A new three-person chairlift at Monarch Mountain in Southern Colorado climbs 1,000 vertical feet. Known as the Tomichi Lift, it expands the resort’s skiable terrain by hundreds of acres onto the western side of the Continental Divide, in an area known as No Name Basin.
“It has a totally different feel than the front side of the mountain,” Director of Mountain Operations Scott Pressley said. "You're looking out at the Gunnison Valley and you don't see the highway, you don't see the base area and it’s just a more quiet experience and really neat terrain.”
There’s a dozen new trails in No Name Basin, which offer a nice mix of intermediate and expert runs along with tree glades, Pressley said.
The lift’s name, Tomichi, “is believed to be a Ute word meaning of rocks and water,” according to Monarch’s website, and is also the name of several historical and geographical features in the area.
It’s a fixed-grip lift like the others at Monarch, which refers to how each chair attaches to the cable that moves it uphill. It's different than the larger capacity high speed detachable lifts found at many big-name ski areas, which often carry six to eight people per chair. That, Pressley said, helps stay true to what he called the Monarch experience and a chance to get away from the crowded resorts to the north with traffic and long lines.
At Monarch, “you don't need to make a reservation. You show up, you walk right to the slopes with your season pass,” he said. “You hop on a fixed grip chairlift. Life slows down for a minute. You get a chance to talk to your crew that you're riding with and take in the scenery and just enjoy life for the day.”
Opening day for the new lift and terrain depends on snow conditions since the resort doesn’t make its own snow. Still, most of the mountain–but not No Name Basin– is already open this season, despite a slow start to winter weather.
“The reason is something we’ve quietly perfected over decades: snow farming,” said Monarch Mountain spokesperson Eva Egbert in a written statement. The Monarch slope maintenance team uses strategically placed fencing to utilize the natural wind patterns along the Continental Divide to capture snow drifts. Then snowcats move the snow to where it’s needed.
“The result is not only more terrain open during challenging weather cycles, but better skiing—soft, consistent, all-natural snow that doesn’t ice up,” Egbert wrote.
Mirkwood, the expert double diamond steep terrain that’s only accessible by hiking or snowcat, just opened Tuesday.
Monarch Mountain is one of Colorado’s oldest ski areas, according to the history on its website. It began in 1939 with a 500 foot rope tow powered by “a gear box from an old oil derrick and a Chevy engine.” Initially it belonged to the city of Salida. It’s had a number of other owners since then.
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