Salida, Colorado — One of the Colorado ski areas that’s becoming more popular is Monarch Mountain.
Located on the Continental Divide, the high-elevation Colorado ski area features all-natural snowfall (no snowmaking) and a varied terrain network. It will also be expanding next winter. More on that later. These features make it one of Colorado’s hidden gems. However, that doesn’t mean that Monarch doesn’t see busy days.
In an email statement to KOAA, Chris Haggerty, who’s the GM of Monarch Mountain, proclaimed January 3rd as a historic day for the ski area:
“Yesterday was an unforgettable day at Monarch Mountain, as we celebrated a record number of visitors! With perfect natural snow (we received 8” of fresh snow the day before), sunny bluebird skies, and the holiday vacations still in full swing, it was a perfect snow adventure day for everyone.”
It appears that the major factors for the record-breaking visitation were it being during the Christmas-New Year vacation period, the eight inches of snow from the day before, and the bluebird weather. An official number of visitors for that day wasn’t provided by Monarch, as it doesn’t reveal daily visitation numbers.
Monarch Mountain has grown its visitation drastically over the past few decades. Back in 2002, its visitation was around 150,000, which was before Bob Nicolls acquired the ski area. According to The Gazette, it saw nearly 220,000 skiers and riders during the 2023-24 season.
It will likely continue to grow in notoriety in the years ahead. The No Name Basin expansion, which was approved last summer, will add 377 lift-serviced skiable acres to the mountain. The new terrain pod will include a triple chairlift, a warming hut, and bathrooms. Trail cutting occurred last offseason, with construction of the chairlift scheduled for this summer.
Image Credits: Monarch Mountain
