Arapahoe Basin will close for the season either this coming Sunday or the following weekend, but some skiers and riders won’t be putting away their gear for the summer.
Copper Mountain’s Summer Hike Park, a terrain park open through the summer, is scheduled to open on Friday. The park will have about a dozen rail features and will be open Fridays through Sundays into September. Day passes will be priced at $25. A season pass goes for $199.
Resort crews build the park by pushing leftover snow from adjacent slopes on top of remaining snow just above the Center Village. Skiers and riders will hike a short distance to access the park.
Arapahoe Basin, meanwhile, suspended daily operations on Sunday. It will reopen this weekend, Friday through Sunday. It may close for the season on Sunday or might eke out one more weekend, depending on conditions.
“June 8 is slated as our scheduled closing date,” said A-Basin spokeswoman Shayna Silverman. “If we can remain open an additional weekend, we will, but that is all weather and conditions dependent. We need cool temps and gray skies to get us there.”
A big part of season-ending skiing there features fun and frivolity with the formation of Lake Reveal, a pool of snowmelt that forms high on the mountain in June for crazy pond-skimming exhibitions..
In a blog posts over the weekend, chief operating officer Alan Henceroth reported that it began to appear Saturday afternoon and will continue to grow through the week.
“The ‘late showing’ of the water is an indication that the snowpack is deep and strong up high,” Henceroth wrote. “A deep and strong snowpack is needed to extend the season further into June. These are all good signs.”