Arapahoe Basin announces opening day for popular Colorado ski area
Arapahoe Basin, often referred to as A-Basin, will open for the ski season on Sunday, officials with the ski area announced on Saturday.
The ski area will open to the public at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday after successful efforts to make and add snow to the mountain.
It appears to have been the first major ski area in Colorado to announce its opening for the season, but hours after the announcement, Keystone said it would open on Saturday.
"The Snowmakers had a good session last night," a social media post from the company said on Saturday. "Three snowcats will spend the day dozing and tilling High Noon. Tonight the Snowmakers will put the frosting on cake. The Cat Drivers will add a till just before dawn tomorrow and there you have it. We will be skiing Sunday morning. Can't wait to see you."
A-Basin is popular due to its distance from Denver, about 65 miles west, east of Dillon, and its cost.
"A-Basin is very well known for getting open first or very close to first each season," Shayna Silverman, communications manager for A-Basin, told CBS News Colorado earlier this week. "We're pretty blessed with high elevation here at the base area, we're above 10,700 feet, positioned perfectly on the Continental Divide. So we get snow, we get low temperatures, and we get snow that sticks around."
New this season, access will be unlimited for Ikon Pass holders. Ikon Base Pass holders have unlimited access until Dec. 19 and starting Dec. 20, Base Pass holders will have 5-day access throughout the rest of the season.
There will also be races, DJ events, a Halloween costume contest, breakfast events, a Thanksgiving turkey trot, film screenings, and more.
"This season is an opportunity for us to show everyone who A-Basin is," said Arapahoe Basin President and COO Alan Henceroth, "For folks with the Ikon Pass, this may be your first time visiting us. For our returning community, we'd like to reintroduce ourselves - we're the same A-Basin you know and love, only maybe even a little better."
You can get to A-Basin by taking Highway 6/Loveland Pass west. It's 5 miles east of Keystone. If Loveland Pass is closed, you can still take Interstate 70 and the Eisenhower Tunnel. It will be open seven days a week until 4 p.m.
For more information, visit arapahoebasin.com. Most other popular ski areas and resorts expect to open next week or in early November.