Suffering from its own iconic stance in Colorado as the “local’s mountain,” some of those same local skiers and riders who support Arapahoe Basin have issued concerns about not only Altera Mountain Company purchasing the mountain, but the newly announced news that full Ikon Pass holders will have unlimited access to A-Basin for the 2025-2026 season, compared to the 5 days previously allowed with the Ikon Base Pass, a cheaper version.
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“I think it sucks!” one skier told CBS Colorado at the A-Basin base Wednesday morning. “I’m a local, and it’s terrible, but whatever.”
Part of that “don’t want to share” mentality comes from A-Basin being the last standing mountain in Summit County that was not aligned with two of the big companies, Altera or Vail.
Denver skier Antoine Lafargue said when he moved to Colorado from France, he was searching for a similar small mountain feel that he left back home. He tried Aspen, Breckenridge, Copper, and Vail, but said A-Basin was where he found his new home.
“The other resorts are a part of cooperations, it is a lot more commercial aspects, which is fine in of itself,” Lafargue said. “It caters towards different groups of people, but A Basin was the one for me.”
Why?
“More genuine, more authentic, like Colorado and the discovery of the West,” Lafague said with a smile.
That reputation as a ski mountain that’s for the locals, not the tourists, is one the resort is well aware of, and one it tries to foster. Shayna Silverman, Arapahoe Basin Communications Manager, when asked if allowing more and more Ikon Pass holders at A-Basin will result in the mountain losing its soul, was quick to offer a rebuttal.
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“Nothing changes the vibe; nothing changes our mission. We’re still here to support Summit County, to support our skiers and riders and make this the best place that it can be,” Silverman said.
Part of that equation centers around the new parking reservations at A-Basin. With limited parking spaces, the mountain has begun offering parking reservations before you even get to the mountain, not only to make sure folks coming up have a place to land with the limited spaces, but to control the number of skiers on the mountain. It requires more planning, and does cost money depending on the number of skiers and riders in your car, but eliminates a few unpleasant parts of getting onto the mountain.
“We’ve spent years and years really figuring out a perfect balance here,” Silverman said. “We want to have enough people here so that we have a healthy, growing business that’s keeping inovation up and running and moving smoothly into the future … but we also want to keep a really great experience where there’s not overcrowding, it’s healthy for the mountain and it’s sustainable.”
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Lafargue said he sees both sides of the equation and understands there are benefits to being bought out by a bigger company. But he said he just hopes the spark that makes A-Basin isn’t lost along the way.
“The analogy is craft beers in the U.S. If Coors actually owns most of the local craft beers but kept the name and kept the management of some of these local companies and breweries I hope they can do that here,” Lafargue said. “Necessary evil, because Ikon also brings money and structure and improvements, they help pay the staff here better and keep everyone safe and they help build additional lifts and we should recognize that is a part of the game. ”
It’s not a question to A-Basin whether the legendary reputation of the mountain will survive.
“We say it all the time, we’re legendary for a reason. But the things that make us legendary are not things that are able to be changed by things like ownership and parking,” Silverman said.
“It’s our terrain. It’s our staff that comes here every single day and runs this amazing place. It’s our community who comes up every day to enjoy it.’
In a release sent from A-Basin, the 2025/26 A-Basin pass products will include a host of new and exclusive passholder benefits as an added thank you to the ski area’s local and long time community. Benefits include, but are not limited to:
• Up to a $50 online credit for tickets, retail, rental, lessons, or events
• $25 lift ticket (1) to be used by anyone at any time in the season
• Unlimited 25% off Friends & Family tickets at the daily ticket window rate
• Unlimited 15% off dining, retail, rental, and group lessons
• Complimentary summer lift rides and discounted activities
• Partner resort access at Silverton and Monarch
• Discounted uphill access
• Free electric vehicle charging
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