Opening in 1946, Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin) has been a Colorado staple of skiing for 80 years as of December.The resort was first opened by Larry Jump and Sandy Schauffer, two former ski racers and World War II 10th Mountain Divis ion veterans formed a ski company, invested some life savings into the project, and got approval from the U.S. Forest Service.At its opening, the resort had one rope tow from the mid-mountain to the summit, according to A-Basin's website.While opening dates have not been announced and will be weather-dependent, the mountain did announce it will be celebrating.Kicking off the fun, if you are 80 years old, you can ski free this entire season on Wednesdays.For everyone else, every Wednesday the resort will offer $80 lift tickets, as well as the birthday weekend from Dec. 4-6. ...read more read less