Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin To End Vail Partnership
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Big news from Colorado on Monday, as Arapahoe Basin Ski Area announced it plans to end its partnership with Vail Resorts. Starting in the 2019-2020 ski season, Epic Pass holders will no longer be able to ski or ride at A-Basin.
For years, anyone who purchased a pass to neighboring Keystone (owned by Vail Resorts) was allowed access to A-Basin’s lifts, often leading to crowded parking lots and on-mountain facilities. According to a Summit Daily article, that was the exact reason A-Basin decided to sever ties with the resort conglomerate.
In the last 15 years, A-Basin has invested $40 million in infrastructure upgrades, but the uptick of skier and snowboarder traffic has outgrown even those upgrades. Anyone who has skied at the ski area has likely experienced the struggle to find parking, especially on a mid-winter powder day. Earlier this year, the ski area was warning drivers that anyone parked illegally over the white lines on Highway 6 was being towed.
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No official announcements have been made on whether A-Basin will enter a new partnership with a different resort, like nearby independent resort Loveland, or even find a place on Alterra’s Ikon Pass.
Vail announced a new offer for Keystone pass holders: the Keystone Plus Pass, which will offer unlimited days at Keystone plus late-season access to Breckenridge and five days at Crested Butte. Breckenridge will look to extend its winter season through Memorial Day.
