Without the fanfare that usually accompanies a ski area opening, Arapahoe Basin quietly welcomed skiers and riders Monday afternoon with a three-word tweet: “WE ARE OPEN.” The tweet followed a blog item posted at 1:46 p.m. by chief operating officer Alan Henceroth revealing the opening. A subsequent email from marketing director Leigh Hierholzer called it a “soft opening” due to COVID-19 capacity issues, giving that as the reason there was no press release to mark the occasion. “We would like to see how these first few days go as we ease into the ski season,” Hierholzer wrote. Thus A-Basin became the third Colorado ski area to open for the season, following Wolf Creek (Oct.