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princo

Getting off the lift
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Losing the Keystone parking may hurt quite a bit. Parking is the big problem at the Basin.

I do agree on the parking issues....without Keystone as an overflow...even without this announcement, parking was going to be an issue.

The Keystone parking lots got full many times last season before 10am (about the time you'd get there if you left Denver after 6:30am), so it's not like Keystone has a lot of extra capacity either. Keystone is getting quite a bit crowded as well. I had the 10 lesson pack and those were the only days I spent there cause the line cutting benefits of the ski school.
 

Coach13

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The Keystone parking lots got full many times last season before 10am (about the time you'd get there if you left Denver after 6:30am), so it's not like Keystone has a lot of extra capacity either. Keystone is getting quite a bit crowded as well. I had the 10 lesson pack and those were the only days I spent there cause the line cutting benefits of the ski school.

Yep. All the Summit Co resorts see the crowds on weekends and holidays but most (Keystone included) you can navigate around the crowds if you plan it out.
 

fatbob

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Good news for me as an out of state Ikon passholder. I'd have thought out of frying pan into fire for A basin loyalists in the Front range. All that WP and Copper traffic diverting your way when there is a problem with Berthoud or the tunnel and early and late season.
 

UGASkiDawg

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The Basin and Al in particular are being reamed on Social Media and on his blog. Most of it by people who don't read apparently. Lot's them promising to never ski Abasin again. Maybe that's what he means by cutting back on the parking problem:roflmao:
 

coskigirl

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The Keystone parking lots got full many times last season before 10am (about the time you'd get there if you left Denver after 6:30am), so it's not like Keystone has a lot of extra capacity either. Keystone is getting quite a bit crowded as well. I had the 10 lesson pack and those were the only days I spent there cause the line cutting benefits of the ski school.

As far as I know, Abasin does not use the Keystone parking lot when Keystone is open, only during the early/late seasons when Keystone is closed. I wonder if Keystone will be open to a fee for use agreement after they close in the future. It might cost Abasin a bit more but would that provide them enough benefit to make it worth it? No knowledge, just speculating. Or, while maybe not as convenient, especially during a storm cycle, perhaps Loveland would consider.
 

Snowflake2420

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I certainly wouldn't go as far to say I'll never ski there again, but my wishful thinking was just that.

I want to be hopeful the "limited" number of days and blackouts will make a dent, but given the way things are in Denver now just have a hard time seeing it.
 

Ken_R

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People who don’t live in Front Range: :golfclap::golfclap::golfclap::golfclap:

People who live in Front Range: :huh::popcorn::huh::popcorn:

Looks like the shitshow will continue on...
 

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
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925,000 epic pass holders with unlimited days vs roughly 250,000 (last season...let's call it 325K this season) pass holder with 5 or 7 days. I'd say we're gonna see a decrease the question is how much
I think a lot of crowd issues, not just at ABasin, will be determined by the snow. Last year was a perfect storm, literally. Lots of snow and a the all new IKON pass. I think even without the IKON pass last year crowds were going to be up at most Rocky/Sierra/PNW areas. It'll be interesting to see how many hardcore skiers there are if this season comes up short weather-wise. We all want small crowds but know that small crowds don't pay the bills.
 

Andy Mink

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How do the locals feel about it?
I just took a look at the ABasin FB page. There is a lot of angst about the late notice after people purchased the ABasin pass. Some want their money back. If you ski at AB more than 7 days that pass is the only way to go. If you only get out a few days I might be ticked. Mostly, though, comments are kind of wait-and-see. There isn't the uprising like at Deer Valley and some of the other resorts from last season.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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I just took a look at the ABasin FB page. There is a lot of angst about the late notice after people purchased the ABasin pass. Some want their money back. If you ski at AB more than 7 days that pass is the only way to go. If you only get out a few days I might be ticked. Mostly, though, comments are kind of wait-and-see. There isn't the uprising like at Deer Valley and some of the other resorts from last season.
On Al's blog too.
The thing is, many are also posting the copy of Al's blog from back in April, the I posted earlier in this thread.
I'm surprised at the amount of people who are surprised This is a letter from Al back in April.
April 2019 All's blog
"VERY IMPORTANT SEASON PASS MESSAGE
Dear Arapahoe Basin Friends,

We are having a great Spring at The Basin with seven feet of snow in March and a good storm pattern forecast for April. The ski season has at least a couple of strong months to go.

