Arapahoe Basin Ski Area chief shares ski area’s considerations on re-opening
DILLON — In a post on his blog late Saturday morning titled “Candid Talk On Opening,” Arapahoe Basin Ski Area Chief Operating Officer Alan Henceroth shared the latest on A-Basin’s thoughts and plans on possibly re-opening some time this spring.
Henceroth said though the ski area is working on plans of how to open, there still has no plan for when to open lift-serviced skiing and snowboarding and uphill access. The COO made it clear an A-Basin re-opening will not be happening soon.
“That said, you know when conditions are right, we will try and re-open,” Henceroth wrote. “That time is at least a few weeks away.”
“Don’t be discouraged,” Henceroth added. “This is a marathon and A-Basin is a marathon runner. What other area stays open from mid-October to July 4th? We all need to do the right things now if we want to get open again.”
In the post, Henceroth said he’s concerned some people “may be getting the wrong message” regarding re-opening, which is why he decided to take candid nature in his blog post.
Support Local Journalism
The COO also feels, as a community, “we have more work to do battling COVID-19.
“Hospitalization and fatality rates need to continue to fall,” he continued. “We still need to follow all the social distancing recommendations. Culturally, to open we have to be comfortable traveling and driving again.”
A-Basin has been closed for lift-serviced skiing and riding since mid-March when Gov. Jared Polis mandated the closure of ski areas across the state due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and accompanying health concerns. Shortly thereafter, A-Basin closed uphill access to its terrain located on U.S. Forest Service land within the natural basin at Summit County’s border on the western slope of the Continental Divide.
Historically, A-Basin has one of the longest lift-served seasons in the country and remains open, typically, through June, sometimes extending lift-served days through the Fourth of July, as the ski area did last summer.
