| A-Basin has three 'lodges'. At the base is a full cafeteria, bar, and coffee bar. There is also a grill outside for warm days. At the peak of the Norway and Lenawee lifts is the Snow Plume refuge, a warming hut that sells drinks, snacks, and hot soup. At the top of the exhibition lift, Black mountain lodge sits.
Only the Exhibition and Molly Hogan lifts service easy runs. The Molly Hogan is a slow lift running over the bunny slope, for use by those just learning to ski. Exhibition services greens, blues, and two blacks: one named for the lift, and The Gulch which runs parallel to Exhibition. The aptly named Exhibition run features bumps, steep terrain, and a fair number of jumps. The Palavacini lift services mostly black and double black terrain on the west side of the mountain, though it is possible to take some difficult blues back to the base. The Lenawee and Norway lifts take skiers to the top of the mountain, where they can access blues, blacks, and the East Wall. Opposite of the East Wall there is a blue called Cornice Run where skiers can take leaps from windblown cornices, though sometimes visibility can be a deterrent.
The East Wall contains the most difficult terrain at A-Basin. A hike of approximately 30 minutes will take you to the North Pole, where a very steep descent through rocky terrain over avalanche-blasted territory takes you down to the East Wall traverse. Most of the terrain above the traverse is prone to avalanches and is regularly blasted by the ski patrol before they declare the wall open. The traverse is quite long and accesses a lot of difficult-to-reach territory, leaving prime snow conditions available for those willing to make the trek.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved on 2007-08-15
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