Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin became the first ski resort in North America to crank up its lifts for the 2007-08 season on Wednesday, opening the Exhibition lift at 9 a.m.

COLORADO'S ARAPAHOE BASIN became the first ski resort in North America to crank up its lifts for the 2007-08 season on Wednesday, opening the Exhibition lift at 9 a.m. 
    October 10 marks the earliest opening in A-Basin’s 61 years of operation as well as the second consecutive year that the resort has been the first in Colorado and North America to open for skiing and snowboarding.
    “Winning the race to opening day is a great start to our ski season,” said Alan Henceroth, Arapahoe Basin general manager and COO. “Being the first to open two years running, we’re picking up where we left off last season, setting record skier numbers for our resort and providing the longest winter season in Colorado with 243 consecutive days of skiing and riding.”
    As cheers from hundreds of skiers and snowboarders filled the air, the Exhibition lift started turning, allowing access to an 18-inch base, 800 vertical feet, as well as features in the High Divide terrain park.
    The race to opening day between Arapahoe Basin and neighboring Loveland Ski Area has been competitive the past three seasons, with the winner opening anywhere from one week to one day earlier than the runner-up.
    “The race to be the first ski area open was tight again this year,” explained Rob Perlman, President & CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA. “The momentum from Colorado’s record season last year combined with A-Basin’s earliest opening in history this season is a tremendous start to what’s shaping up to be another great ski and snowboard season for Colorado.”
     Last Sunday morning, a band of lift maintenance workers grabbed their long boards and went skiing at Silverton Mountain in the high San Juans of southwestern Colorado, which received nearly a foot of snow the night before. With runs as high as 13,487 feet, Silverton has the highest ski area elevation in North America, but the mountain is not set to open to the public until Dec. 1.