Echo Mountain, a small ski area located about 35 miles from Denver, has been sold at auction. The buyer was Nora Pykkonen, a “ski racer mom” who had planned to relocate her family to Vail in order to further her kids ski racing careers but instead bought the tiny ski area and is going to convert it into a ski racing facility focused on school aged ski racers.
In Pykkonen’s new vision of the mountain there will be different stations set up to further develop racing skills, with a video tent at the end of the run where racers can review their form for improvement. She also hopes to further develop the mountain, increasing the vertical drop from 660′ to 1500′, adding a Super G course and a mogul course. The Front Range Ski Club will call Echo Mountain home and the new Echo Mountain could become the only ski area in America dedicated solely to training for alpine racing. Adult ski clubs will also be able to train at the mountain on a rental basis.
Echo Mountain Stats:
Closest mountain to the Denver metro area.
Elevation (Lodge): 10, 600′
Vertical Drop: 660’
Trails: 16
Average Snowfall: 215″
Ski/Ride Season: November 30, 2011 through April 8, 2012
Significant losses from this new vision for the mountain are the terrain park scene, which was pretty big for how small the mountain is, and the glades skiing, otherwise the mountain seems pretty optimal for a ski racing facility.
From Echo Mountain:
“We want to announce that Echo Mountain has been sold to new owners and the new owners have decided to change the basic format of the ski area to focus on ski race training. We have enjoyed the challenge of establishing a new ski area and meeting all the families, snowboarders and skiers as they used the facility.
For those of you that bought season passes for next season, we will be refunding your payment through your credit card over the next few days. If you made your season pass purchase in April we will be sending you a check for the amount to your credit card billing address we have on file.
Check on this Echo Mountain web page in coming weeks for some great deals on our remaining retail products including NeverSummer Snowboards and Neff apparel.
Thank you for your patronage – we will miss you.
Echo Mountain’s staff and owners”
Echo Mountain/Squaw Pass History
Echo Mountain ski area bought to be converted into training facility, The Denver Post
Video of some Echo Mountain park riding by Torstein Horgmo.