Posted by admin | Posted in Other Ski Areas | Posted on 17-05-2009
I visited Arapahoe Basin, otherwise known as “A-Basin” four times in May 2009. The first was on the way out to Chicago (via Denver) on May 1 before visiting my family and seeing the dead (formerly Grateful Dead) play at the Rosemont Horizon with my brother … which was a great show!
Most of the mountain was open including the Pali lift; however, it was slightly overcast so the pali face and other runs were a bit on the crunchy side. There was some soft snow and slush to be skied or ridden (on a snowboard) down lower on the mountain.
I came back to visit a second time on May 8th on route back to Telluride (Ophir) after seeing the dead again in Denver. It was a bit warmer and sunnier this time around, so the snowboarding was a bit more forgiving. I rode the Montezuma lift and snowboarded down those runs for the first time ever.
Went out for a quick snowboarding trip on May 14th & 15th, both days were warmer and sunnier than the first, but the Pali lift was closed. I believe the management and ski patrol at A Basin are a bit more cautious after a late season in bounds avalanche took the life of a skier a few years ago.
Nonetheless, the snowboarding was great … the snow was soft all over. I bought a season pass before my first day at the basin for about $290. It is valid for the rest of this season (June 7 is the projected closing date) as well as all of next season. Also included is a free (unguided) lift ticket at Silverton and 5 days at some resort in California.
Posted by admin | Posted in Other Ski Areas | Posted on 14-06-2008
I was pleasantly surprised (but not floored) to read that Ajax is currently open this weekend for skiing and snowboarding on limited terrain! Still contemplating making the 4hr+ drive early in the morning tomorrow, but the limited hours (10am – 1pm) makes it kind of difficult to leave at 6am and get in my full nickel’s worth. I don’t know if I’d want to leave today and have to be immersed in the summer tourist season and high prices (there’s a food and wine festival going on now)? So, we’ll see. Lift served access is still an option in June!
Would the Telski ever do something like this? I’ve lived here since ’95 and have NEVER seen any sort of extension of the ski season, so I’m not holding my breath. While I haven’t gotten an up close look, my guess is that lifts 4 & 9 are probably both sitting pretty good in terms of snow near the top stations with decent pathways coming down. Even if it’s sketchy today, it was probably very doable in mid May.
So, what does this all say? Has Aspen come full circle after its build out? Is Telluride still just keeping it’s head down and putting one development foot after another without any regard for the soul which has kept this town together? Will it take a complete gutting of the community before Telski offers up the goods? Cynical? Maybe. But we’ve been dropped many a clue over the course of Dave Riley’s tenure at the helm of Telski …. the delayed opening of lift 9, removal of automatic end of season retro bonus for Telski employees, and even the opening of new hike-to terrain tells a certain story if you read between the lines.
