ARAPAHOE BASIN — Edna Dercum had to be smiling somewhere, looking down on the happy crowd of skiers and snowboarders thronging the maze at Arapahoe Basin ski area on opening day.
The matriarch of The Legend, who passed away recently, would have enjoyed the buzz of energy, watching the snowboarder in a green knit hat with metallic headphones bop his head to an unseen beat and the crisp scrape of metal edges on hardpack, sending glittery streamers of snow into the sunny sky. Times may change, but the feeling of getting out on the hill for the first time stay the same, said telemarker Guinn Volkers.“This is the best day of the season,” Volkers said, washing down an energy bar with a swig of coffee. “It’s the first day, a brand new season … I’m aiming for 100 days this year.” The current economy won’t change his plans to ski at least three or four days a week, he said.“Gas just went back down, and my buddies helped pay for the tank,” Volkers said, waving at two friends buckling their boots nearby.As many as 3,000 snow-starved skiers and riders may have showed up to enjoy the sunny day, said Tim Finnigan, head of mountain operations at A-Basin.
The intermediate High Noon run is covered with a solid 12- to 18-inch base, after snowmaking crews blasted the run with 12.8 acre-feet of water, converted to snow during optimal weather conditions. That’s the best-ever base for opening day, Finnigan said.
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