Colorado Arapahoe Basin Is NOW a Free Agent (8/2/19 Update: A-Basin has joined IKON)

[SBrown]

I was thinking how snobby that was when I wrote it .

I admit it.

 

[RachelV]

And there's already a Sun article:
https://coloradosun.com/2019/02/18/arapahoe-basin-epic-pass-vail-resorts-split/

Some pretty interesting facts in there, including the forest service numbers.

This also caught my eye:
The resort is working to lure skiers beyond weekends. Last year Arapahoe Basin — a little more than an hour’s drive from Denver — started selling a $299 weekday pass that has been received “extremely well,” Henceroth said. “We are going to keep pushing more and more of our visitors to weekdays.”

 

[RachelV]

And can I just say how crazy it is that PARKING is being cited as such a key factor here? Can that really be true? I mean, don't get me wrong, weekend parking is a total cluster, but seeing as they've made huge terrain improvements and have made zero corresponding efforts on the parking side, that's not really surprising. I feel like "parking is a pinch point" is maybe just easier than saying "we'd honestly rather lose some revenue to run this place the way we want than deal with Epic pass crowds." In other words, if they preferred to keep the Epic pass arrangement, I would be really surprised if they'd just throw up their hands and say, "well, we can't fix parking, so I guess we have to leave."

 

[SkiNurse]

...I really enjoy spring skiing and hanging with my PugSki buds.

 

[SBrown]

And can I just say how crazy it is that PARKING is being cited as such a key factor here? Can that really be true? I mean, don't get me wrong, weekend parking is a total cluster, but seeing as they've made huge terrain improvements and have made zero corresponding efforts on the parking side, that's not really surprising. I feel like "parking is a pinch point" is maybe just easier than saying "we'd honestly rather lose some revenue to run this place the way we want than deal with Epic pass crowds." In other words, if they preferred to keep the Epic pass arrangement, I would be really surprised if they'd just throw up their hands and say, "well, we can't fix parking, so I guess we have to leave."

I don't know about "zero" efforts -- they added some pay parking, shuttles from Keystone, other incentives to carpool (remember handing out free socks? lol), but I'm not really sure what they can do to fix it. A multistory garage? That would be even worse than ... well, anything else. I'm sure it [parking] has taken up waaaaaay more time and brain power (and thus $) than anyone really wants to spare. They got their expanded terrain, new buildings, new lifts, it was a good run for them. Still have some questions to answer and things to deal with, but I bet it feels like a relief right now.

 

[SkiNurse]

And can I just say how crazy it is that PARKING is being cited as such a key factor here? Can that really be true? I mean, don't get me wrong, weekend parking is a total cluster, but seeing as they've made huge terrain improvements and have made zero corresponding efforts on the parking side, that's not really surprising. I feel like "parking is a pinch point" is maybe just easier than saying "we'd honestly rather lose some revenue to run this place the way we want than deal with Epic pass crowds." In other words, if they preferred to keep the Epic pass arrangement, I would be really surprised if they'd just throw up their hands and say, "well, we can't fix parking, so I guess we have to leave."

The parking even during the week has been stupid. As a weekday-only skier, I can attest to the issues cited in Al's post regarding the number of people, parking issues, etc...yes even during the week. The terrain has really shown wear & tear from the number of skiers & riders too. All of those are reasons that I have put in many more days at Loveland over Abasin the last couple of seasons. I really hope that Abasin gets the lovin' feeling back again.

 

[SBrown]

The parking even during the week has been stupid. As a weekday-only skier, I can attest to the issues cited in Al's post regarding the number of people, parking issues, etc...yes even during the week. The terrain has really shown wear & tear from the number of skiers & riders too. All of those are reasons that I have put in many more days at Loveland over Abasin the last couple of seasons. I really hope that Abasin gets the lovin' feeling back again.

And this has been touched on, but I wonder how much it affected the decision. They miss YOU, @SkiNurse! Ok, what I really mean is that I talked to quite a few people this season who had switched from ABasin to Loveland passes because of the ABasin cluster. Purely anecdotal, yet I haven't even skied Loveland but a handful of days this year.

 

[SkiNurse]

From the Al's Blog comments:

"anonymouss45632February 18, 2019 at 9:27 AM
Booooo! You suck. Are you really going independent? Your little hill is nice, but not THAT nice!! You will lose massive revenue from this decision. F***. Weak."

Someone sounds a bit too entitled

And it is THAT type of attitude that has become prevalent at Abasin that last few seasons (and another reason I haven't skied there as much). Jerks.

I really don't see Abasin joining something like Ikon, because of the reasons cited in the news release. Mountain Collective wouldn't be unreasonable, but I IMHO, Powder Alliance would be a better move

 

[AmyPJ]

Dear Snowbasin: Are you listening?

 

[amlemus]

And it is THAT type of attitude that has become prevalent at Abasin that last few seasons (and another reason I haven't skied there as much). Jerks.

I really don't see Abasin joining something like Ikon, because of the reasons cited in the news release. Mountain Collective wouldn't be unreasonable, but I IMHO, Powder Alliance would be a better move

This is just my first season in CO, but even from just skiing ABasin a handful of times, I know that its where I need to go when I want to get away from any of the pretense of the big resorts and just let it rip and enjoy the mountain. It's a true skier's mountain and I hope it stays that way.

 

[nay]

Jmo but an Abasin pass is worth significantly more to me than a Loveland pass....ymmv

I’m the other way around, but I am snow > terrain. When Al says “The Spine is buffed!”, which is like 3 turns, pretty much all of Luv is buffed.

