Arapahoe Basin Open For Riding

Michael Fulton24 Oct 2022

TL;DR

Thanks to the hard work of the snowmaking & grooming team at Arapahoe Basin the resort was able to start turning lifts this Sunday the 23rd of October 2022. Check out all the action as the first major ski resort gets the season rolling.

Level Up Your Ski Day — Download SnowStash on the App Store

Just like that the North American ski season is well under way with 4 ski resorts now offering riding and Arapahoe Basin, CO being is the largest of them all. Arapahoe Basin does not set an opening date, instead they just make snow and then call it when its going to be ready and safe to start accepting riders. Whilst only opening with a single lift and a single trail that didn’t stop many keen riders who were simply happy to get back on snow, when in fact the resort only closed June 5. Yes Arapahoe Basin is open more throughout the year than they are closed which is incredibly awesome and also a testament to the skills of the whole team who run the mountain.

Arapahoe Basin opening terrain. Credit: Arapahoe Basin Trail Map The morning got off to a great start as the snowflakes begun to fall and this continued throughout the whole day, checking the snow stake at close shows there was over what looks like over 5” of fresh snow. The second day of the season may be a mini powder day. Check out the latest conditions across the resort with our Arapahoe Basin Web Cams.

About the author

Michael Fulton

Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.

50+ resorts visited15 years skiing

Keep reading

More from the SnowStash desk

View all news →

Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028

Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.

31 Aug 2026

Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured

An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.

28 Aug 2026

Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do

A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.

27 Aug 2026

Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September

Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.

26 Aug 2026

Unstable Glacier Above Randa Puts Zermatt-Area Village on Alert

A hanging glacier above the Swiss village of Randa, just south of Zermatt, has been shedding large chunks of ice for weeks, with authorities warning more break-offs are likely. A danger zone has been closed off since June, though officials say the village's 479 residents aren't at risk. It's a familiar pattern for this glacier - it's done this before, in 1819, 1972 and 1973 - but a reminder of how closely Alpine authorities now watch terrain once considered stable.

26 Aug 2026

Thredbo Is 'On the Table' as EVT Reviews Its Whole Business

Thredbo is officially 'on the table.' EVT Limited, owner of Australia's most decorated ski resort, has hired Rothschild & Co to review its entire corporate structure - and confirmed Thredbo isn't off limits, even as it books a stronger year of earnings. The resort's own valuation has nearly halved after a brutal 2026 season, and speculation is already running toward Vail Resorts, Alterra, or a New Zealand operator picking it up. Here's what EVT actually said, and who could buy it.

25 Aug 2026

Ski-E-O! Is the Ski Resort Tycoon Game We Didn't Know We Needed

I'm not a gamer. I'm a skier and snowboarder who happens to have a laptop. So when a ski resort management game called Ski-E-O! landed on Steam, I wasn't expecting to lose an afternoon to it - but here we are. Real mountain terrain, a full weather system, storms that roll in and wreck your snow base, avalanche danger, and enough depth to make RollerCoaster Tycoon feel simple by comparison. Early access lands in November. Here's what a few hours in the free demo actually looks like.

23 Aug 2026

Sugar Bowl, California, Rebuilds Its Historic Village Gondola

The rumours are true: Sugar Bowl is tearing out its Emerald gondola, in place since 1983, and replacing it with a new 8-person Doppelmayr system - nearly doubling uphill capacity to 1,800 people an hour. It's the fourth generation of a gondola line that dates back to 1953, when Sugar Bowl became the first resort on the West Coast to run one at all, and it's just one piece of a $100 million overhaul touching lodges, parking and snowmaking. Here's what's changing, and what's staying the same.

23 Aug 2026