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Hopping back on the Lenawee Express, Singleton then led the group in the Montezuma Bowl. After a lap of wide-open bowl skiing, the group hopped onto the Zuma lift, where Singleton pointed out the steep Zuma Cornice. On a powder day, the wind can push snow into parts of the Zuma Cornice, he said. So if A-Basin is reporting 8 inches, it might ski more like a foot or more.

The guided tour is great for skiers and riders who may be looking to get into some of A-Basin’s gnarliest terrain, like East Wall or the Steep Gullies, for the first time, Singleton said. Having a guide who knows the runs well can help take the edge off in that steep terrain, which can be intimidating even for some expert skiers, he said.

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area is known for its “legendary” terrain, including steep, technical terrain like Pallavicini and the Zuma Cornice, and the rocky chutes on the East Wall and in the Steep Gullies that require hiking.

As he led his tour group along on that bluebird February day, Singleton made small talk on the lift, learning where the skiers were from and what kind of terrain they enjoyed the most. He started out with a warm-up run, from the top of the Lenawee Express back down to the base area.

“If someone is coming from sea level or even Denver to here, I’m going to take my time and take it easy,” Singleton said. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes to get to the top. It’s a nice walk.”

During the guided tour, Singleton said he likes to introduce visitors to the diverse terrain the mountain has to offer, whether that’s high-Alpine terrain on the Lenawee face or Pallavicini, the sunny slopes in the Montezuma backbowl or tree-skiing in the Beavers. Along the way, he said he’ll point out which runs are great on a powder day, the trails that are good no matter the conditions and hidden gems that locals love.

While A-Basin has more black diamonds and double-black diamonds than blues and greens on the mountain, its lessons — until recently — have focused on beginners. But this season, A-Basin started offering full-day guided tours for intermediate to advanced skiers.

From there, Singleton took the group into progressively difficult terrain. The group hopped up on the Pallavicini lift, sometimes called Pali by locals, where he asked the skiers to do some short turns down West Wall, to give him a better sense of their ability. 

Finally, after evaluating the group for several runs, Singleton led the skiers to the East Wall. Along the hike up the ridgeline, he likes to follow his guests, so that they can set the pace.

“This is not a ski lesson. It’s a guided experience,” Singleton said. “But with guests, if they want a tip, or they want some input on their skiing, I will throw it out there. It’s not going to be a lesson but I’m always happy to talk about skiing.”

The guided tour costs ,119 for a group of up to 4 people and does not include lift access, according to A-Basin. The group can include a mix of skiers and snowboarders and people of different ability levels.

On a bluebird morning late last month, A-Basin guide David Singleton greeted his tour group with a smile. Singleton, a decades-long Summit County resident, has been a ski instructor at A-Basin for eight seasons. He is one of a handful of guides who will lead the intermediate to advanced tours.

“Even in a day, you can’t ski everything at A-Basin,” Singleton said.

The guided tour experience begins about 48 hours before the guests show up to the mountain, when Singleton said he reaches out to the tour group by email, to get a sense of the group’s goals and ability levels.

At the top of North Pole — the widest of the runs on East Wall — Singleton pointed out the best way to enter into the run. As the skiers attempted to step back into their skis on the steep run, he helped hold their skis in place and, as they started making turns, he pointed out where rocks were hidden under the snow.

Really, Singleton said, the experience is “customized based on the skier.” All throughout the day, he said he evaluates the skiers and riders he’s guiding to judge what terrain they’ll be able to get into and where they might have the most fun.

Throughout the day, Singleton scraped the snow with his pole, testing the snow conditions. After finding somewhat “funky” conditions in the trees in the Zuma Bowl, he took the group back to the front side to ski Pali. There, the group discovered playful, chalky snow on The Spine — a favorite run for many locals.

After a lunch, which is included in the tour, Singleton took his guests on a few more runs before leading them over to the Steep Gullies. Then, at the end of the day, he noted runs that the group didn’t get to because of conditions or time, so that they might try them next time they visit A-Basin.