A small ski area in central Colorado is preparing for a big expansion.
This week, Monarch Mountain near Salida announced it received approval from the U.S. Forest Service to expand the ski area. According to the announcement, the expansion will extend into No Name Basin, adding 377 skiable acres. That equates to about 50% more terrain than is currently available to skiers at the 800-acre ski area.
Going forward, No Name Basin, which is currently used for Monarch’s backcountry-style cat skiing operations, will offer cleared trails and gladed terrain for intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders. Construction is expected to begin later this month to build an access road to the area, extend a powerline and start cutting runs through the forest.
Next summer, Monarch plans to install a 3-person lift that’s 2,700 feet long, as well as a restroom and warming hut.
Monarch has been planning this expansion for a decade, the announcement said, and comes after officials with both the San Isabel and Gunnison national forests spent three years reviewing potential impacts to the natural area.
“This has truly been a labor of love,” Randy Stroud, Monarch’s chief operating officer and general manager, said in a statement.
According to its website, Monarch became a ski area in 1939 with “a 500-foot rope tow powered by a gearbox from an old oil derrick and a Chevy engine.” In 1955, the town of Salida sold the area to its manager Ray Berry for $100. In 2002, it was purchased by a group of ski enthusiasts who invested millions to create a destination “ski experience.”
With an average of 350 inches of snowfall per year, Monarch Mountain remains an off-the-beaten-path alternative to mega-resorts like Vail.
“Monarch is sort of the artisanal, indie experience that people seem to be hungry for today,” co-owner Liz Mumm Meier told The Denver Post in 2018.
UPDATED July 12 at 12:28 p.m. to clarify where Monarch Mountain is. It is located in central Colorado and spans the Continental Divide, with skiing on both the west and east sides.
