(distorted orchestral music) - [Narrator] High
on the eastern flank of the Rocky
Mountains, in almost the exact geographical
center of Colorado, near the crest of
the sky-piercing Continental Divide,
is a vast scenic and recreational area. (big band music) - The Monarch Ski Area
really got started in the late 1930s. - Takes being a little bit crazy to start a ski
area...you know, 1939 with the vehicles that were
available at that time. - Monarch has a checkered past. - Might have been dirty money, but hey, that's part of
our colorful history. - If the Vail Pass
name had stuck, the current ski area
up here might've been called Vail Ski Mountain
instead of Monarch Mountain. - The reason I love it,
first of all: the snow. It's just one of
the most beautiful scenes in the world. - We get 350 inches
of snow a year. We're accused of
under-reporting snow. - It's not a big one,
but it's a wonderful, wonderful ski area. - And highly regarded
as one of the three or four oldest ski areas
in Colorado history. That's a lot of history. That's a lot of legacy. - [Presenter] This
program was made possible by the History Colorado
State Historical Fund. - [Presenter] Supporting
projects throughout the state to preserve,
protect and interpret Colorado's architectural
and archeological treasures. History Colorado
State Historical Fund, create the future,
honor the past. - [Male Presenter] With
traditional funding provided in memory of
Deanna E. La Camera, and members like you. With special thanks to
the Denver Public Library, History Colorado, the Colorado Office of
Film, Television and Media, and to these organizations. (dramatic music) (peaceful music) - Monarch is a gem. It's got tremendous
skiing, it is an independent area,
it is a legendary area. - [Narrator] Monarch
Mountain, centrally located near Salida, is one of
Colorado's first ski resorts. Just like the butterfly
it shares a name with, Monarch is small,
beautiful, and tenacious. Helping to transform
skiing in Colorado into a nearly $5
billion dollar industry. - Number one, it's independent. Number two, it's no frills. Number three, it's
a great family area. - [Narrator] In an era
of the mega ski resort and corporate consolidation,
Monarch Mountain remains fiercely
independent and one of those most inexpensive
ski areas in Colorado. - We're close enough
to a population center that we've got a target market that they can here and
ski some of the best snow. I honestly believe
that's why Monarch has been so popular. Our location, with our pricing, and the fact that
we've got good snow. - [Narrator] Though
the metamorphosis of Monarch Mountain
has had its share of hardships, it has
survived an industry where more than three
dozen Colorado ski resorts have failed. - [Duane] There are many
ski areas in Colorado that once existed
that no longer exist. Pioneer in the Gunnison country. Conquistador, not
far from Westcliff. The one that is
right out this side of Colorado Springs,
off Cheyenne Mountain. Geneva Basin. - Monarch's one of
the oldest ski areas in the state, and we're
proud of that fact. We're proud of the
fact that we're able to keep it running,
because there's so many of the old ski areas
that were really doing well for awhile, and
then went by the wayside. - I think Monarch
succeeded over time because of the snow,
and the terrain. We get 350 inches
of snow a year. Our day skiers come
from Colorado Springs, Pueblo, all the little
towns around here. Some from Denver as well. But we get lots of
folks that come in from Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas, New Mexico, families who can
come and stay and ski and eat here for four
days, for the price of one day at a Vail,
at a Breckenridge. - [Narrator] The history
of Monarch Mountain is filled with mischief
and determination. It's a playful
Western spirit that has allowed Monarch
to help pioneer skiing in North America, and
help make Colorado synonymous with the sport. - [Duane] The Scandinavian
miners from Norway, Sweden primarily, and
Denmark, had learned to ski long before. - [Narrator] Skiing
as a sport came about in the 1830s in Norway. Then, Norwegian
miners spread the idea of a new sport
throughout the world. - So when they came over here, they immediately
began to cut down spruce trees, and
then they would boil the tips in the camp
kettles, so they would come up, and they began
to teach everybody how to ski. And it wasn't easy. I'd like to see
somebody trying skiing on nine to 14 footers with
no real good bindings, and a guide pole for balance. - [Narrator] For
Colorado mountain towns in the late 1800s, skiing
was for work, not fun. - The mail was delivered
in the mining camps by guys on skis in the winter. And in 1893, we had what
was called the Silver Panic. And for a lot of
complicated reasons, the price of silver fell
to 58 cents an ounce. And when that happened,
every silver camp in the West, in
the United States, in Colorado closed for
good, never returned. - [Narrator] Many mining
towns turned to ghost towns. Areas like Salida had
the railroad to lean on to remain viable. And
although the silver dried up, pure white
snow was still plentiful. So people began looking
at skiing as recreation. The first formal
ski area in Colorado was Howelson Hill in
