wolf creek ski area

falling snow in the mountains can generate two opposing emotions in Front Range skiers and snowboarders: elation that another season of steep slopes, knee-torquing bumps and fresh powder is at hand ... and dread at the prospect of going broke to indulge in a sport that seems to get more and more expensive each year.

It's not just that the gear is pricey―if it's well-kept, big-ticket expenses like new boots or boards can be kept to once-every-few years occurences―but the costs of lift tickets, gas to the mountains, food and lodging quickly add up to high-roller amounts that can suck dry many bank accounts over the course of a ski season.

It wasn't always so. There was once a time when a cheeseburger and fries from the lodge at the base of the mountain didn't cost an arm and a leg. Lift tickets were reasonably priced, and high-speed quads were something of a dream. This is reminiscent of Colorado's ski areas of yesteryear―the era before the big industry boom of the 1960s and '70s.

Many of these areas were intimate, family-owned entities where the runs weren't necessarily all that long, but neither were the lift lines. The vast majority of these areas have ceased operations, and now simply consist of abandoned, rusting lifts hanging above runs overgrown with saplings. In fact, Colorado is home to no fewer than 140 dormant ski areas, according to ColoradoSkiHistory.com.

The mom-and-pop hills long ago fell prey to the mega-corporate ski "experience" embodied by the likes of Aspen and Vail resorts. While these areas boast some of the best terrain in the United States ― as well as all the trappings, like gourmet food, high-speed lifts and slope-side wine bars ― they're also among the most expensive in the state. At Vail, a three day pass to ski between Dec. 23 and Jan. 5 is $267.

A select few of the no-frills slopes remain though, offering the skier and boarder an experience unequaled by the mega-resorts that dot the map in Colorado's central Rocky Mountain region.

"It's definitely grown huge," said Andrew Snyder, 60, a skier from Denver. "When Vail opened when I was in high school, lift tickets were $5 and they had only three lifts. Eldora opened that same year with only a couple of T-bars."

Eldora is the closest area in proximity to Fort Collins that resembles an intimate, family-owned ski area even though it's no longer owned by a single family―it was run by the Ertles for 20 years and was even operated by Vail Associates for awhile in the late '80s. Now it is owned by a three-family partnership and still maintains its low-key charm by offering generally uncrowded slopes, an absence of lift lines and the satisfaction of not having to deal with the traffic of I-70.

Eldora opened for business in the winter of 1962/63 and was the first ski area in Colorado to feature snowmaking capabilities, which came online in 1968. It prospered in the first 17 years of operation until the second bore of the Eisenhower Tunnel was completed in 1979. Eldora then saw its skier traffic head for Summit County and Vail Valley ski areas. Business at the small mountain diminished drastically in the '80s and it didn't even open for the 1988/89 season.

Eldora may have gone the way of many of the state's other more modest resorts if it weren't for the ironic twist that I-70 proved too popular. Rather than having its slopes reclaimed by nature, it's recently seen a boom in business, thanks to those who've had enough with the I-70 congestion.

Now, Eldora has lowered the cost of season passes and more people are flocking to Eldora these days than ever before. But Eldora Marketing Director Rob Lynde said it's not solely because of convenience and relatively lower costs―it has to do with a vibe that was lost long ago at the big resorts.

"We've got enough mega-resorts," Lynde said. "We have a certain vibe; a certain flavor here that the conglomerates can't match. It has some heart and soul to it. It's a little more authentic, a little more real."

Eldora's is a rare story; most smaller areas that weren't able to expand and grow in order to keep up with the Aspens of the world are nothing more than fond memories of skiers now entering middle age.

For example, Hidden Valley/Ski Estes Park was the nearest ski area to Fort Collins until its closure after the 1990/1991 season. Located on Trail Ridge Road within Rocky Mountain National Park, this "lost" area was closed due to disagreements between the city of Loveland and the National Park Service over financing. Originally opened in 1955, it was a popular ski destination among the locals long before lifts were installed.

When the area was enclosed by the national park, the Park Service removed the double chair lift that connected the base to the upper mountain T-bar, returned to the shuttle bus system of years' past. The park claimed it was a safety issue, but many believed the park never wanted the ski area there in the first place.

"The lift tickets were cheap and the upper bowl offered some steep, challenging terrain," said Sheryl McGruden, a veteran skier from Fort Collins. "There was always enough snow to ski the area even after the lifts had shut down for the season, and with 2,000 feet of vert, it was really a great, close ski area. I had a ski class at CSU that would meet at Hidden Valley once a week."

But eventually all the lifts were sold off at Hidden Valley/Ski Estes Park and the lodge at the base was demolished, leaving no hope that the ski area would ever reopen.

"That was a great area," Snyder said. "It kinda reminded me of a Wolf Creek-type setting. It was small, had its own unique charm, and the terrain was phenomenal."

Wolf Creek, in fact, is a good example of the challenges facing smaller resorts as they deal with their individual identity crises―the question for many is whether to go big, or go homely.

