Our Mountain

We moved to Colorado 6 years ago, Pueblo is where we call home.  I grew up skiing off and on at Winter Park before attending school in Utah.  It was in Utah where I found my love for skiing.  I spent most days at Sundance and occasional trips to Alta, Snowbird, and Brighton.  We moved to New York where we found a completely different type of skiing, one that we didn't really enjoy.  Too much ice and not enough steeps caused us to spend our winters indoors.  Upon moving to Pueblo we began our search for a mountain where we could raise our kids in the winter.  As we searched we decided to try the closest to our home, Monarch Mountain.

We immediately fell in love.  Monarch has a very small mountain, family friendly appeal.  There are no high speed quads, no fancy restaurants at the base, but what it lacks in these areas it makes up for in friendliness, no lift lines, and the happiest staff you'll ever encounter.  We started our kids in ski lessons, both private and group, and were impressed with how well the teachers connected with our kids.  They have an onsite child care program which we use when it's a powder day and we just need to play.  Now our oldest is 9 and able to spend powder days with us.  For the more adventurous and expert skier, Mirkwood Basin is a fantastic area to push the limits.  A hike-to area only so fresh tracks can be found days after a storm.  If you time it right, you can catch a free ride with a snowcat, which saves the legs from hiking.

When you have five boys ranging from 9 years old to 1 year old it's tough to get away for a day to ski.  We have all gone up together but it involves one parent staying inside the lodge and entertaining the youngest two, not fun for an entire day. Most days either my wife or I take up the oldest three, leaving early in the morning and returning home around 5.  While it is time away from each other, my wife and I both know that the memories we make with the boys will last them a lifetime.  As I share our adventures with others I'm constantly asked "how do you guys find the time to do all that you do?"  The answer is that we make certain activities a priority and if it means we are creating memories then there may be some sacrifices involved.  We keep the end goal in mind, which in this case is four years from now, all of the boys able to ski together.  Between then and now things may not be optimal as my wife and I spend Saturday's away from each other but the boys sure do have a fantastic time shredding up the mountain.

This last Saturday was nice because my wife, oldest son and I spent the day hootin' and hollerin' as we bombed down wide open runs and spent little time in lift lines.  My mother was in town so she watched the four younger boys (thanks Nana!).  Monarch makes it possible to actually ski all day, not wait in lift lines.  Though I hesitate to share the greatness that is Monarch because I don't ever want it to get busier, I feel that we have to share how great of a mountain it is. We truly feel that it is our mountain.  

#monarchmountain #daysthatcount  

Our Session Sheet on Saturday.  Trace Snow is a super cool app that tracks your runs and summarizes your day.