With a few military bases located nearby in Colorado Springs, we get several flights over the ski area each winter. I was standing right on top of Pano ridge when I was buzzed by this transport plane today. I believe the majority of these pilot’s missions originate from either Peterson Air Force Base or Ft Carson Army Base. The military…
Many ski areas in the west are seeing parking as one of the biggest operational challenges. Monarch can experience this as well during what I call, “A perfect storm”. It should really be called something else because it’s usually far from perfect. A big 24-hour snow report over the holidays or diring a prime weekend can lead to this type…
Our terrain park on the Breezeway side has once again taken on a new name. This trail has seen changes in nomenclature over the last 15 years that have included Slo-Motion, K2 Organic Terrain Park, Never Summer, Ramble On and now adds Steel City to the mix. The trail has transitioned from a full on intermediate trail, to a top…
After the 10-day tempest, we have now put together a string of brilliant, bluebird days of skiing. This break in the weather has allowed the crews to catch up on clearing piles of snow from our lots and buttering the edges, mucking out areas around the base area, opening the mountain wall to wall, grooming additional trails, beginning cat skiing…
Monarch Cat Skiing has started taking guests out beyond the boundary ropes for the 2021-22 winter season. We had our first day of cat skiing/riding over the weekend and the calendar is open for booking trips. The guides have been working diligently on Avi mitigation in our open bowls and chutes while our skilled operators have been dialing in our…
Enjoy!
With all of our lift-served terrain now open, Ski Patrol and the MCS guides have been honing in on Mirkwood. Getting this terrain open is not as simple as just dropping the rope. The crew conducts extensive avalanche mitigation and prep work on this section of the mountain. These efforts includes disruption roller work, explosives, ski cutting, ski packing and…
What a storm cycle. We received 65″ of snow over a 10-day stretch with over 4″ of SWE. The mountain has been transformed from where we were at just before Christmas. Bare slopes are covered, thin and punchy areas now have a solid base, and our lift served terrain is open wall to wall. While a significant storm cycle was…
It seemed like winter would never show up in late November and early December. However, there is no doubt that it has now arrived. This week has been something special and it’s not over yet. The skiing/riding conditions right now are prime mid-winter stuff. Pretty amazing considering where we were at a week ago. While all of this new snow…
