With the Summit County resort likely to once again host the first day of the season in Colorado, we asked Zach Ryan, a Frisco local who’s skied nine straight opening days at Arapahoe Basin, for tips on how Front Rangers can best observe our holiest of holidays.

Read More: Inside the Race to Be Colorado’s First Ski Resort to Open

5280 October 2024
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1. Keep an eye on the weather. A-Basin doesn’t typically announce its opening date, but with its snowmaking machines and high, high elevation (more than 10,700 feet at the base), the hill should have enough white stuff after three consecutive subfreezing nights in Dillon.

2. Unless it nukes snow before opening day, skiers will be confined to High Noon, a long, cruisey blue square that, this time of year, often rides like an icy “ribbon of death,” Ryan says. Make sure your edges are sharp and, because it’ll be crowded, “be respectful of your fellow skiers,” he says.

3. Set an alarm: If you want some of the first turns, Ryan says you should arrive at the ski area before 7 a.m. to snag a parking space in the High Noon lot. But if you need your beauty rest, there’s no shame, according to Ryan, in “rolling in at 11 a.m., when the first cars start clearing out.”

4. “Waiting in line in the cold is part of the experience,” Ryan says. Pack a bunch of layers, including a puffy, a neck warmer, an oversize hat, and maybe even rave attire—local radio DJs flock to the base and fire up tunes all morning long.

5. Take care of the employees. Patrollers, lifties, parking attendants—“they work so hard to get the lift open on short notice,” Ryan says. He’ll make breakfast sandwiches for them in the lift line, but “some candy, an extra coffee, a gift card—that goes a long way.”