden Eagle Award for excellence in its waste-reduction program which focused on recycling, composting and guest education.
A-Basin now is in the process of constructing a new Kids’ Center for its snowsports students and expects to complete that project by early 2015.
Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.
