"The Anti Resort"
https://www.skimag.com/ski-resort-life/the-anti-resort-a-basin
It seems to me, the parking situation and Epic partnership, are making the "vibe" at ABasin about 5 years out of date for this article.
Loveland may be the last "anti-resort" standing in the Front Range on I-70, and even there we need to wait and see how Ikon/Epic play out the next few years and if they can remain a mostly true independent (102 free days at US, Canadian, and International partner resorts is not exactly going it alone)
Loveland is arguably thriving. The main lot is full or near full almost every day of the week and that’s relativity new. Which is to say that the Ikon/Epic duopoly doesn’t appear to be draining customers, but probably the opposite, and I’ve run into a lot more destination skiers. Hearing southerners try to pronounce “Ptarmigan” is grin inducing.
I think it was last year that my wife was talking to a Loveland ski patroller who said “Our uphill lift capacity vastly exceeds our parking capacity”, and unlike A-Basin with its sister relationship to Keystone, there is no parking overflow/shuttle potential. So Loveland can’t be under financial pressure that it otherwise wasn’t under before, and it seems a lot of people are showing up and buying day passes. And with Airbnb, there is plenty of lodging nearby - that’s probably the biggest change. We just heard last week that Chair 6 is now slated for a high speed replacement.
I don’t think A-Basin is trying to be an anti-resort. A-Basin’s master plan includes things like a summer zipline. They have added a lot to the base, and are directly competing with Breck and other large resorts. The idea that A-Basin is going to return to some former state is already over. I had really hoped that A-Basin would go independent and link up for a “Loveland Pass Pass” with Loveland, but the more I think about it the more I realize a lot of people would choose that pass and it would put a lot of pressure on Loveland with lots filling up early. A-Basin doesn’t add enough to Loveland for that to be a deal I want to see happen.
Because when you have a pass at Loveland and at A-Basin as your only 2 passes like I do, you are likely to end up skiing 90% of your days at Loveland while both are open.
Either way, getting to Luv at 9:30 on a Friday is a risk for parking now, even if half those cars apparently aren’t people actually skiing (Subaru + the Rapture). But there still won’t be anybody on the mountain unless you want to stick to beginner terrain.
No lines are what makes the anti-resort - the rest is just the base.