A-Basin goes high-speed
Funky ol’ A-Basin seems bent on turning into a real resort these days. Last year, we got new terrain on the backside. Next season, an honest-to-goodness high-speed quad replacing the Exhibition chair. After this, I fear, comes paid parking.
Here’s the release:
The new, high speed quad chairlift that will be constructed this summer at Arapahoe Basin has found a name – Black Mountain Express. Alan Henceroth, COO of A-Basin, put a call out to A-Basin aficionados to help name the lift. He received hundreds of suggestions from “Quadzilla” to “Chairway to Heaven.” After much contemplation and days of looking through suggestions by A-Basin management, some of them very entertaining, “Black Mountain Express” won the crown.
The new lift will replace the Exhibition fixed-grip triple chair located in the base area, which was installed in 1978. The new lift will have a capacity of 2000 people per hour, a length of 2877 feet and have a vertical rise of 719 feet. The ride time will be just under three minutes, half the time of the current lift ride from base area to mid-mountain.
Construction is scheduled for mid-June and will not impact the current season’s closing date (tentatively scheduled for June 6, 2010) or opening date next fall. The top terminal of the new lift will be slightly realigned uphill and to the west away from Black Mountain Lodge. The lower terminal will remain in the same location.
Track the new lift’s progress at:
http://www.arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/mountain/lift-construction.aspx
