Alterra to Acquire Arapahoe Basin
Assuming the deal closes, Arapahoe Basin will become the 18th resort in Alterra’s portfolio.
Earlier today, Alterra announced that it had entered an agreement to acquire Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin ski area. This Summit County mountain has been owned by an independent corporation for the past 27 years, but has been affiliated with the Ikon Pass, which Alterra owns, since 2018.
There are no changes to Arapahoe Basin’s 2023-24 Ikon Pass access at this time—full Ikon Pass holders will continue to have access to 7 days at the resort, while Ikon Base Pass holders will have access to 5 days. Neither pass tier comes with blackout restrictions to A-Basin, as the resort is often referred to by short.
The finalized sale has not been completed yet, but the deal is expected to close later this year.
Our Take
A-Basin isn’t the largest ski resort in Colorado, but two circumstances especially help it stand out in today’s corporatized environment: manageable crowds, and low off-peak ticket prices. While no information about the terms of the deal has been released yet, the resort’s sale to Alterra potentially puts both of these circumstances in jeopardy.
A big reason why Arapahoe Basin doesn’t currently see the same astronomical crowds as Colorado’s other destination ski resorts relates to its position as a non-unlimited member of the Ikon Pass. With Ikon holders only getting five or seven days to use at Arapahoe Basin throughout the winter season, those who live in the Denver area must wisely choose which days to use at this modestly-sized mountain, whereas they can go to Ikon’s other nearby mountains—including Copper, Winter Park, and Eldora—on an unlimited cadence. Arapahoe Basin also significantly limits its season pass sales, so the number of skiers and riders who can access the mountain regularly currently remains quite manageable.
With this all being said, nearly every mountain that Alterra owns is an unlimited member of the Ikon Pass, with only Deer Valley, Crystal, and Steamboat standing out as exceptions (with Steamboat only offering 5 days of access on the Ikon Base Pass, but still retaining unlimited access on the full pass). If Arapahoe Basin is allowed to keep its current structure as a five/seven-day Ikon Pass partner with limited season pass availability, Alterra’s acquisition could present little near-term downside. However, if A-Basin becomes an unlimited Ikon partner for the 2024-25 season, expect a marked increase in crowds next winter. It’s worth noting that the prospect of exponentially-increased crowds with an unlimited pass partnership has a foundation based on past reality—the resort was an unlimited member of the Epic Pass prior to 2018, suffering from serious crowding problems until it made the jump to a non-unlimited Ikon pass partnership the following winter.
We’ll be paying close attention to what happens with Arapahoe Basin’s lift ticket prices. The destination is one of only a few in Colorado where a visitor can buy a one-day lift ticket for less than $100 without making the purchase egregiously far in advance. However, many of Alterra’s mountains charge ridiculous rates of over $200 per day no matter when one pulls the trigger. Shifting Arapahoe Basin to this astronomically-priced lift ticket structure could eliminate one of the last remaining somewhat affordable traditional lift tickets in Colorado’s Summit County.
But perhaps the best argument against serious pass and lift ticket shifts for the upcoming season is that Arapahoe Basin will retain its COO, Al Henceroth, who has been responsible for many of the day-to-day decisions that have spearheaded the resort into its current market position. Henceroth has been a strong proponent of limiting the number of folks on A-Basin’s slopes, and he played a key figure in navigating the resort away from the unlimited Epic partnership; as a result, keeping this 36-year resort veteran in his post may indicate that at least for now, there won’t be many changes to the resort besides its ownership.
But regardless of the real-world impacts, Alterra’s purchase of Arapahoe Basin is certainly a symbolic defeat for supporters of independent ski resort operations. Over the past several years, A-Basin has made sure to highlight its independence as a standout facet versus the dozens of corporate-owned mountains that sit only a few miles away—and now that it’s on track to be owned by the second-largest ski resort operator in North America, this certainly won’t be the case anymore.
Considering a trip to Arapahoe Basin? Check out our comprehensive mountain review here. Additionally, you can check out our comprehensive A-Basin video review below.
