Arapahoe Basin

Arapahoe Basin runs the longest ski season in Colorado — typically October through June — from a base elevation of 10,780 feet to a summit of 13,050 feet along the Continental Divide. With 1,428 acres, 9 lifts, and 350 inches of average annual snowfall, A-Basin is compact compared to its Summit County neighbors, but the high-alpine terrain is among the most dramatic in the state. The upper mountain sits entirely above treeline, exposed and windswept, with views from the East Wall stretching across the Divide into some of the most rugged geography in Colorado.

Arapahoe Basin opened in 1946, making it one of the oldest continuously operating ski areas in Colorado. It started with a single rope tow and a handful of runs, and it has grown deliberately and slowly — never chasing the mega-resort model. A-Basin is independently owned, one of the few remaining ski areas in Summit County not tied to a major resort company. That independence is central to the mountain's identity: it left the Epic Pass in 2019 and has charted its own course since, keeping its own culture intact.

The terrain rewards skiers who like their mountains raw. Montezuma Bowl, opened in 2007, added over 400 acres of above-treeline bowl and chute skiing that doubled the resort's size. The East Wall delivers short, steep lines with genuine consequence, and The Beavers and Steep Gullies — hike-to terrain accessed from Montezuma Bowl — offer the kind of backcountry-adjacent skiing that most resorts can only talk about. A-Basin's parking lot tailgate scene on spring afternoons is as much a part of Colorado ski culture as any village or lodge. Mtns Co carries Arapahoe Basin gear because this is the mountain that skiers graduate to.