Steamboat Springs. Named after a Norwegian
skier who started the area. - Carl Howelson was
born in 1877 in Norway, and in 1912 he came
to Hot Sulphur Springs outside of Steamboat
Springs and he built a jump. And his neighbor, one
day, saw a guy come off the damn thing and go
75 feet down the hill. - [Narrator] Though
not much more than a ski jump at
first, Howelson Hill caught on, and the
man who started it all began to develop skiing
into a serious sport. - He is one of the first
guys to put baskets on the bottom of poles, he's one of the first guys to put grooves on the bottom of
skis, and he's one of the first guys
to build a ski jump. And Howelson Hill
today is responsible for Steamboat Springs turning
out 92 Olympic skiers. - [Narrator] Six
of those Olympians are now enshrined in the
National Ski Hall of Fame. Howelson and his
ski jump reigned in Colorado for
more than 15 years. Then, in 1936, a man
named J.C. Blickensderfer installed a portable
tow line for skiers near Georgetown. It was the birth of
Colorado's second continuously operating ski hill, Loveland Ski Area. Today, Loveland offers
skiers and riders more than 1,800
acres of terrain, and more than 35 feet of
snowfall each ski season. Soon after Loveland
opened, Colorado's third oldest ski area
opened farther south, along the Continental
Divide in Chaffee County. Monarch Mountain. - I've been skiing
Monarch for 50 years. And the reason I love it,
first of all, the snow. - It's good snow,
consistent snow. And good terrain. - [Narrator] Monarch
Mountain rises above Salida in
south-central Colorado. Ski Magazine once
likened the shape of the ski area to
a baseball glove sitting between 10
and 12 thousand feet. Catching 350 inches
of snow each year. - It's on the east side
of the Continental Divide. The Sawatch Range,
which is very unique. The Sawatch Range is a
range of 15 mountains, 14,000 feet or better. - It's just one of the
most beautiful scenes in the world. I mean, you're
right on the top of the Continental Divide, and you can probably see 100, 150
miles in each direction. - [Narrator] In the mid
1930s, a few Salida skiers realized they had a ski
lift in their backyard. The Denver and Rio
Grande Western Railroad took passengers over
nearby Marshall Pass to Gunnison every day. - If you wanted to
go up from Salida to Gunnison, the
only way you got over was taking the train
over Marshall Pass. - [Narrator] Passengers
paid 75 cents for a round-trip on the train. Skiers got off on the
summit of Marshall Pass, and took one, long
run, all the way down to the bottom. Soon, the Salida Winter
Sports Club was formed, and the US Forest
Service came calling. (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Look at 'em go! - The Forest Service
told the Salida Ski Club that they would like
them to move off of Marshall Pass,
and they'd like them to move to Monarch Pass,
and the WPA caught wind of that and say hey, we
can build you a ski course. That's what they
called it back then. - [Narrator] The
1939 WPA effort, or Works Progress
Administration, promised plenty of
jobs in the midst of the Great Depression,
and on March 23rd, 1939, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt authorized $26,406 to build the
so-called ski course. The City of Salida
would own Monarch, and the Salida
Winter Sports Club would operate the new venture. Monarch Mountain's
plentiful snow was ideal for skiing, but not so for motorists back in 1939. - Now there was
a big controversy over what pass should
be used for automobiles. Should you use Monarch
Pass at 11,312 feet, or should you use the
adjacent railroad pass of Marshall Pass, 10,856
feet, 500 feet lower? And a lot of locals thought that you probably should
use Marshall Pass. But the head of the
Colorado Highway Commission was an arrogant guy by
the name of Charlie Vail. And Charlie Vail decided that he would use Monarch Pass. But Charlie Vail,
being as arrogant as he was, named
it after himself. And for a short time,
on top of the pass there was a sign
that said Vail Pass. But the locals were
so angry at this, that they kept throwing
that sign into a ditch. - Once the Vail Pass
sign got put up, the people were naturally upset. The name Monarch
had already stuck. - But Charlie Vail got even. When they put Vail Pass
in from Copper Mountain out towards Avon, Charlie
Vail got that pass named after him, and
today, at over 10,600 feet, Vail Pass is named
for Charlie Vail. - [Narrator] But the name Vail would have to wait
another 20 years to adorn a Colorado ski area. Monarch Mountain
was about to cut its first run, just in time
for the 1939-1940 ski season. (fast jazz music) - When we first started,
it was just Gunbarrel. It's a legend among
old ski areas. To ski the Gunbarrel,
that's legendary. - [Narrator] Gunbarrel,
or Bloody Ridge as some people called it,
was a hand-cut run with a 30-degree slope. Imagine tackling that
with skis of old. - You had bear-trap bindings. You had really long
skis, and there was no safety strap. You were just tied
onto your skis. So if you fell, it was
a real ankle-breaker. - [John] Off Gunbarrel,
they just ran a tow rope that was powered
by an old truck engine. - [Narrator] In
1939, a season pass only cost one dollar to ski
