There will be spring skiing after all – at least in Colorado – and those with an IKON pass. The Colorado Dept. of Health approved Arapahoe Basin Ski Area’s request for a partial reopening and the resort will be ready to open by tomorrow (Wednesday).
But due to high demand, the reservation system that opened Monday night was quickly shut down. The resort expects to have a new system up and running sometime Tuesday.
As states across the county begin opening up, the Colorado Department of Public Health granted the resort’s variance request.A-Basin is typically the first resort in the Intermountain West to open for business each winter. According to a report by the newspaper, Summit Daily, requests to reopen short term-rentals and dine-in services at local restaurants were denied.
The variance for A-basin to reopen allows the ski area to host a maximum of 600 skiers per day. Summit County, Colorado Public Health may adjust the number if physical distancing requirements are aren’t met in the parking lots and base areas.
An operations plan to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 was submitted with the ski area’s variance application, which includes procedures surrounding lift lines, base area services, physical distancing enforcement, sanitation, PPE and symptom screening.
In a prepared statement A-Basin COO Alan Henceroth said, “This is going to be a very different setup and will take all of us awhile to get used to it.”
Henceroth said that the ski area will open with three lifts and will sell a limited number of day lift tickets — 30 per day — as the opening is mainly for pass holders of A-basin season and Any Day passes, Ikon passes and Mountain Collective passes. The mountain will be open every day from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Reservations to ski or snowboard at A-Basin will be strictly required and those who do not have a reservation are urged not to show up.
Physical distancing will be enforced, and guests must wear facial coverings in designated areas, including restrooms, the base area, lift lines and through the scanning process. The lanes of the lift lines will be spread out and people will only have to be scanned once. The only two things that will be open will be the chairlifts and bathrooms. The ski area hopes to eventually phase in some food services and retail operations.
Skiers must register through an online reservation system and reservations will be able to be made 36 hours in advance of the intended ski day.
