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Arapahoe Basin will close May 6, a month ahead of schedule
A-Basin closed for the year July 4 weekend this past summer. Click here for photos.
The mediocre 2011-12 ski season in Colorado will come to an inglorious end Sunday, when Arapahoe Basin, the last ski area still open, will close for the year.
The May 6 closing date is a month earlier than the Summit County ski area planned and nearly two months earlier than last season's July 5 closing date, but officials said there simply is not enough snow to remain open.
See photos from skiing in the summer of 2011!
Like most Colorado ski areas, A-Basin saw far below average snowfall this winter and then a warm, dry spring. It has two lifts running and 19 trails open for skiers and snowboarders.
“This was a very tough decision. Sometimes Mother Nature tells us it is time and, sadly, it is time to close,” chief operating officer Alan Henceroth stated in a news release. "The season did have its high points with bluebird skies and an early opening. A-Basin had one of its earliest openings on record on October 13, 2011 and by Sunday will have been open for 207 days."
It's the earliest closing date for A-Basin since 1981, when the ski area shut down April 30. There will be a luau party and pig roast Saturday and live music Sunday to mark the end of the season.
There are no plans to change spring events, such as the Chili Festival on May 19 and the Festival of the Brewpubs on May 27.
