A look at the slopes of Arapahoe Basin after weekend snow on Nov. 9. (Provided by Arapahoe Basin)
Without the fanfare that usually accompanies a ski area opening, Arapahoe Basin quietly welcomed skiers and riders Monday afternoon with a three-word tweet: “WE ARE OPEN.”
The tweet followed a blog item posted at 1:46 p.m. by chief operating officer Alan Henceroth revealing the opening. A subsequent email from marketing director Leigh Hierholzer called it a “soft opening” due to COVID-19 capacity issues, giving that as the reason there was no press release to mark the occasion.
“We would like to see how these first few days go as we ease into the ski season,” Hierholzer wrote.
Thus A-Basin became the third Colorado ski area to open for the season, following Wolf Creek (Oct. 28) and Keystone (Nov. 6).
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The opening comes as Summit County is considered “high risk” and has been put under safer-at-home level orange, formerly called safer-at-home Level 3. The county currently has a 14-day average positivity rate of 16.1%, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Beginning Tuesday, A-Basin will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with one lift operating from the base area to mid-mountain, serving one run. Single-day lift tickets must be purchased online in advance and will be limited due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions. Tickets currently are available for dates through Dec. 18.
Visitors with Arapahoe Basin season passes or the Any Day Pass — a multi-day pass good for three, four or five days — are welcome. Ikon Pass holders are allowed on the mountain Monday afternoon, but starting Tuesday, they must make reservations first.
No one will be allowed indoors except to use restrooms or pick up grab-and-go food. No tailgating is allowed, and no parking lot shuttles will be running.
At rival Loveland, spokesman Dustin Schaefer said officials there hope to open later this week.
