jamesdeluxe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
Here are the daily reports that go along with my 2008 mag article about Monarch.
Day 1
Yesterday was 72F in Denver, but they predicted that a storm would blow through Colorado in the middle of the night, and it did. Tough driving conditions combined with typically lame CO drivers turned a 2.5-hour drive to Monarch into a four-hour death march. Never fails to astound me how people who live so close to mountains can drive so poorly in snow. We didn't get on the lift until 11 am, and it was basically a top-to-bottom whiteout. Puking snow with 40 mph gales made it tough to see more than a few feet ahead of you.
Adding to the fun was that the previous two days were almost t-shirt warm there, so the base was refrozen concrete covered with close to a foot of new snow, but most of it had been blasted into the woods, so that's where I went. It was tough to learn the hill with such poor visibility, but the trees were knee-deep or more. There are some really flat spots in inconvenient places, and with the new snow, it was tough to keep momentum, but Monarch seems like a fun under-the-radar kind of place. Taking pix was out of the question. You would've just seen white. We're staying the next three nights in Gunnison... tomorrow should be party time. I'll make a point of heading over to Mirkwood Bowl.
Day 2
After yesterday's whiteout, it went bluebird today. Lots of nice snow in and alongside the woods for me and soft groomers for wifey. While Monarch is lacking in big vertical, it's got plenty of variety, beautiful trees, lots of moguls for the bumps fans, already more than 400 inches of snowfall for the season, and most importantly, no Front Range BS.
Mostly a locals joint for people from Colorado Springs and Pueblo, I'd be more than happy to have it nearby as my home hill. If you're in the area for Crested Butte -- obviously the Big Show in these parts -- and would like to check out a cool non-resort, I'd recommend at least a day at Monarch.
On my first run of the day, I skied up to a patroller and asked how Mirkwood Basin was looking. He said he'd just gotten back from a run there and the 60 mph winds yesterday either scoured areas clean or left the powder there thick like concrete.
North Forty
Me on Lobo
Me on Tele Alley
Juliet on Tango
Going Out For an Overnighter
Looking Toward Mirkwood Basin
An Old-School Safeway in Gunnison
Day 1
Yesterday was 72F in Denver, but they predicted that a storm would blow through Colorado in the middle of the night, and it did. Tough driving conditions combined with typically lame CO drivers turned a 2.5-hour drive to Monarch into a four-hour death march. Never fails to astound me how people who live so close to mountains can drive so poorly in snow. We didn't get on the lift until 11 am, and it was basically a top-to-bottom whiteout. Puking snow with 40 mph gales made it tough to see more than a few feet ahead of you.
Adding to the fun was that the previous two days were almost t-shirt warm there, so the base was refrozen concrete covered with close to a foot of new snow, but most of it had been blasted into the woods, so that's where I went. It was tough to learn the hill with such poor visibility, but the trees were knee-deep or more. There are some really flat spots in inconvenient places, and with the new snow, it was tough to keep momentum, but Monarch seems like a fun under-the-radar kind of place. Taking pix was out of the question. You would've just seen white. We're staying the next three nights in Gunnison... tomorrow should be party time. I'll make a point of heading over to Mirkwood Bowl.
Day 2
After yesterday's whiteout, it went bluebird today. Lots of nice snow in and alongside the woods for me and soft groomers for wifey. While Monarch is lacking in big vertical, it's got plenty of variety, beautiful trees, lots of moguls for the bumps fans, already more than 400 inches of snowfall for the season, and most importantly, no Front Range BS.
Mostly a locals joint for people from Colorado Springs and Pueblo, I'd be more than happy to have it nearby as my home hill. If you're in the area for Crested Butte -- obviously the Big Show in these parts -- and would like to check out a cool non-resort, I'd recommend at least a day at Monarch.
On my first run of the day, I skied up to a patroller and asked how Mirkwood Basin was looking. He said he'd just gotten back from a run there and the 60 mph winds yesterday either scoured areas clean or left the powder there thick like concrete.
North Forty
Me on Lobo
Me on Tele Alley
Juliet on Tango
Going Out For an Overnighter
Looking Toward Mirkwood Basin
An Old-School Safeway in Gunnison
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