Traces of the Past

Of the thirty-two ski areas that are still operating in Colorado, Monarch is one of the originals. With an eighty-two year history (and counting), there are still some traces of the past from our earlier days to find out there. Hiking along the Garfield lift line, there are still some of the old foundations from the original Garfield Lift. After…

Read more

Rock Blasting

As the parking lot expansion project has unfolded, we have had to deal with a significant rock shelf in this area. Prior to the creation of the upper lot, we conducted a Geo-tech analysis and had expected to find some. However, the extent of this rocky area was a bit more extensive and deeper than originally anticipated. Fortunately, we had…

Read more

RFID Gantries

The new RFID Gantries have arrived and await installation. These units have a mast that will stand vertical near the front of our lift mazes with a horizontal boom that swings out from the top. From this boom, there will be gates with reader panels that hang down to create the areas where our guest’s RFID cards can be authorized…

Read more

Pit Stop

The new restrooms have been installed near the base of Panorama and adjacent to Shredders, our wintertime mid-mountain food service operation. The facility will offer two unisex vault toilet restrooms. This improvement will offer a convenient on mountain pit stop while spinning laps on a pow day.

Read more

Back on the Ridge

The logging work continues across the highway on Monarch Ridge. The crew from Miller Timber started up near the top of the pass a few weeks ago and is working north along the ridge towards where they finished off last fall. Already looking a lot different over there.

Read more

Snowcat Storage

Our new 3500 sq. ft. storage building has been delivered and is awaiting construction while foundation work is completed. The four-bay building will be located in the SW corner of the Vehicle Maintenance parking lot (seen in the background of this photo). This facility will keep heavy machinery out of the elements when they are not being utilized and have…

Read more

Trench Warfare

We are running a few thousand feet of trenches to our base lifts. We are installing fiber optic lines along our base area summer maintenance roads that will support our new RFID gates, scanners and camera network. Who’s a good boy?

Read more

Lunar Landscape

The Paradise Lot looks like the surface of the moon. Or that a lot of insects have been hard at work. In reality, we are actually prepping to break up a rock shelf that is hindering some of the excavation and dozing efforts. We are contracting with a third party to conduct blasting activities as part of our parking lot…

Read more

Can you Dig It?

There is a lot of digging going on. Our initial foundation work has begun for the new Axess RFID gates that will be installed at the bottom of all ski lifts. In addition to this earthwork, the parking lot expansion, trenching for a fiber optic network, vault toilets at Pano flats and foundation work on a new snowcat storage facility…

Read more