the one-run Monarch Mountain. - You bring your own food in. The people in the cafeteria
bring their own food in. There are no lavatories. You wanna go to the
bathroom, you gotta go out into the trees. - Well, the first warming
house was a log building. The Mayor of Salida,
his named was Ferno, so they named it the Inferno. And ironically enough,
it burned down in 1963. - [Narrator] As
modest as it was, Monarch Mountain made
money that first season. A total of $28.74. Eventually, a luxurious
three-seat outhouse was added. More expansion was
planned, but then the Japanese bombed
Pearl Harbor. (explosion) - [Announcer] The
United States of America was suddenly and
deliberately attacked by naval and air forces
of the Empire of Japan. - [Narrator] During
World War II, if 75 skiers showed up,
it was a banner day. The facilities were quickly
falling into disrepair, and the City of
Salida wanted out. So they sold it for the
princely sum of $100. - The reason that Ray
Berry bought the area for $100 from Salida was, Salida was in a damn fast
hurry to get rid of it. It was a white elephant. The Berrys came in and
said we can do this, if you could make
sure that it isn't too expensive to get
into in the first place. - [Narrator] Ray Berry owned
an auto repair shop in Salida. A perfect match to keep
that Chevy truck engine pulling skiers up Monarch
Mountain's tow rope. In the mid-1950s,
people skied Monarch for just 75 cents a day. Profits for Ray Berry were slim, but ingenuity was plentiful. - You had to use the old
coconut and get things done. You really had to find
out what was needed, and then do it yourself
because we didn't have experience to draw from. One of the things
I did there that I got a kick out of,
the snow hanging around off the edge of the
building was pretty heavy, and if one of them
fell, it could be fairly dangerous, and
the kids liked to play in that snow. Now I had a .45
automatic pistol. I just happened to have it. So I went out there
and I laid back, and I blasted away at
those things hanging down there, and
zoom, they all fell. Many times you do what's needed, you get it done if you have
to use unorthodox methods. - [John] The Berry family
were very ingenious about finding very
inexpensive labor. - They was just
really grass roots, it was a family all
coming together, and everybody working hard, and making it happen. - [Narrator] In the 50s
and 60s, Monarch Mountain was learning the ski
business by trial and error. As was the US Forest Service. - When the Forest
Service took a look at this lift, about
20-25 feet off the ground in the fall of 1939, they said
you gotta lower that chair. People fall out of it,
they gonna get killed. And then about 15-20
feet of snow fell. People who are in the
chair had their knees under their chin, and
they were getting flipped out of the chair because
there was so much snow. And the Forest Service
then had to say, you guys gotta raise that chair, you're gonna get people hurt. - In those early days,
there was only the lift. - When we first started skiing, it was the Number One, and then they built the Number Two. And then they named
them, and we never knew which was which. - [Narrator] But
Monarch regulars knew they had found their ski home. - Perfect example is
we'd leave the kids in the lodge there with
their coloring books. Be perfectly comfortable. Didn't worry about them at all, they were there, and
if something happened, somebody would
take care of them. - [Narrator] The 50s
and 60s were filled with challenges,
and one bold dare that Monarch skiers
still talk about today. The legend of Fearless Freddy. - I always wanted to be
like a downhill racer. A GS racer. I was never a bump skier. And so consequently, rather
make three turns than six. (hard rock music) - Jack Watkins, the manager here for so many years
said, well, if you're such a good skier, why don't
you shoot the Gunbarrel? Which meant go straight down it. And being young, I
said, you announce it, I'll do it. And when I came out
of the trees up there, there must have been 300 people standing on that deck,
and when I came out of the trees, I could
hear the hurrah! And it's like uh-oh, now
what're you gonna do? Well I turned 'em straight down, and Jack Watkins said it
took about 11 seconds. - When he did that,
I was on the deck, and we could not
believe that anybody was going to do that, because
he went straight down. Nobody had done it
before, and it was crazy. - [Narrator] In 1967,
Monarch Mountain was sold to Elmo
Bevington for $132,000. - Well, Elmo Bevington
hailed from Omaha, Nebraska. He was the Schlitz distributor for Council Bluffs in Omaha. So being an Omaha guy,
he dressed in red. - Elmo was a good
time, Elmo did things like you wouldn't believe. Elmo was total in
the ski party spirit. The Ski School used
to throw toga parties, and there's two rules
at every toga party. And the two rules were
no underwear, no cameras. - Entrepreneurial and
quirky is probably a kind way to describe
Elmo, but you know, he advanced the ski
area by putting in additional lifts, by
building Monarch Lodge. - [Narrator] By the
time Jerry Rogers bought Monarch Mountain in 1979, the price tag was reportedly
two and a half million dollars. The J.R. years were a time
