Located on an obscure offshoot of Colorado Hwy 131, a defunct ski area with a lot of potential is hoping for a second chance.
Related: Defunct Colorado Ski Area Called “Stoner Ranch”
According to the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the CEO of Stagecoach Communities LLC, Don McLean is proposing the possibility of rejuvenating a ski area located in the sparsely populated Stagecoach community south of Steamboat and north of Vail/Beaver Creek. With 2,500 vertical feet of relief, this isn’t your everyday, backyard ski hill. A former ski patroller, McLean is hoping to provide a flexible, sustainable, and most importantly– a skier based experience. He hopes to close on the sale of the 3,500 acres sometime this fall.
The Stagecoach Ski Area operated from 1972-1974 before going under.
Furthermore, McLean denied the possibility of a mega resort situation taking place telling the Steamboat Pilot, “we’re not coming in with $100 million to build a six-story building.” Instead, the developer hopes to provide a skier-based experience that is hard to find along the heavily resort-based I-70 corridor. With that in mind, he instead hopes to attract skiers who love great north-facing Colorado ski terrain.
“The ski area should be encouraged to expand its operations to accommodate more skiers in order to better serve as a winter base of recreation for the Stagecoach area.”– Stagecoach Community Plan
The initial plan is included in the recently revised Stagecoach Community Plan but its seems as though McLean is slowly revealing his vision while looking for organic feedback along the way. Recently the ski area has operated privately under a use permit registered through Routt County but McLean would reopen the ski area to the public.
Mountain Stats
- Annual Snowfall – 300″
- Vertical Drop – 2,200′ (800′ on the southside)
- Skiable Terrain – 900 acres
- Lifts – 3
- Base Elevation – 7,450′
Find the entire Steamboat Pilot & Today article here: Long dormant Stagecoach Ski Area south of Steamboat under contract to sell in October
