Colorado's A Basin celebrates the spirit of the mountains and the LGBTQ+ community with Gay Basin event

It's not Pride Month until next month, but the Colorado ski area Arapahoe Basin, "A Basin" for short, held a celebration of diversity anyway over the weekend. They call it Gay Basin, and this was the fourth year for the event.

The goal is to celebrate the spirit of the mountains and the LGBTQ+ community. And to be proud not to feel ashamed of who you are.

The event was not your everyday Pride celebration. Each day started off on a colorful foot. Skiers gathered around a large rainbow Pride flag and carried it as they skied from the summit to Black Mountain Lodge.

Also included were performances, DJs and afterparties.

"I think Pride is all about celebrating who you are," said skier Daniel Furlan. "You don't necessarily have to be on the LGBTQ spectrum, but you just need to be proud of who you are. And I think that's what it's really all about, and not necessarily the label within that."

Arapahoe Basin President and COO Alan Henceroth said it's important that the mountain stays true to what it has always believed: that everyone has a place on the snow.

"A Basin is a place where everybody should feel like they belong, and whether it's our workforce or our guests, why wouldn't we welcome everybody?" he said.

The celebration was represented sometimes through outfits, sometimes through drag and sometimes through the simple human need to get your groove on. Even if you're in ski boots.

It's a place that's not afraid to let it be known: we're all different in our own way. But that doesn't matter, at the end of the day, you belong at A Basin.

"Ever since we came up that ski lift, it's been nothing but love, and it it just warms my heart," said drag performers Brenda T Staxxx & Banana Splits. "It just feels so nice that this community is so accepting of the art that we're bringing."