If you want to skin up at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area this season, you will need to pay $30 for the previously free uphill access skiing and snowboarding.
In a post on his blog Friday morning, A-Basin Chief Operating Officer Alan Henceroth explained that the unexpected and dramatic increase in popularity of skinning and hiking uphill in recent years has affected the Basin:
Uphill Access has long been a fun and exciting component of skiing and riding at The Basin. A few years ago, the popularity of skinning and hiking uphill was growing dramatically. We realized it was time to review and analyze the program. Ultimately, we introduced a more formalized program that required users to obtain a free uphill access pass.
We expected we’d give out a couple of hundred passes. We were wrong. So far we have issued nearly 10,000 Uphill Access Passes. I think this is really cool. People love it. It is another good way to enjoy the mountain. I am one of the regular users. Over time, usage has continued to evolve. Managing uphill access has turned into a fair bit of work. We don’t mind the work, but there is a lot of real work involved.
Season pass holders will not be required to pay the fee.
Uphill access typically opens for the season in mid- to late November as more terrain becomes available. Last year, A-Basin opened its uphill access on Nov. 14.
Al henceroth “oh cool another revenue stream for my business that operates on usfs land.
My prediction- 5yrs it will be pay parking
Remember “the beach” now it’s like 5 spots
#suckingthesouloutofskiing