Baby, what an addition at Monarch

JANUARY 7, 2006
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Source: David O. Williams, Special to the News

Parents who complain it's tough to get their teenagers off the couch and out from in front of the Xbox need to meet Peter Teterwak, 14, of Colorado Springs.

I encountered Teterwak and his 12-year-old buddy, Max Verhaeghe, also of Colorado Springs, on the 15-minute trudge up the Mirkwood Basin Access Road into Monarch Mountain's new extreme terrain expansion. They were the only snowriders I encountered on the multiple laps I did on a recent, blustery weekday.

"There was practically nobody there, nice pitch, fun terrain," Teterwak said when asked his opinion of the 130-acre expansion that used to be accessed only by snowcat. "It's a good preview for the Monarch powder cats, so maybe we'll do that sometime."

Monarch a tiny, fairly sedate family mountain west of Salida frequented primarily by skiers from Colorado Springs and Pueblo (67 percent of its skier days), always has boasted a cat operation, Monarch Snowcat Tours, that's one of the best-kept secrets in the state.

With the new Mirkwood Basin hike-to expansion officially opening this season, the snowcat-accessed terrain has been pushed farther out, giving the inbounds resort a hot commodity in today's extreme-obsessed marketplace.

"It does add a lot to the mountain. I think every mountain should have some hike-to terrain," Teterwak said after skiing straight off the steep upper face of Mirkwood Bowl. "It does have some steep terrain and some nice little holes to poke around, and also it's really nice that you have to hike up and nobody else is there."

Verhaeghe, a snowboarder, called the experience "definitely worth the hike," and said the flat trail and road system back to the base area wasn't too bad, even on a board.

Teterwak and Verhaeghe are the exact demographic Monarch is trying to attract with Mirkwood, which is characterized by steep but short pitches (about 800 vertical feet), tight but fluffy tree runs and some wide-open bowl skiing sprinkled with the occasional huckable rock bands.

Teenagers gravitate toward natural and unnatural terrain parks and often drive ski-vacation decisions for the entire family.

"It just adds a whole new dimension to the area," said Monarch CEO and managing partner Rich Moorhead, a 30-year veteran of the area who rose up through the ranks.

"You've seen a lot of (ski industry) growth occurring in the extreme side of terrain, so it's just nice, particularly for all of us that have been here for a while, to have some terrain that is truly double-black diamond and truly what you consider backcountry."

For me, my return to Monarch was a surreal step back in time, when, as a freshman at Western State College in nearby Gunnison, we chose Monarch instead of Crested Butte because of its abundance of snow (350 annual inches) and relatively benign backcountry routes.

I did, though, manage to trigger a slide that swept me down onto Highway 50, but that's another story. Suffice to say, the winter of 1983-84 was a learning experience for a young bump skier from Denver.

While all the cool kids at Western gravitated to the legendary steeps and chutes of Crested Butte, I discovered the allure of snow-choked backcountry glades at Monarch, coming away from the school after just one year with a degree in powder skiing.

Now, some of that terrain is inbounds and legal to ski, and staying on the sunny side of Monarch Pass along the Arkansas River in the burgeoning boating and arts community of Salida, versus the frozen tundra of Gunnison, was another unexpected surprise.

Its funky, historical downtown district, even on a weeknight, was full of life and fairly cheap hotel rooms. At Benson's, a popular local bar owned by a Monarch ski patroller, raft guides and kayakers who came for the summer but stayed for the winter were discussing the skiing options for the next day.

"If you like the backcountry experience and you don't want to deal with I-70 . . . you can come to Monarch at 12 o'clock on a powder day and still get fresh turns," said Benson's waitress, Jessica Lockwood. "Salida's got everything - the Arkansas River and a ski mountain. It's beautiful, it's sunny, then you come up (to Monarch) and it's wintertime."

INFOBOX

If you go

* Getting there: Monarch Mountain is about a three-hour drive from Denver. Take Highway 285 to Poncha Springs, then head west on Highway 50 to Monarch. To stay in Salida, where most of the hotel and motel rooms are, head east a short distance on Highway 50 from Poncha Springs.

* Lodging: There are a number of hotels, motels, lodges and bed and breakfasts in Salida. The Salida Super 8, on Highway 50, is owned by one of the ski-area owners and sells lift tickets and has trail maps and grooming reports in the lobby. Call 719-539-6689 or 1-800-800- 8000, or go to www.salidasuper8.com

* Mountain facts: High atop the Continental Divide, Monarch's top elevation of 11,952 feet ensures quality natural snow (no snowmaking), but its base elevation of 10,790 feet gives it a relatively short vertical drop of 1,161 feet - usually not a problem, because of the lack of crowds. The new Mirkwood terrain (130 acres) brings the total acreage to 800, serviced by one quad chairlift and four doubles. For more lodging options and more ski-area information, call 1-888-996-7669 or 719-530-5000, or go to www.skimonarch.com.