MONARCH MOUNTAIN — Monarch Mountain’s long awaited expansion project is near complete. The longtime ski area in Chaffee County is increasing its skiable terrain.
Next season, Monarch will have 50% more ski runs. The area is called No-Name Basin.
You may have heard of it. That's because No Name Basin has been open to skiing, but only through Monarch’s snow cat skiing package.
The Assistant Director of Mountain Operations at Monarch, Zach Moore, said an expansion project has been in the works since 2011. More serious talks began in 2019, but were put on pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moore said his team and other organizations persevered to see this project through.
“Moving forward, we started cutting trees and building our road last summer and got most of the runs cut. We will finish cutting over the snow this spring before May 1. Then this summer we will finish the road and do our lift installation,” said Moore.
People will be able to access No Name Basin from two lifts, Breezeway and Panorama. The area has 377 acres of skiable terrain, including seven open “cut” runs and a few tree runs. Skiers will have their pick of long groomed trails or taking some turns in the trees.
“It adds a lot of intermediate terrain for us, which is something that we feel like we’re lacking a little bit. So, it will be good rolling blues. It’s a different field in the front side of the mountain and yes we are really excited for it,” said Moore.
Moore said No-Name Basin is unique because people can ski on both sides of The Continental Divide.
“It's in Pike-San Isabel National Forest as well as the Gunnison Forest,” said Moore.
No-Name Basin will have one chairlift that sits three people. Moore said they need to cut more trees to clear a path for a lift before they can install it. He said the chairlift will be put in this summer.
“I am most excited for the quiet nature of the terrain. It is away from the highway and base area. The motor is going to be at the top so the bottom is going to be peaceful,” said Moore.
No-Name Basin will officially open next winter for the 2025, 2026 ski season.
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