$39 tickets. I almost bought one just to say I did.
Arapahoe Basin is closing May 3 after 194 days on snow — still the longest-running ski area in Colorado despite one of the worst snowpack years on record. And they’re not going quietly. According to Snowbrains, lift tickets drop to $39 for closing weekend, live music runs both days (Moonstone Quill on May 2, Don Fuego on May 3), and guests are invited to dress up since the traditional denim day got squeezed out by the earlier close. I’ve seen a lot of resort closing announcements. This one actually made me want to be there.
$39 Tickets in 2026. That’s a Statement.
Most Colorado resort day tickets sit between $100 and $175 right now. A-Basin’s $39 closing weekend price isn’t generosity for the sake of it — it’s a calculated move to fill the base area and generate content. Every skier who shows up in a costume or stays for the noon band set is producing marketing material the resort doesn’t have to create or pay for. That’s the stoke economy at work.
The $39 ticket is the price of admission for the audience to tell A-Basin’s end-of-season story. That’s not a loss-leader. That’s content production at scale. And it’s why A-Basin’s social performance on closing weekend routinely outperforms any other single day of the year.
The Anatomy of A-Basin’s Closing Weekend
You don’t need A-Basin’s Colorado reputation to make your last weekend matter. Here’s what they consistently do right:
- A specific theme or costume call-out — even when denim day gets cancelled, they replace it with something. Never just “come ski.”
- Cut-price tickets that remove friction — reward loyalists and bring back fence-sitters who didn’t come earlier in the season
- Live entertainment that anchors guests at the base area — you can’t create community photos if everyone leaves after two runs
- A reason to dress up — costumes equal cameras equal content equal marketing
The critical timing detail: A-Basin announces their closing date and event lineup in the same breath. By the time “we’re closing May 3” goes out, the band names are already in the copy. That takes planning — probably 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the announcement. Does your resort have a closing day plan ready before you decide the closing date? Because that’s the move.
The Tone of A-Basin’s Communication Is Worth Studying
When A-Basin announced the closing, they wrote: “Mother Nature has deemed it our time to end our winter.” That’s not corporate. Not defensive. It’s the voice of a team that genuinely loves the mountain and has enough experience to roll with a rough year without losing their identity. I think that tone builds more trust than any ad campaign — and it costs nothing extra.
We covered Palisades Tahoe’s late-season marketing playbook earlier this month — worth reading as a contrast. Palisades was extending into May with 81 inches of April snow; A-Basin is closing early after a tough year. Same late-season challenge, completely different execution. Both are worth understanding.
If your resort doesn’t have a closing day plan that would make a skier drive three hours for a $39 ticket and a noon set by a local band, it’s worth building before next season. Every mountain eventually takes its last lap of the year — A-Basin just makes theirs worth talking about all summer. What does your closing weekend tradition look like?
