In a season of firsts, here is one we never saw coming.
Arapahoe Basin will host its first-ever on-snow golf tournament April 8.
Pali Chair is closing for the season this Sunday, March 29, meaning the 10-hour Enduro ski-a-thon is canceled. In its place is the Enduro Open golf tourney, where instead of skiing all day, 35 teams of two play a round of golf while lapping Lenawee Chair.
The course? Still TBD. The rules? Loose. The equipment? Almost anything – a golf club, hockey stick, ski poles, maybe even a ski or a snowboard.
The inaugural (but hopefully final) Enduro Open starts at noon April 8 with a pre-round barbecue on the deck at Black Mountain Lodge. Teams hit the “links” at 1:30 p.m. followed by the après party and fundraiser when the lifts stop spinning.
Registration for the golf tourney is closed. Only teams that have already registered for the ski-a-thon can participate, but everyone is invited to watch it go down from the deck before hitting up the après party.
This is the first time in 37 years there hasn’t been enough snow for the Enduro on Pali, and the team at the Basin is rolling with the punches. Things are weird. They get it.
“We know this one is a hard pill for all of us to swallow,” spokeswoman Shayna Silverman says. “But we’re not giving up on an on-mountain event to support our recipients.”
This year’s Enduro supports two locals in need, including the family of Dave Pickett-Heaps, a backcountry veteran killed in an avalanche on March 7.