Est. 1946
80 Years on the Divide
Scroll to page through eight decades of Arapahoe Basin.
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Our founders, 1946. Born on a Shoestring
Larry Jump and Sandy Schauffler — former ski racers and WWII 10th Mountain Division veterans — sank a $25,000 life savings into a scrappy passion project below Loveland Pass. A-Basin opened after just five months of prep with a single rope tow: the first post-war ski area in Colorado and the oldest in Summit County.
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1950s trail map with the new Poma lifts. The First Poma in America
A Pomagalski lift rose from the base to mid-mountain — the first Poma in the United States and the steepest in the world at the time. A-Basin won exclusive U.S. distribution rights, selling surface lifts to startup ski areas from the Wasatch to New England.
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The Kopicky family at the Basin, late 1960s. Coming of Age
Reporters compared A-Basin's terrain to the Alps and celebrated its long November-to-June season. Two double chairs and a lodge arrived, and after the Arapahoe Chalet burned in 1964 the A-Frame rose on its foundation. Ads teased: "Crowds a bother? Ski A-Basin."
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Ski patrol, circa late 1970s. New Hands, Same Soul
After 25 years and a toppled lift tower, Larry and Marnie Jump sold A-Basin to Joe Jankovsky for $850,000. Though he owned it only six years, many remember his era — Warren Miller movies, race camps, big air off the cornice — as their favorite time on the mountain.
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The Wood family, circa 1980. Ralston & the Pali Chair
Ralston Purina bought A-Basin for $3 million to complement neighboring Keystone, bringing eighteen years of stability. The same year the Pallavicini Lift was built — over the protests of the "Basin Liberation Organization," who didn't want the extreme terrain made easier to reach.
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Bumps & Bikes, an A-Basin original. Full-Tilt
A-Basin was among the first Colorado areas to welcome snowboarding. The "Atomic Janitors" slept in the A-Frame attic and skied all day; freestyle moguls, big-mountain lines, the Cardboard Derby and Bumps & Bikes set the quirky tone that endures today.
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A-Basin in the 1990s. A Declaration of Independence
After Merger Mania swept the industry and a brief year under Vail Resorts, A-Basin was bought by Dundee Resort Development of Canada (now DREAM). Employees signed a tongue-in-cheek declaration of independence — and the ski area finally came into its own.
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The Legend's terrain keeps growing. Room to Grow
Alan Henceroth became COO as terrain nearly doubled, from 900 to more than 1,400 acres — Montezuma Bowl, The Beavers, The Steep Gullies, Black Mountain Lodge and il Rifugio. Dundee invested millions, adding snowmaking while keeping the vibe the same.
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Spring on the East Wall. Quality Over Quantity
A-Basin left the Epic Pass a second time and joined Ikon on a limited basis, capping ticket and pass sales to ease record crowds. Skier visits fell about 20% — and A-Basin began to feel like A-Basin again: challenging, laid-back, with room on the slopes and at the bar.
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The via ferrata, opened 2020. Year-Round on the Divide
Summer arrived in full: an aerial adventure park, hiking and biking trails, a world-class disc golf course, and North America's highest via ferrata. In 2024, Alterra Mountain Company purchased A-Basin and widened Ikon access to the mountain.
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Celebrating 80 years, 2026. 80 Years, Still The Legend
Eighty years on, the lifts are newer, the food is better, and the photographs are in color — but the terrain is still some of the steepest in the country, the season still the longest in Colorado, and people still meet their partners in the Pali lift line.