I dunno, it’s weird to even say that I fear A-Basin screwing up Loveland. It wasn’t that bad. It’s more that Luv is a perfect fit for me, and that means it will somehow get discontinued .

 

[nay]

The terrain has really shown wear & tear from the number of skiers & riders too.

I think this is key and a noticeable change. A-Basin doesn’t have major wind favored aspects like places with big East facing ridges do (Luv, Breck, Copper) and it can be bony AF during wind season even in a good snow season. Add a ton of traffic and surface conditions really suffer.

The last thing that high alpine terrain needs is shuttle buses bringing in more people. What high alpine terrain needs is wind fill constantly blowing into from the westward slopes.

I’ve already left A-Basin to ski vastly better conditions at Loveland on more days this season than I’ve stayed at A-Basin all day.

This is not the case in spring with good snow preservation and lots of north facing terrain, but Nov-April is a long time to suffer the A-Basin droughts as a single mountain.

Depends of course what one values. Some folk love steep, sketchy conditions and think moderate angle wind buff is boring.

May yawning remain contagious.

 

[UGASkiDawg]

I think this is key and a noticeable change. A-Basin doesn’t have major wind favored aspects like places with big East facing ridges do (Luv, Breck, Copper) and it can be bony AF during wind season even in a good snow season. Add a ton of traffic and surface conditions really suffer.

The last thing that high alpine terrain needs is shuttle buses bringing in more people. What high alpine terrain needs is wind fill constantly blowing into from the westward slopes.

I’ve already left A-Basin to ski vastly better conditions at Loveland on more days this season than I’ve stayed at A-Basin all day.

This is not the case in spring with good snow preservation and lots of north facing terrain, but Nov-April is a long time to suffer the A-Basin droughts as a single mountain.

Depends of course what one values. Some folk love steep, sketchy conditions and think moderate angle wind buff is boring.

May yawning remain contagious.

Moderate angle wind buff is boring. It fills in all the glorious bumps

 

[palikona]

ABasin was what was keeping me on the Epic for the past few years. I’ve grown so sick of the massive crowds and vibe of the other ski resorts on the pass. I still ski (for now) Breck, Vail and BC a fair amount and have a Copper 5 pack and Loveland 4 pack. Next year, with this news, I’m definitely considering the Ikon along with an ABasin pass of some sort. I’ve skied Winter Park a handful of times in the past 15 years. Does it still have a cool vibe on the Jane side or has that changed? Are weekday powder days a $shitshow like many of the Epic resorts? Do Ikon pass holders get any summer benefits ie. Cheaper Trestle mountain biking tickets?

 

[SBrown]

ABasin was what was keeping me on the Epic for the past few years. I’ve grown so sick of the massive crowds and vibe of the other ski resorts on the pass. I still ski (for now) Breck, Vail and BC a fair amount and have a Copper 5 pack and Loveland 4 pack. Next year, with this news, I’m definitely considering the Ikon along with an ABasin pass of some sort. I’ve skied Winter Park a handful of times in the past 15 years. Does it still have a cool vibe on the Jane side or has that changed? Are weekday powder days a $shitshow like many of the Epic resorts? Do Ikon pass holders get any summer benefits ie. Cheaper Trestle mountain biking tickets?

I don't know, but your user name is perrrrfect for ABasin + Ikon pass. [But you have to ski lots of Pali laps.]

 

[coskigirl]

I don't know, but your user name is perrrrfect for ABasin + Ikon pass. [But you have to ski lots of Pali laps.]

 

[jmeb]

... I’ve skied Winter Park a handful of times in the past 15 years. Does it still have a cool vibe on the Jane side or has that changed? Are weekday powder days a $shitshow like many of the Epic resorts? Do Ikon pass holders get any summer benefits ie. Cheaper Trestle mountain biking tickets?

Yes to the cool vibe...kinda. It gets a bit out of hand in the C-lot for my tastes. Lots of 80K rigs with tons of dogs running around off leash and mass amounts of drunk people. It can be over the top in spring.

Weekday powder days can be a shit show. WP/MJ is just as busy as Keystone these days, and US40 can cause some real clusterfucks.

I'm not aware of any summer benefits.

 

[Tricia]

Just doubled down on this news! Go Abasin! @Tricia, weren't we just talking about this???

Yup!

 

[Ken_R]

I’ve skied Winter Park a handful of times in the past 15 years. Does it still have a cool vibe on the Jane side or has that changed? Are weekday powder days a $shitshow like many of the Epic resorts? Do Ikon pass holders get any summer benefits ie. Cheaper Trestle mountain biking tickets?

From what I have seen WP is already a cluster. (I dont ski there but on B and J passes and the traffic is crazy)

 

[Green08]

ABasin I assume will follow the lead of every other independent in Colorado. They are going to offer a $400-500 season pass, a 4 pack under $200.

They will probably also enter into the resort reciprocal benefits game you see at every other small area. Loveland, Monarch, Sunkight, Purgatory, Cooper all offer 3 days free to each other. ABasin just joins the game. Copper also has a few setups if you are NOT Ikon, and that might happen as well.

ABasin is going to try and raise prices to the point that they just barely fill the lots on weekends, and then offer specialty options like a midweek pass or maybe a Spring Pass to fill in slower times.

It is a nice place. People love what it has to offer. Under the good management they seem to have I bet they hit the $$ goals, reduce skier visits, and make those who stick around a very happy bunch.