Wolf Creek has been one of Colorado's longest running ski resorts. Established in 1939/40, it has been under the ownership of the Pitcher family since 1976 and proudly lives up to its trademarked boast year after year of having the most snow in Colorado with an annual 400-plus inches of accumulation. Located on Wolf Creek Pass on Highway160 in Southern Colorado, the area is a favorite destination for out-of-town skiers from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as hard-core skiers and boarders who take advantage of the diverse terrain that includes some of the best glades and off-piste skiing and riding in the state.

Six years ago Texas billionaire business tycoon, Red McCombs―the former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Vikings, and cofounder of Clear Channel Communications―proposed a massive development that could potentially house up to 10,000 people on the ski area's land, causing a major uproar in the surrounding communities of Pagosa Springs and South Fork. McCombs acquired the land during a 1989 exchange with the National Forest Service. The trade was originally denied by the Rio Grande National Forest as not being in the public's best interest. Two weeks later an order issued from the Forest Service headquarters in Washington D.C. overturned the local agency and allowed the exchange to take place.

"This is a ridiculous proposal," said Jeff Berman, executive director of Colorado Wild, a group that works to protect wildlife habitat in the high country. "Trying to put a city half the size of Durango on less than 300 acres, at 10,300 feet and at the snowiest place in Colorado makes no sense. Besides the obvious environmental impacts, such a ridiculous development would steer away most skiers who go to Wolf Creek precisely because it's not Vail."

Owner Davey Pitcher, son of Kingsbury Pitcher, who bought the bankrupt ski area back in the mid-70s, commented about the development in the Denver Post saying, "A small development might be good for Wolf Creek, but there's no room for bringing 10,000 people into a near-pristine area backing up to the South San Juan Wilderness Area."

McCombs and the Pitcher family are currently in litigation over the proposal and the future of the area's expansion remains unclear.

In 1981 the last new ski area in Colorado materialized in scenic Cuchara on the Highway of Legends in the south-central region of the state. The original developers of the resort had seen how ski areas had transformed from local community areas to plastic fantasy lands characterized by corporate ownership, technological advances, developed landscapes, and an international clientele.

They wanted to get back to the basics of no-frills skiing.

It was bad timing, however, because the new area opened at the end of an era for Colorado skiing. As the industry rapidly expanded, it came into dispute with the government's wishes to protect its resources and environmentalists who were upset over vanishing wilderness. Consequently, during the mid-'70s, the federal government's role in development of new ski areas moved from promotion to restriction. By the time the '80s rolled around, permits to develop new areas were practically impossible to obtain; the one exception was Panadero/Cuchara, which turned out to be a complete bust.

With the exception of the 1997/98 season, which saw a blizzard dump a significant amount of snow on the area, allowing it to open early, the 250-acre, 1,563-foot-drop Panadero/Cuchara ski area continually lost business. Since then, its ownership and operation changed hands eight times. The current proprietor is a Texas oilman.

"The owner thinks he's sittin' on a $50 million piece of property, when it's only worth $5 million at that," said Bob White, the owner of Dakota Duke's general store in Cuchara. "The guy doesn't know how to run a ski area, but I have confidence that it will open again. This isn't your ritzy, high-dollar type of place; it's just a nice family resort."

The town of Cuchara is virtually a ghost town in the winter since the slopes' closure in 2000. Lack of significant snowfall was probably the primary reason it went under, but those like White cite ownership problems. The location didn't help much either, distanced as it is from a major population base, and it was often overlooked by out-of-state skiers.

For the few non-corporate entities left, being in the ski business can be risky, just like being a mom-and-pop-owned general store down the street from a Wal-Mart can be. But many of these closed ski areas cannot entirely blame the mega-resorts for their demise. Lack of snow, a small population base, poor management, and the rising costs of forest service permits are among a handful of other reasons that come into play. For now, those few that have hung on make ski season at least somewhat more affordable than the alternative.
to 5 feet of snow is expected to fall in Colorado's mountains this weekend, and the lowlands are expected to see a wintry mix including freezing rain that could turn roads into skating rinks this morning in Colorado Springs.

A major winter storm is heading up from the Southwest, and the National Weather Service forecasters predict that south-facing slopes in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado could see 5 feet of snow by tonight.

Other parts of the San Juans could get up to 3 feet, and 55 mph wind gusts could make travel treacherous through the weekend. Four feet of snow is expected at Wolf Creek Pass, with whiteout conditions likely, forecasters said.

Other expected snow totals are 1 to 3 feet in the central mountains, including the Sawatch and Mosquito ranges, 6 to 12 inches in the Sangre de Cristos, and 7 inches in Summit County.

The heavy snow isn't expected to make it to Colorado Springs, though a mix of freezing rain, snow and sleet could make for dangerous travel in El Paso County tonight through this morning. It is expected to begin falling after midnight.

High temperatures ― a high of 56 degrees is forecast for daytime Saturday ― should quickly clear the roads here, though forecasters say Teller County could have continuing snow.

The National Weather Service recommends anyone traveling in Colorado today to avoid the southwest part of the state while the snow is flying.

The snow is expected to taper off by tonight, and the thick blanket of powder could make for excellent ski conditions at resorts that have been thirsting for snow.

But windy conditions Sunday mean many roads and mountain passes could be snow-covered.

To the east, high winds and light snow accumulations ― an inch or less ― are expected.