Aspen (c91) News

Arapahoe Basin Opens

Jones No More, the 2006-2007 Ski Season is Here

By Bob Berwyn, 10-13-06

For many of us, it begins with an email, or phone call from a friend, then a frantic head-first dive into the closet to dig out a hat, gloves, goggles, maybe some wax and an edge tool.

That's how Colorado's 2006-2007 winter season began for me the other day, when word came that Arapahoe Basin would be opening one intermediate trail on the bottom half of the mountain on Oct. 13. A Friday, no less, but not unlucky at all if you're a skier or a snowboarder.

That early season strip of man-made snow has sometimes been tabbed – unfairly, in my opinion – as the white ribbon of death, for all the potential mayhem and carnage that can occur when you put several hundred speed-seekers on a patch of snow that's not much bigger than the floor space in one of the McMansions sprouting throughout Rocky Mountain ski country.

But when you've got the Jones, you've got to feed it, right? Besides, I was assigned to cover the event for the Summit Daily News, and that means a couple of hours, at least, on the snow and on the clock.

So even though the last few cottonwoods are still bravely fluttering some tattered gold, I load up the Subaru and point it uphill. It knows the way without much help from me, so I can concentrate on checking out the bighorn sheep browsing on the steep canyon wall.

Up at the Basin, the buzz is on. This is a big anniversary season for one of Colorado's original ski areas, where a loyal tribe of both local and Front Range skiers and riders keeps it real, year after year. For 59 seasons, the lifts have been cranking here, and I feel like I'm at home even before I pull into the parking lot.

My tele boots, a pair of seven-year-old Scarpa Terminators, feel like slippers. And they should. I ski hard and I've put at least 90 days per season on them, so they are broken in, to say the least. Comet, the four-month-old wonder pup, jumps out of the hatch and runs around to make some new friends while I run a stone up and down the edges of my boards.

Up at the lodge, "Eyes of the World" blares from the speakers. This old Grateful Dead hippie anthem rings loud and true on this bluebird day that seems to be born on the cusp two seasons: "Right outside the lazy gate of winter's summer home … "

Tony, a long-time liftie at the Basin, greets us with his traditional "Namaste. Welcome home, Jay, welcome home, Bob," and we line up in the maze; colorful, boisterous, cheeky and full of good vibes.

On this day, the joy is tempered just a bit by the memory of a missing friend. The first chair goes up empty, save for a single white ribbon with the word "Ode" written on it. The chair is dedicated to Brad Odekirk, a long-time photographer with the Summit Daily News who died in an accident this summer.

Brad was a community treasure, showcasing not only the beauty of our mountains, but the spirit of the people who live here. He was a friend and a ski buddy and never missed an opening day, and could more often than not be found waist-deep in powder, camera to his eye and big smile on his face. Beloved by the ski area employees and the many locals who frequent A-Basin, he'll be missed this season and seasons to come.

So after a moment of commemorative silence, the lift rumbles and groans to life. White as the gleaming snow, the ribbon flutters up the hill. Then a cheer goes up as the maze opens. We plunge ahead as one, eagerly anticipating that slippery, sliding, gliding dance with gravity that nurtures us and lets us play, even though we're all grown up.

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