Thanks to all of you that expressed your thoughts to us about leaving Vail. We are continuing to work closely with potential resort partners. Finalizing new partnerships is still going to take a few more months. While there is a lot we do not know, there are some things we do know.

The Arapahoe Basin Season Pass, currently on sale for $399, will be the only unlimited season pass product for A-Basin in the 2019-20 season. If you would like to ski 8 or more days at The Basin, this is the only pass that will offer that option. We are still looking at opportunities to join other resort programs, but none of those programs will include unlimited access at A-Basin.

The Arapahoe Basin Season Pass will be on sale for $399 through April 30, 2019. On May 1, 2019, the price goes up to $449. If you want an unlimited Arapahoe Basin season pass, this is your only option and this is absolutely the lowest price you will see.

Look Closely At Our Website for all the season pass options. There are some especially good products for kids. I hope you will seriously consider buying a pass with us. We have lots of exciting times in store for you at The Basin. Thanks.

Alan"
 

Ken_R

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True, though that was in April, an I asked at least one A-Basin employee if they'd heard anything basically every time I skied this spring and the consensus I got was something like "they're telling us what they decide in early June" (or something, I forget the exact date at this point). Anyways, to me it seemed like it was unlikely that there would be further developments this year once we made it into summer based on those conversations.

Hard to see it being as much of a shitshow as it was on the Epic pass (I can't believe people would use a day on opening day, for example), but still, as a selfish local, I am pretty bummed about this. My Colorado dream was nice for the few months it lasted.

I definitely expected this so that is why I got the LL pass this spring.

A Basin will still be Very crowded So I wouldnt expect it to turn into LL all of the sudden :roflmao: The shitshow will continue... @UGASkiDawg

The generation aspect @jmeb mentioned is right on as well..
 

Ski&ride

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925,000 epic pass holders with unlimited days vs roughly 250,000 (last season...let's call it 325K this season) pass holder with 5 or 7 days.
925k of Epic pass last season?

I seems to have read somewhere it’s 725k. But my memory could be wrong...
 

Philpug

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OK... round numbers....let's say it was 800K Epic and 250K Ikon passes. If what people are saying is that there were only and average of 5 days used from each Epic visitor, I am sure that percentage of the 800K who actually skied A-Basin was also much smaller, I would say lass than 2% of the Epic Pass holders from say Tahoe never stepped into a ski at A-Basin and if that same percentage of skier are Ikon skiers...there should be about 70% less Ikon skiers at A-Basin than there have been Epic skiers in the past.

Also those Epic skiers had unlimited days at A-Basin, the Ikon skiers have ONLY 5-7 to choose from. IMHO they will be a lot more selective in those days and I am guessing the better days will be more crowded but I still don't think they will be Epic days crowded. Also also, There was a significant percentage of Epic pass holders that were not total fans of Breckenridge and Keystone as by passed them to ski A-Basin. Ikon pass holders will still ski Copper and the other Ikon locations. So again, I don't see a huge influx in skier visits.

Now the parking...the loss of Keystone as overflow will be huge. I am guessing that they will rely on the (minimal) parking turnouts on the road. Personally, we have coem to the conclusion, when we ski A-Basin..we just need to get their early..or be like @tball and arrive after 1:00.
 

MarkP

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I probably would have done a day at AB during my Colorado trip this coming season so will help a little with $. Definitely puts the May gathering into play for me.
 

tball

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Now the parking...the loss of Keystone as overflow will be huge. I am guessing that they will rely on the (minimal) parking turnouts on the road. Personally, we have coem to the conclusion, when we ski A-Basin..we just need to get their early..or be like @tball and arrive after 1:00.
I'm not happy about this mostly because of the parking. Al's suggestion to "come early or come late" makes a crappy customer experience.

I want to be able to show up to ski A-basin at 9:30 or 10 am after dropping kids at school in Denver. That hasn't been possible on powder days. Same deal on busy weekends.

The next $10-20M invested at A-basin needs to go into expanding parking. Aspen Highlands has a parking garage. With this IKON deal, A-basin has the money. They need to expand parking.
 
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