Ski and Snowboard News, Deals, and Events

Monarch season passholders get more for their buck by getting extra days at 11 resorts in four states. It's all part of a cooperative effort. If you buy the Monarch Pass, you get three free days of skiing in Colorado at Loveland, Purgatory at Durango, Sunlight, and Powderhorn. You get one free day of unguided skiing at Silverton. You get three free days at Angel Fire, Pajarito, and Sipapu in New Mexico. Monarch passholders get three free days at Grand Targhee in Wyoming, and they can ski for half price all season at Alta, Utah.

It is the 70^th year of operations at Monarch, affectionately known as the 70^th Platinum season. Over $250,000 in improvements have been made to the resort this summer, including a new entrance to the Lesson/Rental Center to keep the building warmer and guests dryer. The rental department has invested over $55,000 in new equipment with high-end skis from K2, Salomon and Volkl, with snowboards from K2 and Burton added to the demo fleet.

One of the highlights of Monarch is the K2 Organic Terrain Park. You don't realize you are in the terrain parks here, which have logs sticking out of the snow in various directions, until you see kids jumping them. Tree islands have been removed on Mirage, Turbo, Snowburn, and Short & Sweet. Those trees have been used to build more natural features in the Tilt terrain park, which is for kids and beginners. Tilt will have smaller, less intimidating jumps, berms, and rails. Now there will just be a lot more of them.

Monarch also enlarged the deck to the Children's Center to help make registration easier and get the kids out on the snow. A new weather station has been added at the top of Mirkwood Bowl which will help the Monarch Mountain Ski Patrol better understand the weather and avalanche conditions and prepare accordingly.

More information.