Give work your best excuse for a “beach” day at Arapahoe Basin

Photos: Courtesy Arapahoe Basin and Ian Zinner

It’s a warm Tuesday in April, and you just called in “sick” to work. Your car is packed with inflatable flamingos, a shot ski and enough beer to feed a small mountain village. Your heart is filled with visions of make-shift DJ booths and brown snow. It’s finally time to hit the beach at Arapahoe Basin.

Arapahoe Basin’s beach days are a long-standing tradition that really, no one knows how began. Regardless of their vague history, they’ve become a Colorado spring skiing staple. The parking lot is the closest thing Colorado has to a beach, and similarly, you’ll find folks sun-baking in bikinis. No matter the slush or powder level, beach-goers gather at the base to après in their own unique way.

Need help playing hookey? Here are a few sure-fire excuses to get the day off:

1. You just put a casserole in the oven.
2. There’s an end-of-season sale at evo that you can’t part from.
3. Your mom’s on the other line.
4. Your college roommate’s cousin’s best man’s ex-girlfriend needs help moving to Boulder.
5. You’re suffering from a goggle tan that accidentally became a goggle burn. It needs time to develop in the darkness.