KEYSTONE – The Snake River wends through this resort village, rushing streamside condos, beckoning anglers to cast after rainbow trout and, at some point in the year, funneling into equipment Keystone ski area uses to make snow. But a few miles upstream, the river is a braid of smaller streams that scour a mineral-rich basin […]
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: For Colorado’s ski industry, reversing climate change is practical, not political
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in Summit County, Colorado, supports climate change solutions in the Build Back Better Act and we are calling on Colorado’s senators and representatives to pass these measures. It’s past time to take seriously the impacts of climate change and their potential to devastate not only Colorado’s natural treasures, but the economies, […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Colorado ski areas aren’t talking about skier fatalities this season. So we asked coroners instead.
At least 11 skiers were killed in traumatic crashes at Colorado’s 26 ski areas this season. That is about the average number for a ski season — “about” because it’s difficult to learn when and how skiers and snowboarders die inbounds at the state’s ski areas. Ski areas are not required to share information about […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Economy, News, Outdoors
Colorado resorts expect next ski season to be pretty normal, but some coronavirus changes may stick around
A year ago this week, lift-served skiing was broken. Ski areas around the planet ground to a sudden halt in a desperate effort to slow the spread of contagion. Operators were distributing food from spring-break-stocked coolers and figuring out what to do with jobless workers in employee housing, all while slashing budgets and planning for […]
Posted inClimate, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
Satellites, airplanes and lasers are tracking Colorado avalanches
Avalanche forecasting has come a long way since the 1950s, when forecasters relied solely on weather to predict when and where snow might slide. But it still requires scientists skiing and digging into the snowpack. That’s changing as satellites, aircraft-mounted sensors and ground-based remote monitoring fast-track the evolution of snow science, giving experts comprehensive insight […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, News, Outdoors
Eager early-season crowds are helping Colorado ski resorts fine tune operations before the holiday crush
Winter Park delayed its opening a couple weeks to early December and the pent-up demand almost overwhelmed the Grand County resort on its first Saturday. Lines were long on Dec. 5 and, as skiers kicked off skis and snowboards to load up the base-area gondola, distancing faded. By midday, the resort had made changes. “We […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News, Outdoors
Arapahoe Basin will reopen Wednesday for skiing and snowboarding
Arapahoe Basin ski area on Sunday announced that it will be reopening its slopes on Wednesday. “We are going to go skiing again,” Alan Henceroth, A-Basin’s chief operating officer, said in a video. “… This is going to be incredible.” Skiing and snowboarding will look very different, however, the Summit County resort boss said. “It’s […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors
Arapahoe Basin’s effort to avoid overcrowding by leaving the Epic Pass may be working too well
Alan Henceroth wanted about 100,000 fewer skier visits at his Arapahoe Basin ski area when he left the Epic Pass last year, citing overflowing parking lots and crowds that threatened to degrade the 1,400-acre resort’s ski experience. He got it. And more. After 10 years with the Epic Pass, spearheaded by Vail Resorts, and a […]
Posted inColoradans, Environment, Outdoors
Colorado is trying to get drivers off I-70 by busing skiers to the slopes. Will it work?
Driving on Interstate 70 up to Colorado’s mountains on a winter weekend can be its own kind of hell. You spend a lot of time in traffic. You might do some screaming. And if you’re especially unlucky, you’re stuck alongside Loveland Ski Area near the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnels watching people ski and snowboard while […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors
Colorado skiers will soon be able to take a bus from Denver to A-Basin, Loveland and Steamboat
By Thomas Peipert, The Associated Press Colorado transportation officials unveiled plans Wednesday for a bus system that will shuttle skiers and snowboarders from Denver to three resorts in an effort to ease traffic congestion exacerbated by a recent population boom. Gov. Jared Polis said during a ceremony at Denver’s Union Station that the “Snowstang” service, […]