Arapahoe Basin– While ski resorts in Aspen close for the season, A-Basin in Summit County is scheduled to stay open until the first Sunday in June.

Adrienne Saia Isaac, A-Basin’s spokesperson, explained recently that depending on snowfall, there could be an even later date to the last day of skiing

“We will be open till at least June 4th,” Saia Isaac said. “We always aim for the first Sunday in June to be our closing day and depending on snowfall we’ll see if we can extend our season after that. We might make it to July 4th.”

She also said, “One of the big factors in that July 4th date is the late season snow. We average around 54 inches of snow in April and then in May can be anywhere from very little snowfall to the 50 to 60 inch snow range.”

With local mountains closing soon – Highlands closes April 9, followed by Snowmass on April 16, and Aspen Mountain on April 23– and snow deteriorating at lower elevations, skiers and snowboarders have the chance at A-Basin to train on higher elevation snow later in the spring and into the first month of summer.

Student and ski racer, Kristen Anderson from the Vail Ski and Snowboard Club, said that spring training at A-Basin is a good jump start to still be on snow for the upcoming ski season.

“The tickets are free with the Epic Pass at A-Basin which is really nice because not a lot of people realize this from the club and when you go it’s directed small group of skiing which helps a lot,” Anderson said.

For Aspen-based skiers who don’t own an Epic Pass, there are other discounts available.

According to Saia Isaac, ”We work with a lot of ski groups who can get group discounts for day tickets,” Saia Isaac said. “I think some of our best deals really do happen in the spring.”

She also added, “If your mountain is closing early and you are able to come to A- Basin, then we do an unlimited spring pass.”

Passes for spring and next year are now on sale with details available at arapahoebasin.com.

Anderson agreed that, “For teams that come and train like we do, A-Basin always gives out great deals so we can come a bunch of times in the later spring months.”

With new lifts and terrain being added next year to A-Basin, more teams and tourists will likely be drawn to all the opportunities on the mountain.

“We are excited, next year is the first year we are going to be opening our Beavers and Sea Gullies terrain,” Saia Isaac said. “So that’s 468 new acres.”