Courtesy Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
DILLON — In the wake of opening the Beavers and Pallavicini chairlifts during last week’s bountiful snowfall, the crews at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area are progressing to Montezuma Bowl, where they are getting the backside terrain ready to open.
On a post on his blog Tuesday morning, A-Basin Chief Operating Officer Al Henceroth said the two feet of snow the Continental Divide ski area received with the weekend storm was “very good” to the “Zuma Bowl.”
Henceroth said before the weekend storm hit, A-Basin’s crews had done extensive work with snowcats, the disruption roller and explosives. That led to snow conditions before the storm Henceroth described as “prepped quite well.” Then the storm dropped all that new snow, which leads to A-Basin’s work this week.
“Today, the cats made it to the bottom of Zuma Lift,” Henceroth said. “The patrollers triggered a few slides in West Zuma. We will spend the next few days getting the place ready. Both the cat drivers and the patrollers have a ton of work to do. Stay tuned for updates on their progress.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, A-Basin reported a 39-inch base with packed powder conditions, six of nine lifts open and 63 of 145 runs open. That included more than half of intermediate terrain and 50% of advanced terrain.