Arapahoe Basin Lenawee Six-Pack: Another High-Alpine, High-Impact Capital Investment

Arapahoe Basin’s new Lenawee Express provides faster service to the upper half of the resort’s front side.

Background

Back in 2007, Arapahoe Basin was a no-frills hill with entirely slow lifts and a modest footprint. And while A-Basin certainly maintains much of its no-frills attitude to this day, the resort has seen a seemingly endless shower of capital investments over the past fifteen years—and this past season was no exception.

For the 2022-23 season, this high-alpine Colorado resort installed the Lenawee Express six-pack, replacing the previous fixed-grip triple chair in the same alignment. This new lift—Arapahoe Basin’s second detachable—brings notable experience improvements, especially for intermediate-level skiers and riders.

Arapahoe Basin’s frontside trail map, with the Lenawee Express upgrade highlighted in red.

The Experience

The Lenawee lift serves the upper half of Arapahoe Basin’s front side, which is almost entirely above treeline and extends to a dizzying 12,450 feet. Upgrading Lenawee to a high-speed lift makes spending time in the high alpine significantly more enjoyable; the cold, wind-exposed lift line made for a painful ride up the outgoing slow triple chair, and with the new lift’s halved travel time, guests will find themselves much more comfortable. This project also means that A-Basin now offers top-to-bottom high-speed lift service via its Lenawee and Black Mountain lifts, bringing it up to par with the best Colorado destinations in this regard. The Lenawee pod primarily serves intermediate bowl terrain, and guests of this proficiency will especially appreciate the investment.

Arapahoe Basin’s revitalized Lenawee chair is twice as fast as its predecessor, which helps substantially on the cold, wind-exposed lift line.

But with all the positive impacts from the Lenawee upgrade, did this area see an uptick in crowds? Well, not really. The Lenawee six-pack offers a 33% capacity increase from the outgoing lift, and the lift can more than handle the typical demand. Coupled with Arapahoe Basin’s restricted season pass sales and limited available Ikon Pass days, this means the lift rarely sees significant lines, even during peak times.

Ultimately, the Lenawee upgrade is a big step in the right direction for Arapahoe Basin. Some purists might mourn the loss of an “authentic” fixed-grip lift, but this installation hasn’t come with the commercialization and uptick in crowds that impact many other high-speed upgrades. A-Basin still isn’t even close to the best resort in Colorado for lifts—more than half of its lifts are still slow, and over a quarter of its terrain requires hiking to either reach or get out of—but by bridging the gap in this deficiency, the resort continues to build its value proposition against larger, more developed competitors.

A view down the Arapahoe Basin Lenawee Express lift line.

Considering a ski trip to Arapahoe Basin this year? Check out our full Colorado ski resort rankings, as well as our comprehensive Arapahoe Basin review from the 2021-22 season (a refreshed 2022-23 review will be out shortly). You can also check out our thoughts on North America’s major 2021-22 ski resort lift and terrain upgrades in video form below.