Nestled in the cleavage of the Continental Divide lies some of the best skiing in Colorado. It even comes with a beach at 10,000 vertical feet.

But that’s hardly a secret to anyone who’s spent a decade (or four) at Arapahoe Basin, Summit County’s oldest ski area and a true black diamond in the rough for anyone who loves steeps, glades, cliffs and June pond-skimming.

If you’re new to the area, though, A-Basin might seem underwhelming. It’s the smallest ski area in the county — it’s home to just 960 skiable acres, and that’s before an upcoming 400-acre expansion at The Beavers — and the base area is little more than an A-frame lodge (though recently upgraded) with a carpet lift, quad and two-chair. Most folks don’t even get cell phone service there. Why bother?

But, oh, A-Basin is much more than posting Facebook selfies and checking Epic Mix in 20-minute lift lines. Here’s a quick introduction to the top-five reasons skiers and snowboarders of any level should visit the Basin early, late and anytime in between.

Pali Face and The Spine

Rating: Double-black diamond

Access: Pallavicini Lift (two-chair)

In a nutshell: Two classic runs off the Palli chair, known for steep charging on powder days and plenty of bumps, boulders and cornice drops the rest of the season.

If you’ve never been on the Pallavicini Lift, make a point to ride it at least once this season. This slow-moving two-chair is the reason skiers and boarders return to A-Basin year after year, decade after decade, as it’s the fastest and most direct route to some of the ski area’s best terrain.

Pali Face and The Spine are perfect introductions to the local steeps. These two trails are next to each other on relatively open terrain, but don’t be fooled: the runs are steep, fast and littered with diversions, from surrounding tree runs to cliffs ranging from 5 to 20 feet.

Not convinced? It’s chief operating officer Alan Henceroth’s favorite terrain — “I could ride that 20 times a day,” he said of The Spine — and home to the legendary A-Basin Enduro, during which teams of two ski runs off Palli Chair to see who can finish the most. This April, top teams finished 60 to 65 runs apiece down black and double-black terrain.

‘Founder’s Ridge’ in Montezuma Bowl

Rating: Double-black diamond

Access: Zuma Lift (quad chair), Lenawee Mountain Lift (three-chair), Norway Lift (two-chair)

In a nutshell: Five wide-open bowl runs named for A-Basin’s founding fathers, featuring the kind of terrain they knew could make their mountain famous.

Located to rider’s right of the Zuma Lift, Founder’s Ridge is the unofficial name for the ridgeline leading along the northern edge of Montezuma Bowl, a 400-acre expansion from 2008. The bowl has it all — glades, steeps, rocks, chutes, even a few hike-out runs — but Founder’s Ridge is a gateway to the best bowl skiing this side of Breckenridge.

Of the five runs — Jump, Schauffler, Durrance, Groswold and Max — Max is the easiest and shortest, while Schauffler and Durrance are the longest and border the bowl’s most intimidating terrain. Thanks to wind load, the snow here is good for most of A-Basin’s nine-month season.

Willy’s Wide or North Pole (East Wall)

Rating: Double-black diamond

Access: Hike-to, Lenawee Mountain Lift (three-chair) to East Wall Traverse

In a nutshell: Serious terrain on a serious face for skiers who don’t take this whole “earn your turns” thing seriously.

No matter where you are at A-Basin, the East Wall looms high and enticing over everything. It’s home to some of the only true high-risk, high-reward chute riding in this area of the state, and it’s all just a lift ride and traverse away.

North Pole is one of the first destinations on the ridgeline hike from the top of Zuma Chair. It’s only 15 minutes and 300 vertical feet away from the lift, but it’s home to terrain most visitors only see and never touch. That means five or six luscious turns before reconnecting with the East Wall Traverse and Land of the Giants playground en route to Lenawee Mountain Lift.

Want more? Take the traverse to the pitch directly below the true summit of Lenawee Mountain, the sentinel of the East Wall. From here, it’s a 15 to 20-minute boot pack up pitches of 30 to nearly 45 degrees, with rocks on all sides and blown-in powder beneath. The hike also accesses the Upper East Wall and Corner Chute.

A-Basin at 70: Long Live the Legend

A-Basin at 70: Littlebird and a liftime spent with The Legend

Humbug to Dragon

Rating: Blue

Access: Lenawee Mountain Lift (three-chair) or Norway Lift (two-chair)

In a nutshell: A natural halfpipe leading to a high-alpine traverse or wide-open blues and blacks. Need we say more?

It can’t all be double-blacks and hike-to chutes at A-Basin, and that’s why runs like Humbug, Dragon and the remaining blues in the shadow of the East Wall exist. Humbug, located on far rider’s right after leaving Lenawee Mountain Lift, is a natural halfpipe with bowl-shaped walls on both sides. Snowboarder, skier, young, old — it’s a blast no matter who you are.

From the bottom of Humbug, runs like Dragon, West Gully and the mellow black Half-Moon Gully are favorites for quick laps on Lenawee away from the craziness on Powerline, Gentry and Dercum’s Gulch. Best part: Come May, there are plenty of dirt patches to jump — and plenty of ways to impress cuties riding the three-chair overhead.

Sundance

Rating: Green

Access: Black Mountain Express (quad) or Pallavicini Lift (two-chair)

In a nutshell: A-Basin’s idea of a green run would be a blue at any other resort, and that’s just fine.

Dubbed the “darkest green” in Summit County by A-Basin’s Adrienne Saia Isaac, Sundance has all the makings of a green — groomed snow, mellow pitches, wide-open terrain — built smack in the middle of an expert skier’s paradise. And you’d better believe that means this green is more like a blue, with rolling flats and valleys before the final looping pitch into the base area. There’s a reason the kids who grow up skiing and riding here are so good — this is where they learn.