Salida, Colorado — One of the most anticipated terrain expansions in recent ski history is now open.
Yesterday, Monarch Mountain opened up No Name Basin. Guests arrived as early as 3:30 a.m. to snag first chair. Those who showed up early to the Breezeway chairlift were treated to coffee and No Name Basin medals. Additional access opened later that morning via the Panorama chairlift.
The 377-acre terrain expansion adds new intermediate and advanced pistes and glades to the ski area, resulting in a 50% increase in skiable acres at Monarch. The new terrain pod has a vertical drop of around 1,000 feet. There are two entry points to get there: the Prospector trail via the Breezeway lift, and the Great Divide trail, which you reach by going on the Panorama lift.
A new SkyTrac fixed-grip triple chair serves No Name Basin. At the base of this terrain pod is a warming hut and vault toilets.
Technically, this isn’t the first time Monarch has opened it, as they offered cat-skiing there in prior years and were open to guided tours last winter. However, it’s the first time No Naem Basin has been open for chairlift-served skiing.
With this addition, it’s now possible to ski both sides of the Continental Divide at Monarch. The other North American ski areas where you can do this include the Great Divide Ski Area in Montana, Lost Trail Powder Mountain in Montana, and Banff Sunshine Village in Alberta. This was once possible at Berthoud Pass, but it’s now a backcountry zone rather than a ski area.
Image/Video Credits: Monarch Mountain
