Arapahoe Basin has won approval from the U.S. Forest Service to expand into the backside of Montezuma Bowl – a move that will nearly double its skiable terrain.
The approval, granted on Nov. 30 and announced Friday morning, will allow the small Summit County ski area to build a new lift to access an additional 395 acres, with at least half of it being intermediate terrain.
“This is huge for us,” said Greg Finch, executive vice president of Dundee Realty USA, which has owned the ski area since 1997. “If you think about the Basin, we have great facilities for beginners and world-class facilities for experts. What we have been lacking forever is a lot intermediate terrain. This gives us the ability to appeal to that skier.”
The new terrain is expected to open by the 2007-2008 season and will bring A-Basin to a total of 837 acres of lift-served skiing. Finch said it would cost $2.8 million to build a quad chairlift to access the south-facing bowl.
The ski area, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this winter, also won the right to upgrade its existing Exhibition Lift and increase its parking capacity by 231 spaces.
A-Basin is already in the midst of several other major upgrades, including a new $1.3 million ski-rental and retail shop at the mountain’s base. In February, it plans to open a $2.5 million midmountain restaurant.
The approval is subject to a 45-day appeal period, where the public can protest the expansion.
A-Basin hosted 326,428 skiers and snowboarders last winter, according to Colorado Ski Country USA. That’s down slightly from its record-breaking 2004-2005 ski season, when it saw 328,892 visitors.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or at jdunn@denverpost.com.