of big fun and big spending. - One of the things Rogers did was they spent money
on advertising. (upbeat music) The Rogers era was really
good for the ski area, and it was good for
the ski area because there was a cash
flow, and we had money to do things that were
just a dream before that. - We had 65-foot
billboards on I70 and I25, and Academy Boulevard,
and Pueblo Boulevard, touting the qualities
that Monarch had. - The butterfly appeared during the Rogers era, and
it was like whoa, that looks like the Bat-Signal. - [Narrator] The Rogers
era brought new lifts, new runs, an
expanded parking lot, and a lot more skiers. But there was one problem. (record scratch) - He was a tax scammer, and so there's quite a few
stories that could be told about him, I'm not
sure if that's good for family television or not. - Jerry put a lot of
money into the place. It might've been
dirty money, but hey, that's part of our
colorful history. You know, frankly, they had
some money to hide from the IRS. So they stuck it in here. It was a colorful time,
it was interesting. He would've kept going,
except he got caught. He wasn't able to
go any further. - It was a crazy time. We were embroiled in enormous
legal battles from all sides. Federal, state, and
yet, if you look at the numbers of the
ski area, we flourished. - He ended up dying in prison, and I believe it was
December of 2014, because I remember going
up and skiing JR's Run in his memory, because JR's Run is after Jerry Rogers. We're not proud of what he did, but he's part of
our history, and we gotta keep that name. - [Narrator] During the
late 1980s and early 90s, Monarch was sold several times to rather absentee investors. The magic returned
in 2002, when a group of skiers formed
PowderMonarch, LLC. - We're the longest
tenured owners in the history of Monarch,
and we're a group of 16. There's four of us
that own about 75% of the ski area. And they wanna make this place the best-polished
gem in Colorado. - [Narrator] Part
of the mission today is sticking to Monarch's roots as a family-friendly,
inexpensive, and independent ski experience
at a true local mountain. - It is a
community-oriented area, because you get a lot of
people from Buena Vista, get a lot of people from
Salida, Colorado Springs, Cotopaxi, Gunnison. - [Charme] Pueblo,
Canyon City, all those little towns in the
Arkansas River Valley. - [Narrator] Small
town values, big snow, and even bigger
plans for the future. - There's a lot of
talk about dropping off the back side of
the Continental Divide. As best as I can tell,
that would make us the only ski area
in the United States that would traverse both sides of the Continental Divide. - [Dan] The 2019-2020
year will be the 80th anniversary of Monarch. Now if you take a
look at the ski areas in Colorado history,
you are talking about very few ski areas
that have an 80th birthday. - 80 years may not
seem like a long time. The ski industry is a
very, very young industry. You have to understand
that really skiing did not become popular
in the United States in many instances until
after World War II. - [Narrator] Though
the ski industry today is dominated by mega-resorts, independently owned Monarch
Mountain still thrives. - I really feel like the legacy of this ski area is
that it's affordable, and it's friendly,
and lots and lots of people have
learned to ski here. And lots and lots
of people continue to ski here, because
they like what's here. - I'd say the legacy of
Monarch Mountain is its charm. It's the best snow
I've found in Colorado. And trust me, I've
looked around. And this is what keeps
bringing me back, because the quality of the snow and the quality of the people. - [Narrator] Like the
butterfly it shares a name with, skiers migrate here because of the
people, the prices, and the perhaps most
of all, the abundance of fluffy, natural snow. - We get 350 inches of
snow, we don't make snow. And so our snow is
precious, our snow is great. When people ski
manmade snow versus natural snow, they can
tell the difference. And Monarch is one of
the most beautiful places in the world. You see 14,000 foot
mountains, you got the pure white snow,
you got the sunshine. And you can't beat it. - This has just
been a great place to spend the last six decades. It's been terrific. I think Monarch
has a great future. - [Narrator] Monarch
Mountain has survived the Great Depression,
a World War, and vast changes in
the ski industry. Thanks to small
town grit and a host of dedicated, and
rather colorful, owners. (inspiring music) - [Jack] It is what the
Berry family dreamed it would be someday. It's here. (upbeat music)
This is awesome thanks for sharing!
Haven't been there is years, but Monarch is where I learned to ski :)
I had no idea Monarch had such a colourful history. That was excellent, thanks for sharing!
Recently skied Monarch and was blown away. Was thigh-deep in fresh snow even after the forecast called for "No measurable precip"
I remember skiing at Monarch when i was in high school back in the 80's. My life changed forever after that.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Great series!
That’s where I learned to ride, there’s something special going on there. The people are genuine and so is the snow.