Photos: Courtesy Arapahoe Basin and Ian Zinner
It’s a warm Wednesday in April, and you just called in “sick” to work. Your car is packed with an inflatable palm tree, sunscreen, those skis that are begging for a tune, a smelly but lovable pair of seasoned Intuition boot liners and enough beer and hot dogs to feed a small mountain village. Your heart is filled with visions of make-shift DJ booths, corn snow and the wind in your face as you fly under Lenawee lift. It’s springtime at Arapahoe Basin, baby! And as everyone knows, there’s no better place to kick it under the sun than Abay’s infamous beach.
Arapahoe Basin’s Beach days are a long-standing tradition. Myths and legends surround the Beach and its creation, but no one knows how it began. Regardless of the vague history, it’s become a Colorado spring skiing staple. The parking lot is the closest thing Colorado has to a beach, and similarly, you’ll find folks sun-baking in bikinis. No matter the slush or powder level, beach-goers gather at the base to après in their own unique way.
Need help playing hooky? Here are a few sure-fire excuses to get the day off:
- You just put a casserole in the oven.
- There’s an end-of-season sale at evo that you can’t part from.
- Your mom’s on the other line.
- Your college roommate’s cousin’s best man’s ex-girlfriend needs help moving to Summit Country.
- You’re suffering from a goggle tan that accidentally became a goggle burn. It needs time to develop in the darkness.
