Due to concerns for public safety and the wellbeing of our staff during grooming operations, Monarch Mountain is implementing changes to our uphill policy effective immediately.  During COVID and in the years after the pandemic, we have seen a dramatic increase in uphill traffic at the ski area.  With this spike in usage, the likelihood of an incident involving a guest and a snowcat on the mountain has also unfortunately increased.  In order to be proactive and address this concern during our operator’s working shift from 10pm-9am, the changes in our policy aim to steer skiers away from potential snowcat activity and give our operators a more clear expectation of when and where to expect to see the skiing/riding public on the mountain during their shift.  With this in mind, the following schedule and level of uphill access is being implemented at Monarch with this policy.

10PM-6AM – ALL TRAILS ARE CLOSED TO UPHILL & DOWNHILL ACCESS

6AM-9AM – DESIGNATED UPHILL/DOWNHILL ROUTE:

• • • • • LITTLE MO ROUTE – CLIMBERS LEFT OF LITTLE MO.  ALL UPHILL AND DOWNHILL TRAFFIC MUST REMAIN ON LITTLE MO. ALL OTHER TRAILS ARE CLOSED.

9AM-4PM – DESIGNATED UPHILL ROUTES:

• • • • • BARREL ROUTE – CENTER OF LOWER TANGO, CLIMBER’S RIGHT OF NORTH FORTY, TO THE TOP OF GUNBARREL
        • PANO ROUTE – CENTER OF LOWER TANGO, CLIMBER’S RIGHT OF NORTH FORTY, CLIMBER’S LEFT OF ROUNDABOUT, CLIMBER’S LEFT OF SKYWALKER TO THE TOP OF PANO
        • BREEZE/MIRK ROUTE – CLIMBER’S LEFT OF LITTLE MO TO THE TOP OF BREEZEWAY AND/OR THE TOP OF MIRKWOOD (WHEN OPEN)

4PM-10PM – ANY TRAILS NOT MARKED AS CLOSED MAY BE USED FOR UPHILL & DOWNHILL TRAVEL:

• • • • • (TERRAIN PARKS, OUTBACK/SHAG, AND MIRKWOOD ARE CLOSED DURING THIS TIMEFRAME)

Another change that is being implemented at this time is that NO DOGS will be allowed on the mountain.  This has also grown to be a more widespread public health and safety concern.  There have been several incidents involving dogs acting in a threatening manner to other dogs and people, close calls with machines, and issues of waste left on the mountain.  Dogs are allowed in the parking lot and must be leashed and attended.  They should not be left unattended in cars, but ultimately that is up to the owner to decide.  Dogs are not allowed in the base area or facilities.  Service animals that are trained to perform a task for a person with a disability are allowed in the base area and facilities.

Faced with options to eliminate the morning program all together, we feel that this is a fair compromise.  We have increased the degree of safety during the night and early morning hours while giving our operators some piece of mind.  We have preserved an early morning uphill option (aka dawn patrol), maintained our multiple uphill routes during the daytime/operating hours, and held onto the broader post-operating access after the end of day Ski Patrol sweep.  After 4pm people can still enjoy a skin lap straight up Freeway to the top of Pano or take in a full moon tour prior to 10pm.

I know there will still be some who are upset with these changes.  I get it…change is hard.  The timing and immediacy of these updates may also be difficult for some to understand.  The thought process here is that rather than waiting to implement new guidelines to diminish a growing and legitimate safety hazard, we decided to be proactive in addressing it.  I hope that collectively as a ski and ride community, we can understand the rationale for these updates and work together to move forward from here.  We also hope that our skinning enthusiasts can appreciate that there are still numerous uphill options within the ski area and beyond.  For more info on our uphill policy at the mountain, please check out the website.  Hope to see you on the up.