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VIDEO: Brass musicians close out Colorado’s ski season by serenading pond skimmers at A-Basin

The 4 musicians said they only play on-slope sets for Colorado's closing weekend of the ski season, when the vibes are right

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A four-part band played tunes Friday, June 13, 2025, at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area's closing weekend. From left to right, Tucker Stanton plays the marching euphonium, Jaime Parker plays trombone, Ryan Spencer plays trumpet and Gabe Petkaitis plays the ski-pole percussion.
Ryan Spencer/Summit Daily News

Editor’s Note: The Ryan Spencer quoted in this article is a different Ryan Spencer than the author of this article.

A brass trio with a beat-boxing and ski pole-tapping percussionist serenaded pond skimmers splashing through snowmelt and sunshine Friday, June 13, to mark the closing weekend at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, Colorado’s last open ski area.

The musicians played “do-doo-do-do-doo-doos” for those who made it across A-Basin’s natural pond skim — known as Lake Reveal — and “womp womps” for those who crashed into ice cold water and had to dredge their skis and snowboards from the bottom.



“We’re just trying to play some tunes on the slopes for closing weekend,” Ryan Spencer, the trumpeter, said in a chairlift interview.

“Yeah, vibes man,” the trombonist, Jaime Parker, said.



June 14-15 is the final weekend of the ski season at A-Basin. All other Colorado ski resorts have closed for the season, although Copper Mountain’s summer hike park has started up, requiring an additional ski pass.

On Friday, the “closing-weekend quintet” played in warm sunshine and slushy snow, hanging out pond-side but also making some turns, honking their horns from the top of the mountain to the base of the liftline. Classic tunes like Train’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and The Champs’ “Tequila,” really got the crowd going.

Parker, Spencer and Gabe Petkaitis, the percussionist, who normally plays drums but beatboxed and pole-tapped Friday, are Colorado Springs residents. The three sometimes play together, but their run-in with the fourth member of the quartet — Tucker Stanton — was serendipitous.

“He heard us playing he was like ‘Hey, I got my horn in my car, can I play with you guys?'” Parker explained. “He’s got an incredible ear and we’ve just been playing tunes ever since.”

Stanton plays a brass instrument known as the marching euphonium. A Breckenridge resident, he said he decided recently to spend more time playing his instrument in nature — including at a spot near the Summit Cove neighborhood near the Dillon Reservoir. That’s why his instrument was already in his car Friday when he met the other three musicians.

“Sometimes what I do is, I go out and hike in the woods and if there is a nice scenic spot, like there’s one down by the light (near) Summit Cove. You hike up that and I just play off the side,” Stanton said. “It just bounces right off the water into this mountain face. I’m like, ‘why don’t I just do this like everywhere?'”

Playing the horn at A-Basin with the other three has been a special treat, especially with the sunshine and warm weather, Stanton said.

“This is just like the best of both worlds, because it’s 65 degrees and you’re just blasting around the mountain,” he said.

Asked about the on-slope musicians, A-Basin communications manager Shayna Silverman said in a statement, “Oh my god, that’s amazing.”

“This is just what summer skiing is all about!” Silverman said. “Bonus days, filled with sunshine, fun, and celebrating what an amazing season it has been.”

It’s not every day that skiers and snowboarders can get their instruments up on the mountain. While the other musicians won’t be able to make it to the rest of the closing weekend, Stanton said he would be there, playing tunes for skiers and boarders. But the on-slope performances are reserved only for Colorado’s final days of the ski season, the group said.

“You can’t have too much of a good thing,” Spencer said. “You’ve got to save it for the right time.”

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