Colorado Celebrates 4 Major Ski Resort Anniversaries
It’s been a big year for Colorado ski resorts. Four of them held anniversaries across the state and skiers have had plenty of opportunities to celebrate and reminisce about the good old ski days. Enjoyed by countless skiers and riders for generations, there are lots of reasons to revisit these classic resorts.
Winter Park’s 75th Anniversary
Winter Park ski resort origins are pretty humble. In the 1920s, railroad workers hiked up part of the mountain during construction of the Moffat Tunnel, strapping planks to their boots and braving the untamed slope. In the 1930s, George Cranmer of the Denver Parks and Recreation Department got a better idea – he wanted to create a winter playground for the people of Denver, giving the resort its name and starting the Winter Park tradition.
This year marks Winter Park’s 75th year in operation. And with RFID tech in their ski passes, and another $8M+ in renovations this year, this is not your grandfather’s ski resort any more.
Monarch Mountain’s 75th Anniversary
Imagine hauling a Chevy engine up to the top of Monarch Pass without the aid of a railroad in 1936. The Salida Winter Sports Club did just that, rigging a tow rope at 11,000 feet with the engine so that they could enjoy some winter skiing.
The idea obviously took root, and the club applied for a U.S. Forest Service Permit in 1939 to cut some trails, build a lodge, and set up a real lift. Today, the Southern Colorado’s Monarch Mountain lifts have the capacity to handle 8,900 per hour, so next time you hit the slopes, be grateful your lift is not still that old Chevy engine.
Wolf Creek’s 75th Anniversary
The Chevy engine is featured in another Colorado resort also celebrating 75 years of winter fun. The Wolf Creek Pass, constructed to connect the San Luis Valley to Pagosa Springs, inspired a similar tow rope to the summit of the pass, inspiring the creators of Wolf Creek Resort.
Wolf Creek averages an astounding 430 inches of snow each winter! This secret was known to the locals before the Chevy engine found its way to the top. They trekked to the top of the mountain on foot, carrying homemade skis. No matter how you look at it, these early skiers were hardcore. Today, with 45% of the mountain reserved for advanced and experts only; and many back country bowls, holes, chutes and peaks to conquer, freeriders flock to this coveted ski area.
Howelsen Hill’s 100th Anniversary
Before these three giants, stood Howelsen Hill. Norwegian skier Carl Howelsen is probably the reason Colorado became the ski mecca of America. After arriving in the state in 1913, he wasted no time turning a small wildlife refuge in his new town into a ski hill. In 1915, Howelsen Hill was born.
At only 440 feet, the hill is almost dismissible, except that the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, founded by Howelsen in 1914 and still operating today, turned out 79 Olympians, 130 members of the Colorado ski hall of fame, and as if that wasn’t enough, six members of the National Ski Hall of Fame. Whatever they’re doing on those 440 feet, they’re doing it right! Aren’t you at least curious?
Worth Revisiting
Colorado ski resorts are celebrating large anniversaries for good reason, like a good burger joint, they specialize in all things ski. If you haven’t been in awhile, take some time to celebrate 100 years of skiing with your friends and family on the Colorado slopes this winter.