With this most recent storm, we’re making plans to open Monarch Mountain soon! We are closing uphill access effective at 4pm today (Tuesday-November 19th) until the mountain is open. With the large increase in uphill traffic (skinners) that we have hosted the last few seasons, we have recognized that there is a public safety issue as we prep the slopes…
The Mountain Ops team continues to work towards getting the mountain ready for the winter season. The snowcat operators have been dozing snow and track-packing the slopes while our patrol team has started stringing ropes and hanging tower pads on the lifts. All of our departments wrapped up their seasonal trainings last week and the company is ready to go.…
We picked up another four inches of wind transported snow yesterday afternoon and into the evening. The winds were from the southwest helping to transport snow onto our northeast aspect slopes along the ridge that were scoured by the upslope winds last week. Every little bit helps. The snowcat operators have been out on the mountain all day dozing snow…
It’s been a stormy week with lots of snow AND lots of wind! While the snow has been a welcome site, unfortunately the 70mph upslope winds mid-week also partially or completely scoured several areas. These zones include but are not limited to; Sleepy Hollow, Freeway, Lower Glade, all of Pano Ridge, Breezeway, and several of the ridgeline trails near the…
With this week’s storm, we now have enough snow to get some snowcats on the mountain. The crew has started our annual ritual of track-packing the slopes. This effort aims to compact the basal layers of snow while creating tracks in the snow that act as mini-snowfences to capture subsequent snow that falls or is driven by the wind. We…
Monarch is one of the last ski areas in Colorado to not utilize artificial snowmaking in our operation. We take great pride in offering an all natural product and strongly believe that nothing is better than making turns down a trail covered in real snow. We do however, use several strategies in farming every flake that Mother Nature provides. One…
Here is a little sneak peek at Mirkwood that BL shared from the other day. The early snowfall is clinging to the bowl and it’s starting to take on its winter look. We have a long way to go out there, but there looks to be a significant storm in the forecast that will help get things started. Stay tuned!
We had a very nice elk herd move through the ski area this week. It’s that time of year where hunting activity can move them over ridgelines or winter storms may push animals from the high peaks down into the forest and meadows below. Maybe they are just hanging out within a developed recreation site during this fall period. Or…
