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…
I had a chance to visit the southernmost ski area in the United States. You don’t necessarily correlate the Sonoran Desert with skiing. Yet, that is what exists just a bit over 100 miles from the Mexican border. Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley tops out at over 9k feet in elevation high above the valley floor where the Saguaro cactus roam. …
Here is a look at the fall line down the designated trail corridors within No Name Basin. This footage was taken by our contracted drone operator and shows a higher level view of the terrain which tend to make it look a bit flatter. I’ve hiked out of No Name Basin quite a few times this summer and fall. I…
We had a nice storm move through this weekend. Monarch received five inches of fresh snow and we started off the work week with a little bit of winter. The plows were in early clearing the lot and the team was out shoveling the deck and entryways this morning. Our patrol crew visited the snow study and logged our first…
Another project that is nearing completion is the additional snowcat storage building. This will be a heated and insulated two-bay facility located in the northern end of our vehicle maintenance parking lot. This new space will now give our VM team a total of 10-bays to park machines in a warm spot that is out of the weather. This indoor…
It looks like we may see a return to winter weather at the end of the week. Here is a look at the mountain before the storm.
The contractors are putting the finishing touches on the Mountain Ops Annex. As described in an earlier post this summer, this facility will be located next to our Patrol HQ and will provide offices, locker rooms and meeting space for our Ski Patrol, Base Operations/Parking Lot crew, and our Terrain Park Crew. Nice to be getting to the finishing line…
This might be my favorite fall photo! The trails in No Name Basin are just about complete and look amazing from this perspective with the fall colors in the foreground. The timber crew has pulled the harvesters and forwarders off the mountain while their Timber Pro masticator is still on the job site polishing up the last few trails on…
The fall colors in Colorado are a moment in time that doesn’t last long. It’s a perfect juxtaposition of gold leaves and a brilliant blue sky. The mornings are crisp but the days warm up and are set up for an afternoon hike or mountain bike ride. Chaffee County has some incredible trails to explore and you should take advantage…
