jamesdeluxe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
For this quick in-and-out visit to Colorado, I decided to go back to a few ski areas that impressed me many moons ago but are just far enough from the Front Range to deter most fly-in visitors. Monarch, located right along the high mountain pass with the same name, is a classic non-resort with comparatively modest stats (1,170 vertical feet, about the same as Plattekill), no high-speed lifts, zero snowmaking, and no lodging. It's mainly a locals hill for Colorado Springs and Pueblo, the nearby towns of Salida and Gunnison, along with drive-up skiers from neighboring western Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
On the three-hour drive from Denver on Route 285, it was a bit brisk in the valleys. Some were reporting as low as -35 ambient temperature:
The region had gotten a nice dump midweek that actually closed Route 50 (something that happens very rarely), so Monarch didn't open on Thursday; thus, I missed a three-foot powder day on Friday:
Still, it was fun tracking through the sloppy seconds on the lift-served part of the mountain during the first couple hours. After a slow start to the season, they'd already gotten 173 inches YTD and everything was covered nicely. Despite its short vertical, there's a lot of variety in the terrain:
Shag Nasty
Outback Bowl
I stopped in for an early lunch at the Sidewinder Saloon, featuring a great beer selection:
Finally, I was ready to tackle the hike-to Mirkwood Basin, which is, for lack of a better analogy, Monarch's version of Solitude's Honeycomb Canyon. For people who are in decent shape and accustomed to the altitude, it's a 15-20 minute shuffle/hike. For me, who had flown in the previous day from 200 feet above sea level, it took a good 40 minutes of huffing and puffing to get to the 12K summit. More than 30 people must have passed me on the way up, but I finally arrived and was happy with the end result.
Looking over the edge into the Basin:
Further down heading into the trees:
Funny how I met three different people on the lifts, all from the Rochester area, who'd moved out to the region after decades skiing Bristol and the other western NY hills. In short, a great "little area that rocks" -- recommended!
On the three-hour drive from Denver on Route 285, it was a bit brisk in the valleys. Some were reporting as low as -35 ambient temperature:
The region had gotten a nice dump midweek that actually closed Route 50 (something that happens very rarely), so Monarch didn't open on Thursday; thus, I missed a three-foot powder day on Friday:
Still, it was fun tracking through the sloppy seconds on the lift-served part of the mountain during the first couple hours. After a slow start to the season, they'd already gotten 173 inches YTD and everything was covered nicely. Despite its short vertical, there's a lot of variety in the terrain:
Shag Nasty
Outback Bowl
I stopped in for an early lunch at the Sidewinder Saloon, featuring a great beer selection:
Finally, I was ready to tackle the hike-to Mirkwood Basin, which is, for lack of a better analogy, Monarch's version of Solitude's Honeycomb Canyon. For people who are in decent shape and accustomed to the altitude, it's a 15-20 minute shuffle/hike. For me, who had flown in the previous day from 200 feet above sea level, it took a good 40 minutes of huffing and puffing to get to the 12K summit. More than 30 people must have passed me on the way up, but I finally arrived and was happy with the end result.
Looking over the edge into the Basin:
Further down heading into the trees:
Funny how I met three different people on the lifts, all from the Rochester area, who'd moved out to the region after decades skiing Bristol and the other western NY hills. In short, a great "little area that rocks" -- recommended!
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