Arapahoe Basin has won approval from the U.S. Forest Service to expand onto the backside of Montezuma Bowl, a move that will nearly double its skiable terrain.
The approval was granted on Nov. 30 and announced Friday. It will allow the small Summit County ski area to build a new lift to access an additional 395 acres, more than half of which will be intermediate terrain.
“This is huge for us,” said Greg Finch, executive vice president of Dundee Realty USA, which owns the ski area. “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 of intermediate terrain. This gives us the ability to appeal to that skier.”
The new terrain is expected to open in time for the 2007-2008 season and will bring A-Basin’s total of lift-served acres to 837. 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 weekend, 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 public appeal period.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
