February 26-27, 2007 Monarch Mt.,CO

Within hours of Silas returning to Seattle, it began snowing in Central Colorado. Early Monday morning Jill and I were heading towards Crested Butte when we approached the summit of Monarch Pass in a blizzard and decided to pull into the parking lot and look around. We pulled into the front row and it was snowing and blowing so hard the lifts were not visible. Perfect ! Finally, a powder day. We used our Shell 2 for 1 coupon and purchased 2 tickets for $49. The temperature was in the lower teens at the base at 10,790' and there was 12" overnight and more descending. The summit tops out at 11,952' and all the lifts are fixed grip. The tree skiing is vast and we spent the day darting among the slots and trees. By 2pm our quads were aching and we retreated to the town of Salida about 20 miles east to consume a juicy burger and fries.

We called our friends in Fairplay who met us on Tuesday the 27th for a blue sky powder day back at Monarch. They received an additional 7" overnight and we pulled out another 2 for 1 Shell coupon. On Tuesday they opened the Breezeway chair which had been closed and provides access to Mirkwood Basin(MB). MB is about a third the size of the in bounds area and provides additional tree and bowl terrain. Now their brochure states the hike up to the entrance of MB is 10 minutes, I think we made it in 20 minutes at a senior pace. Plenty of terrain available in MB even after a few waves of riders pass you. Monarch is an old style ski area with excellent terrain, a very friendly staff and you probably won't run into many tourists. A wonderful place to ski powder without the rush of someone trying to take your "line'".

The photos are of one of our friends enjoying some freshies and Jill and I at the entrance to Mirkwod Basin. Next stop, Wolf Creek Pass.

Thanks for the report from Monarch Zap!  Some of my most epic powder days have been at Monarch, often with the amazing blue skies that you enjoyed on your second day.  I remember one particularly epic day where the highway was closed by slides on each side of the pass all day and only 10 to 12 of us were on the mountain.  The new snow that day piled up past the door handles on my buddy's VW bug.

A day like that followed by a beer at the Vic in Salida or down at the Brick Cellar in Gunnison is life at it's best!  Enjoy your travels!

J.P.