It has been a wild decade for Arapahoe Basin, but through it all Al Henceroth abides.
Henceroth has been with the Basin since 1988, back before Montezuma Bowl (2008), the Beavers (2018) and a high-speed six-pack to the top (2022). In 2019 he and the Basin left the Epic Pass after 20 years of partnering with Vail Resorts, saying the slopes were too crowded on busy days, only to welcome the Ikon Pass just a few months later. By 2025 the Basin belonged wholly to the Ikon owner, Alterra Mountain Company.
When I talked with A-Basin hardcores about the pass wars and crowds just before the Alterra sale, some were optimistic, most were reluctant, but nearly all of them agree on one thing:
If Al is still in charge, that’s all right with me.
Now Henceroth is getting his name in the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, joining five other industry movers and shakers this October at the Class of 2026 induction in Beaver Creek. Fun fact: He is the only one of them who does NOT snowboard for a living.
“This class didn’t inherit Colorado snow sports; they invented much of what it became,” writes the HoF Helping build the modern infrastructure, culture and legitimacy of their realm of snow sports, this is not a class built around one moment or medal. It’s a class built around decades of sustained contribution.”
Here is the rest of the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame Class of 2026:
Trent Bush. Snowboard advocate and outerwear designer who started in Boulder with an events producer, Wave Rave Boulder, before moving into design for Burton, Black Diamond, Mountain Hardware and more. He helped design the 2022 U.S. Olympic team uniforms with Spyder.
Tim and Tracey Canaday. Snowboard manufacturing visionaries who launched Never Summer Snowboarders, inspired by their first brand, Swift Snowboards, bult out of a Fort Collins garage in 1983. Their Denver factory props up the domestic industry by pressing skis and boards for Icelantic Skis, Fat-ypus Skis, High Society Freeride Company and Rocky Mountain Underground (RMU).
Jeffrey Grell. Another snowboarder who revolutionized the sport with high-back bindings, under the brand name “Hybak.” He worked with industry icon Tom Sims and won the 1985 Rocky Mountain Championships slalom title before coming to Aspen as the resort’s first “director of snowboarding.”
Chris Pappas. Pro snowboarder and coach of almost five decades who fought tirelessly for inclusion when resorts said the sport would never be allowed.
Preview images by Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame.