Monarch Mountain 08/09 Improvements Benefit Everyone

Published September 8, 2008 06:04PM

Monarch Mountain has been making improvements this summer that all skiers and riders will enjoy this winter. A new reservations system has been installed to make it easier for guests to purchase everything they need. Lift tickets, rental equipment, ski lessons, children’s programs and even Snowcat trips can all be reserved with one call to 888.996.7669. Reservations for most products can also be made online at

. As an incentive to purchase tickets online, an all-day adult lift ticket can be reserved for only $44; $10 off the ticket window price of $54.

Guests with reserved products will be directed to the new Will Call Center to pick up their tickets or rental and lesson vouchers. The Will Call Center is conveniently located just inside the newly remodeled Ski School/Rental Center. “We wanted to improve the morning ticketing, ski school and rental process this season” said Rich Moorhead, Monarch President. “We added a reservations call center and a will call center to streamline the process, guests will be on the mountain enjoying themselves quicker” added Moorhead.

The entire Ski School/Rental center has been remodeled. Two additional electronic kiosks have been installed to the rental registration area bringing the total to five, making it easier to purchase rental equipment. A new boot drying system has been added and the rental fleet has been expanded. New skis in both the Alpine and Telemark variety from K2, Salomon, and Volkl and snowboards from Burton have been added to the rental and demo fleets.

On the mountain the changes continue; a kid’s terrain park Tilt is new this year. Located at the bottom of the Panorama Chair Tilt will feature fun boxes, jumps, slides and hits designed for younger skiers and riders. Tilt will also be a great place for beginners to get some experience on small terrain features. Intermediate and advanced level riders will find terrain changes as well; the terrain park features from Ricochet as well as some new rails and boxes have been moved to the Aftershock terrain park. The K2 Organic terrain park will have more of the natural log features that give the run its character.

The logs being used for features on K2 are actually being cut down from the side of Sleepy Hollow which is being widened this season. “Sleepy Hallow is one of our most popular areas, widening it will make it a better run” said Moorhead. Liberty will be another good green run for beginners, located where the Ricochet terrain park was, it will be a nice wide cruiser to practice your skills.

Advanced skiers will appreciate that 200 acres of new terrain has been added to the Snowcat area. Monarch has also been very busy working with the United States Forest Service on their proposed master plan that includes lift served skiing in the No-Name Bowl. A new 24,000 gallon water storage tank has been installed for use in the day lodge; new carpet was laid in the Sidewinder Saloon and Gunbarrel Café and a little more asphalt was put down in the parking lot.

Monarch’s total investment in capital improvements for the 2008-09 season was more than $600,000.