Remembering the Blue Mountain Ski Resort.

In 2016, the National Forest Service removed the last remnants of the ski lift, rails and lodge from the old Blue Mountain Ski Resort. Recently an article came out in The Salt Lake Tribune, written by veteran reporter, Tom Wharton: http://www.sltrib.com/home/4914696-155/whatever-happened-to-blue-mountain
Happily, via personal email and phone calls, I assisted Mr. Wharton in gaining information, and photographs, for his story.  So, in his article he wrote that I was a "San Juan County historian" when, in fact, I am more of a historical researcher.  This is a common feature in my travel and food blog posts, as well as my articles that appear in the San Juan Record; San Juan County's local weekly newspaper.

 

Oh, one more correction to the SLTribune article; Dave Krouskop is the retired manager of the Monticello Welcome Center, not the ski resort.  Luckily I was able to talk to Dave, who agreed to fill me in on the resort's history; and I did make him aware that this information was for a newspaper up in Salt Lake.  Dave remembers his sons complaining that the novice area (bunny slope) wasn't very steep; but many were concerned that "hotdoggers" would shoot across from the lodge to get to the steeper slopes.  Thankfully no accidents ever occurred; and happily, folks on Facebook wrote about their memories of the resort, ski lessons and the fun they had.  Unfortunately, no photographs of those good times to add to fond remembrances.

 

The resort had a small lodge with a fireplace; on the deck, food would be grilled on the outdoor barbeque; hot beverages were served for those needing a warm up.  Sadly, the resort closed its doors in 1990; Gene Shafer  (born 1931 - died 2011) was the man, not only in charge, but the maintenance crew as well.  His motto was, "If you can ski Blue Mountain, you can ski anywhere!", as these were the steepest slopes in Utah!

 

Several factors contributed to the closing of the resort; several winters seasons of slim to none snow fall; maintenance, licensing, inspection and insurance costs were high.  No snow meant no skiers, no skiers meant very little funding to offset all those costs.  In 2005, Ray Grass, of Deseret News, did an article on Utah ski resorts which became defunct, and Blue Mountain was featured: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600124184/Resorts-that-didnt-quite-make-it.html

 



The only remaining features to show that the resort existed are the road up to it, and the parking lot.  In 2013, Jared Hargrave wrote an article for UtahOutside.com: http://www.utahoutside.com/2013/12/backcountry-skiing-the-abajo-mountains/  Look back at the photo of the three male skiers; now the same area is popular for snowboarders.

 

 

 

Of course there is the Ski Resort Poster that resides in the Frontier Museum, attached to the Monticello Welcome Center (216 South Main Street, Monticello, Utah, 84535); but nowadays memories, in the minds of those who skied at Blue Mountain, will remain far longer.

Personally I have no memories to share about the resort, as we didn't move to San Juan County until 2009. Then again, I'm not a skier; the idea of kissing a tree while speeding down a snowy slope...no, not for me.  I'll stick to hanging off ledges, and climbing up red rock walls without equipment; that's enough of a thrill.

 

Mary Cokenour

A Winter Gallivant Along State Highway 95.

Between Dec 23, 2015, and the first week of January, 2016; San Juan County was slammed with winter storms; where I live, in Monticello, got about 4 feet.  No area was spared, not even Monument Valley which is usually much warmer than the rest of the county.  So it was no surprise that, as soon as main roadways were finally cleared and clean, Roy and I would get out of the house to go joyriding.  First we stopped in at Patio Drive-In to pick up lunch which we happily munched driving along State Highway 95.




As we turned onto the highway, we became surrounded by cloud cover; we could see easily down the pavement, but the landscape was not as discernible.  Snow and frost covered trees, bushes and tall grasses; we were traveling through a mysterious, arctic wonderland.

Between Mile Mark 116 and 117.

Traveling Westward.

Snow streaked Comb Ridge loomed starkly against the grayish-white sky; as we drove through the pass, we noticed more current rock fall.

Looking Back Eastward.

Entrance to Lower Arch Canyon.

The various canyons along the way were heavily laden with snow; icicles hanging from tree branches.

It wasn't until we'd passed Natural Bridges, Cedar Mesa/Grand Gulch, the Abajo Mountains, and hit open range again that we found ourselves surrounded by sunny, clear sky; instead of being shrouded in clouds.

Moss Back Butte in the distance (right).

Moss Back Butte

White Canyon was barely recognizable with the snow lying within it; we couldn't even make out the slickrock, embedded with crystals, we enjoy walking upon.

Looking back, Bears Ears were more discernible; it's only at certain points that their similarity to actual bear ears can be made out.

Continuing westward, The Cheesebox, Jacob's Chair and the Henry Mountains were slowly coming into viewing range.  We drove as far as Cheesebox Canyon when we noticed the gas gauge was at the halfway mark.  Decision making time; did we have enough gas to get us to Hanksville, or turn around and head back to Blanding?  As adventurous as we are with exploring, hiking and climbing; running out of gas was not on our to-do list, so back to Blanding we went.

Cheesebox, Cheesebox Canyon

Cheesebox; Lone Butte in background.



Henry Mountains.

On the way back, we saw another snow laden canyon looking so beautiful in the sunlight. 

Closer towards Blanding, Sleeping Ute Mountain appeared; the body of the Ute Chief floating upon a bed of clouds.

Even though Southeastern Utah is classified primarily as a desert area, do not be fooled; it does go through all four seasons. So, if you come out here, in the winter, expecting to traipse around in shorts, tank top and flip flops....SURPRISE!!!  Yeah, that would be a big NO!!!

