Salida, Colorado — One of the biggest terrain expansions coming to Colorado is happening at a lesser-known ski area.
In July, the US Forest Service approved the No Name Basin expansion at Monarch Mountain. Situated on the backside of Monarch, this expansion will feature intermediate and advanced trails/glades. There will be a vertical drop of 1000 feet from the top to the bottom lift terminals. Sixty-two acres of trees will be cleared for the trails, and 75 acres will be thinned out for the glades.
This terrain pod will be serviced by a 2,700-foot-long fixed-grip triple chairlift. Near the new chairlift’s base terminal will be a warming hut and restrooms. In addition, an 8,600-foot-long permanent access road would be sculpted to access the new lift’s base terminal. Construction on the infrastructure portions of the project will commence next summer.
On his Monarch Mountain blog, Scott Pressly, who’s the VP of Mountain Operations at Monarch, has provided a few updates on the terrain expansion this summer. Scott’s post from yesterday gives people a first detailed look at the terrain. The picture below shows fairly deep fall-line skiing.
Since July, VM West and Lowry Contracting have cleared the trails and moved the timber. To clear the future trails, workers have used an integrated winch system and a remote-controlled T-Winch to help them cut the harder-to-reach spots.
The new terrain pod is expected to open during the 2025-26 season.
Image Credits: Monarch Mountain
