Happy 60th A Basin!!

MIke R

Senior Insider
I stopped by to celebrate a bit with them today....what a great mountain and more importantly....what a great attitude....A Basin has steadfastly refused to sell out to the developer whores and the glitz and glamour crowd the whores represent.....still no condos....no sushi...no Lattes....no spas...nothing...and get this...they have fought and not given permission for the phone companies to put up towers for cell service.....consequently there is no signals or service at all on the mountain...and they plan on keeping it that way too... its just a great mountain and a very cool lodge with a bar, a cafeteria, and a small retail shop....period.. and yet, they still have the best terrain around and still...today...mostly real skiers are the only ones who frequent the mountain.....it scares most of the rental crowd away....going on 60 years now!....todays weather was world class for the event, which I'm sure CarolH and her family were simply blown away by...windless, cloudless day in the 40's



Summit daily news
December 9, 2006

Summmit County CO Colorado

ARAPAHOE BASIN - According to Emily Post's 1922 (CQ) etiquette guide, the proper gift for a 60th anniversary is diamonds. Although the only diamonds to be found at Arapahoe Basin on Saturday afternoon were of the black variety, a cake modeled after the trail layout, an ice sculpture and a cloudless sky helped a spirited ensemble celebrate The Legend's 60th Birthday.

"On days like this you realize that we are the luckiest people in the world," General Manager Alan Henceroth (CQ) said to the crowd before introducing Max and Edna Dercum (CQ), two of the founders of Arapahoe Basin.

Max greeted the crowd and joked that when he first came to Arapahoe Basin the only visitors were 2,000 sheep, and he has the pictures to prove it. As crowds flocked to the ski area's base, he smiled at skiers and snowboarders taking a break between runs and set the tone for the day.

"Have fun everybody, that's what this weather is all about."
The Dercums have been cultivating this attitude from the start, They opened A-Basin along with Richard "Dick" Durrance, Larry Jump and Sandy Schauffler in December of 1946. The 1,200 dedicated skiers that visited the basin that year paid $3 a day to be driven to a mid-mountain rope tow. The rope tow was operated by a Ford V-8 motor, Max said. Today A-Basin has two triple chairlifts, three double chairlifts, a conveyer lift, and the overall capacity to carry 8700 people per hour, according to its website.

The festivities on Saturday combined the old with the new. The ice sculpture, which was crafted by Larry Pirner, featured A-Basin's modern-looking "A" carved inside of a more classic "60." The cake-cutting ceremony started with a snake parade of young skiers winding down High Noon while the Founders and the crowd looked on and cheered. Throughout the afternoon a DJ playing rock and hip-hop and the Summit Choral Society sang Christmas carols.

"It is such a privilege to be invited here today, especially since so many of our members have been skiing here for a long time," choir leader Maggie Jones (CQ) said.

Patrons such as David LeBlang from Denver enjoyed watching the ceremony. LeBlang, who has a five mountain pass, is such a fan of Arapahoe Basin fan that he even has an A-Basin license plate holder.

"I like it because it is a real ski area, it has great snow, and it is challenging. It is not one of those Hollywood ski areas," he said. The Dercums reflect that description. They sat in a quiet corner of the lodge before the ceremony began. Several skiers stopped by their table to shake their hands, and two young girls even asked them to autograph their trail maps. The couple took turns telling the story of A-Basin.
 
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