Mary Cokenour

San Juan County in Spring and Yes, it is Snowing.

Living on the east coast, the heat would be turned on October 15th and not turned off until April 15th; pretty standard and hardly ever deviated. Well this isn't the east coast anymore and living in the southwest makes you stay on your toes. When it comes to the weather, don't ever believe you can set your seasonal clock by it. Since March 20th, the official start of spring, we have had days up into the 70s here in Monticello; 80s in the more desert areas such as Moab (located in Grand County), Blanding and Monument Valley. Just as you believe you can finally turn the heat off, say hello to the snow. Yes, I did indeed say the "s" word!

Let me give you a prime example; the last week of April the temperatures in Monticello had been anywhere in the 60s and reaching 70 a couple of times.  On April 27th, Roy and I got up early so we could head out to Moab and have brunch at the Cowboy Grill at the Red Cliffs Lodge.  Holy Moly, who turned on the freezer!  Not only was it extremely cold outside, but an inch of snow covered our vehicles, lawn, walkway, street, everything.  We had just put away our thermal jackets and here we were pulling them out again.

On the way down Peters Hill, we had to stop and take photos; the snow, sun, shadows, clouds all painted an absolutely beautiful portrait of the valley below.

At the bottom of the hill, Dry Valley was a winter wonderland\; the play of shadows over the mesa tops and Church Rock was spectacular.



Church Rock

Dry Valley

Driving towards Lisbon Valley Road, the landscape and sky were so stark, we could see all the way to Big Indian (pillar formation).

Lisbon Valley Road

I couldn't resist this shot, most especially because of the gorgeous blue sky.

By the time we reached Red Cliffs Lodge, had brunch and returned (about 4 hours), the snow was almost gone and the temperature had warmed up a bit.  We then did our trek down Montezuma Canyon Road to map out the sites.  About halfway down, we were considerably warmer to the point of removing our jackets.  The temperatures though remained in the 50s until about Friday and the 70s are back again; except we're expecting snow in about two days.  Welcome to San Juan County in Spring.

Mary Cokenour

The Mystery of Mesa Verde's Winter.

 

Point Lookout

The day we visited Mesa Verde in February of 2012, it was a spur of the moment event.  We were actually on our way to visit Roy's family in Farmington, New Mexico, but Mesa Verde decided to call and offer an invite we couldn't resist.  The clouds in the sky warned of a storm to come as they moved along the top of the mesas, white snow intensified the red of the sandstone; it looked mysterious and wondrous at the same time.  Next thing we knew, we exited Route 160, showed our National Park pass at the guard booth, and up the steep incline we began.  Yes, we do this type of spontaneous adventuring; that's why we always have bottled water, bags of snacks, cameras, charged cellphones and a full tank of gas at all times.  Many of the areas you will recognize from when I did a post of Mesa Verde in the fall season; cloudy skies and snow give them a whole new look.  This gave us the eventual idea to go back each season and take photos to record the changes.

 

 

                                                                                  We stopped at the first viewing area which is of the Mancos Valley; the Rocky Mountains in the distance were snowed covered and majestic; then again, when aren't the Rockies majestic?

 

 

The Mancos Valley

 

 

 

 

Past the Park Place Lookout, there will be a smaller viewing area of Montezuma Valley; usually you can see "forever" from here, but not on this stormy day.

 

 

At that time, the Visitor Center was still at Far View which is 15 miles within the Park; now it has been rebuilt and sits at the entrance to the Park which is much more convenient.  Even though it was closed, there was a very good reason to stop in the area; the view of Shiprock in the distance.  Even though we were in Colorado, just off Route 160, there was Shiprock which is located in New Mexico; to the ancient Puebloans that had lived in Mesa Verde, this must have been a beacon for them.

 

 

Canyon at Square Tower House Ruins

Canyon at the Sun Temple Ruins

Even though you're probably there to see the ruins, make sure to take a good look at the surrounding canyons.  Gorgeous in good weather, and just as breath taking blanketed in snowfall; the landscaping near the display areas of Pueblo homes and Kivas is amazing; yucca plants normally in the desert pushing their green points up through the snow. 

 

Ruins, Ruins, Ruins is what you must be chanting by now; patience grasshopper as you must appreciate on the outside what surrounds the inside.  Within the landscapes of Mesa Verde are the ancient ruins of a long gone people; as beautiful as the area is, the cold and snow of winter are harsh to live within.  Now, some of the ruins of Mesa Verde...

 

The Sun Temple

 

 

 

The Fire Temple

 



 

Oak Tree House

 

 

 

Sunset House

 

 

 

...and the set of ruins that is most publicized, The Cliff Palace.  During the winter months, the Cliff Palace is closed for the guided tours, but you are still able to view it from the upper roadway.

 

 

 

We did make it to Farmington to spend time with his family; leaving after dinner, the snow began falling there.  It got heavier as we traveled along the La Plata Highway and landed right in the middle of "white out" conditions by the time we reached Route 160 again.  Luckily, we ended up behind a snowplow and followed it down the mountains and into the Mancos Valley which was much clearer.

 

I was able to get this one night time shot as we passed by Mesa Verde; not the best of the best, but I love the eerie nature of it.  I posted it on Facebook, and our friend, Jeffrey, wrote this about it, "Twilight falls on the dusty windswept plains. The fear in this place is a palpable thing as a mournful howl fills the night air. The mists roll in and a frosty chill settles."

 

 

Mary Cokenour