Join Arapahoe Basin for its 12th Annual Beacon Bowl and Avalanche Awareness Day on Saturday, February 8. The Beacon Bowl competition tasks participants to race around the mountain to find avalanche beacons buried beneath the snow. There will be two divisions, professional and recreational, and plenty of prizes provided by Spyder. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). The cost to enter the competition is $25. For more information click here.
Press Release, Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, January 23, 2014:
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area (A-Basin) will host the 12th Annual Beacon Bowl and Avalanche Awareness Day on Saturday, February 8, 2014. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), a state-wide organization charged with forecasting backcountry avalanche and weather conditions, supporting CDOT in highway avalanche mitigation, and conducting community education programs.
“The CAIC does an extraordinary job, on a limited budget, of forecasting conditions for Colorado skiers and riders,” said Alan Henceroth, A-Basin’s Chief Operating Officer. “It’s our hope that the Beacon Bowl will raise some money to help them carry out their critical mission.”
Last season’s event at Arapahoe Basin raised over $10,000 for the CAIC; this season, A-Basin is hoping to raise even more money for the organization. Events of the day include an on-mountain beacon search competition, an avalanche dog demonstration, beacon clinics and an après party in the A-Frame base lodge with a raffle, silent auction and live auction.
During the Beacon Bowl competition, participants race on-mountain to find beacons buried in the snow, simulating an avalanche search and rescue. The contest is divided into two divisions – recreational and professional – and features prizes from Spyder. This year, pro ski patrollers in teams of two in the professional division have the chance to win the Beacon Bowl Cup.
“This is a great opportunity for us to showcase the skills that we practice on all season,” said Tony Cammarata, A-Basin’s Director of Ski Patrol and defending Beacon Bowl Champion in the professional division. “I think everybody has fun getting the competitive juices flowing and giving it their best shot at the hardware,” Cammarata said.
Registration and check-in begin at 8:00 a.m. in the A-Frame. The $25 Beacon Bowl registration fee includes entry to the competition, a raffle entry, a slice of pizza and a beer during the Après Ski Party. There is a discounted Beacon Bowl entry fee for professional ski patrollers. For more information on the event, including an itinerary for the day, click over to the A-Basin Beacon Bowl event page.
Open to both the public as well as Beacon Bowl competitors is the Après Ski Party, starting at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in the A-Frame lodge. The Après Ski Party includes a raffle, silent auction and live auction, all proceeds from which benefit the CAIC. Major sponsors include New Belgium, who will donate a cruiser bike for the live auction as well as libations for the après party, Ski Logik, Black Diamond/Pieps, BCA, Spyder, Ortovox, Wilderness Sports, the non-profit organization Friends of the CAIC, and more.
