A-Basin Opens Montezuma Bowl

Forget Taos, forget Mad River Glen, forget Alta even forget that Deer Gulch place or whatever it is called. Just because these resorts flaunt the fact that they prefer to support intolerance doesn’t mean they are alone in their ignorance. For over two decades snowboarders have been banned from access to Arapahoe Basins famed Montezuma Bowls. Granted skiers weren’t even allowed to access this highly coveted open bowl terrain but that doesn’t help me create a punchy opener.

Instead of waiting till Taos joins the 21st century on March 19th, riders the world over can now venture to A-Basin and enjoy these once forbidden Montezuma slopes. That’s right. In the immortal words of Dr. King "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!"

Friday March 11th at 11:00am mountain time a few hundred diehard snowgoers gathered atop the Montezuma Bowls in anticipation of the red ropes dropping. Once the masses couldn’t wait any longer patrollers performed the venerable ribbon cutting and it was on. The mad dash to defile this virgin terrain was intense.

Anyone outside of the first thirty or so to drop encountered a scraped chute upon entry. A hundred yards into the run the pack spaced and enough pow could be had by all. Summit County Colorado has been receiving a steady stream of fresh snow. No epic dumps but consistent accumulation each night for a few weeks has made for a solid base. The untouched terrain in Montezumas yielded two feet of fresh in spots. I was joined by a local rider named Dylan who was about as stoked as they come. He began riding years ago at the Camden Ski Bowl in Maine and the Montezuma Bowl alone yields more ridable acreage than five Camden Ski Bowls. As a matter of fact the opening of this zone and the new Zuma lift increases the size of Arapahoe Basin by 80% making it the single largest terrain expansion in North America this year.

So was the two decade wait to gain access to the Montezuma Bowl worth it? Well it lives up to its name. That’s right. The place is called the Montezuma Bowl because it is always dumping. In other words the Montezuma Bowl is the sh*t.