Arapahoe Basin — Attraction in Four Corners States

Way below par for a Colorado ski resort. We skied there for a weekend after a fresh snow fall. They had all the lifts open but everything was roped off so we were limited to just the trails. The terrain was terrible especially after a fresh snow fall. Lots of ice, rocks and sagebrush. You can tell they hadn't groomed the trails. It really chewed up my skis. Unnecessary especially after a fresh snow fall. Theres only one lift at the base which feeds all the green, blue and black trails. This creates a big bottle neck of people trying to get up to their respective runs.

The lodge is small and outdated with run down tables, chairs and deck. The deck was not cleared off so you could easily slip on it. Its also made out of an artificial decking which is REALLY slippery. I watched a couple people slip and lose their food. Theres no bathroom in the lodge which is hugely inconvenient. You have to go outside and downstairs to get to it. But thats actually a good thing. You can smell it from outside and inside it is just nasty. The toilets are small and you sit with your knees up high or feet straight out. The lodge does have Wi-fi (which I was actually surprised about) but it was really spotty.

I wouldnt have gone back if we hadnt bought tickets for the weekend in advance. So the next day we arrived at 9:35 (it opens at 8:30) and the parking lot attendants were directing cars to other lots. And the other lot attendants were directing traffic to the lots we just came from. Some of the lots were 2 miles away. They juggled everyone back and forth between lots until they posted signs that all lots are full. In the meantime they were still selling lift tickets to everyone dropping their families off. It was a HUGE traffic jam and there were lots of frustrated drivers dropping their families off with no place to park. People ended up parking on the side of the road until one of their shuttle drivers announced that they just called the sherriff and everyone on the side of the road is gettting towed. (They should have stopped selling tickets once they realized the parking predicament instead of threatening to tow you).

Finally at 11:45 (remember I arrived at 9:35) I was able to get into a parking lot after some finagling with an attendant. I asked the attendant if parking is usually like this and she said only on Saturdays and Sundays.

The parking, the lodge, the facilities and the slopes/trails are just not good enough for a...

Decided to write this review as closure for a poor experience in 2024.

A-Basin's own website says it "can be a fantastic destination for beginners" and it's "a place where everyone is welcome, no matter their skill level." With my boyfriend being a double-black-diamond-type skier with a decade of experience (including in CO) and me only having one day of experience at a pretty flat, small ski lodge in Minnesota, A-Basin seemed like a great way to give him the adrenaline and fun he wanted, while still ensuring I had at least one run I could do. + the price was a big factor on why we chose A-Basin.

I think it's wrong to claim that it's an even moderately decent destination for beginners. The bunny slopes were not much easier than the greens. The worst part was getting snapped at by an employee. I think I had done one run down the bunny slope, still focusing intently on my pizza and french fry, when I pulled into the ski lift line opposite a line with a ski instructor and her small students. I was pizza-ing but struggling to stop. I ended up accidentally getting in front of them in the order of getting on the lift but got nowhere near them. Before I could open my mouth to apologize, the ski instructor woman snapped at me, "Can you NOT cut in front of little kids?!" I felt horrible. I quickly apologized but immediately started crying on the ski lift. The way it was said was so venomous, you'd have thought I was some average skier who set out on the bunny slope to terrorize little kids.

At the time, I felt like a big screw-up, but now, I think the ski instructor woman was in the wrong and could have had some grace. I was clearly on the bunny slopes for a reason, A-Basin itself claims to welcome beginners, and adults can be beginners too. Making beginner skiers feel horrible for making a mistake or struggling while on the bunny slopes is no way to share the joy of skiing.

For the rest of our few days at A-Basin, we ate extremely expensive food and spent so much time walking as the parking lot was such a long walk from the actual ski area. I worked my way up to some blues, but it was uncomfortable and embarrassing to be seemingly the only beginner out there; it definitely is a local hotspot. This was perfect for my boyfriend, so it's not like we were completely off-base when picking a resort. My problem was that A-Basin claims that beginners are welcome too, but this is very misleading from...

Solely a review for the via Ferrata. A basin as a ski resort is awesome!

They’re on their second season now for the via Ferrata. I’ll preface this review with the fact that I’ve done the Telluride via Ferrata which was breathtaking visually and exhilarating with all the drop offs and “comparison is the thief of happiness.” This one is essentially a scrambling/rock climb up that I frankly would have felt fine doing it without all the cables/calipers, which felt unnecessary for this. And I am not some avid climber or anything. If you’ve never done something like this, just looking for a new and safe adventure that isn’t very hard, you might still thoroughly enjoy this!

The main qualm I have with the whole experience was 1) the lack of necessary information: neither our confirmation nor pre departure email told us an exact departure time (said either 9:10 or 9:30) and I had to call day of to figure it out and it took them probably ten minutes just to find our names in the system. The 888-ARAPAHOE phone number they have listed for help… is 8 digits long!! Phone numbers are 7. Took me a bit to figure out you have to leave the last digit off otherwise the number doesn’t work and…

2. our guide (Chuck - female) shouldn’t get to use that title as her job description. She was pleasant and kind, but NEVER even checked our harnesses to make sure they were put on right/tight enough. On the way down, my girlfriend was clearly struggling and freaking out a bit with the height. Chuck could see this, but didn’t offer guidance or even a “you’re doing great” until the 2nd half of the descent. She just kept watching her struggle while our friends on the same trip kept giving her guidance of where to step next. Eventually she did help but way too late. Guiding this trip isn’t rocket science… just need to make sure people feel safe and actually are safe, and provide feedback and support along the way. That was...