Monarch Mountain Shares Future Plans, Including New Chairlifts

The new Master Development Plan (MDP) for Monarch Mountain, a homey ski area in western Colorado, has been accepted by the Forest Service, offering a glimpse of how Monarch Mountain’s future could look, including prospective new lifts and other improvements.

The Forest Service requires ski areas that operate on its land to submit these documents. While they include proposed projects, they don’t officially approve them. Instead, each must still go through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review before moving forward.

Regardless, it’s fun to see how Monarch Mountain envisions the next ten to 15 years. 

To skiers, the most obvious change would be the eventual replacement of several chairlifts. Aside from one that wasinstalled in 2025, the Tomichi, all range from about 30 to almost 60 years old. Four lifts—Breezeway, Garfield, Tumbelina, and Panorama—were built by Hall Ski Lift Company, which is no longer in operation. According to the MDP, this makes finding replacement parts increasingly difficult, complicating maintenance. 

The MDP includes plans to replace Breezeway, Garfield, Tumbelina, Panorama, and Pioneer with detachable or fixed-grip lifts, some of which would be quads. This is almost the entirety of Monarch Mountain’s chairlift fleet. 

“Many chairlift upgrades in this plan are outlined within the analyses as detachable lifts, but they may be constructed as fixed-grip lifts or with lower hourly capacities depending on demand and market conditions,” the MDP noted.

Beyond the replacements, Monarch Mountain would build some brand-new chairlifts.

The first, now called the Divide Express, would be a detachable quad that starts at the base area and deposits skiers on the ridge, south of the Panorama upper terminal.

“This will relieve pressure on other base area lifts and remove the need to ride two chairlifts to access the top of the ridge,” the MDP read. “Because it is a detachable lift, it will expand opportunities for summer uses like scenic lift rides or events at the top.”

The second would be built in the No Name Basin area, which first became lift-served by the Tomichi lift this past winter. Called No Name Basin 2 in the MDP (or Tomichi II), this lift is meant to “provide redundancy to and reduce pressure on the existing Tomichi lift,” according to the document. 

The MDP outlined when these lifts could be built in phases. The first few could get underway in phase two, four to eight years from now. The next lifts, including No Name Basin 2, fall under phase three, which has a nine-plus-year time window. 

“Each phase and the overall structure of the phasing plan may change based on social and economic factors such as capital, industry trends, manufacturer and vendor workloads, and guest experience needs,” the MDP clarified. “For example, a Phase 1 project could be delayed to Phase 2 and a Phase 2 project moved into Phase 1.”

Outside of the lifts, the MDP offers a slew of other upgrades, including expanded parking, trail grading, a Nordic center, and more. 

Long-time fans of Monarch Mountain may also notice that the MDP includes plans for snowmaking. As of now, Monarch Mountain doesn’t use snowmaking and, if possible, doesn’t intend to in the future. Still, the ski area wanted to keep the possibility open.

“The resort has never implemented snowmaking and continues to believe natural snow delivers the best possible skiing experience,” an email from Monarch Mountain explained. “Its inclusion in the plan is intended solely to cover all long-term planning scenarios, and Monarch will not pursue it unless conditions leave no other option.”

To view the complete MDP, click here.

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