The Snow Fences That Decide When Monarch's No Name Basin Opens This Winter

"We'll see you again on the backside next winter!" Scott Pressly wrote on March 22, 2026, the day Monarch Mountain closed No Name Basin for the season. In the same post he admitted it "was not the banner year we had hoped for." He called it "a heroic effort to get this project approved, built, and opened during the low tide winter of 2025/26."

That means the coming winter is the basin's first real season. Last year was a preview of less than eight weeks. When this winter starts depends on something Monarch can't schedule. The mountain makes no snow, so the Tomichi chair starts turning when wind and snow fences have piled up enough natural snow on the west side of the Divide.

Eight weeks on the backside, in a 112-inch winter

Here is how short the first season was:

The snowfall makes those dates look less like bad planning and more like good luck. SAM Magazine reported that Monarch got through 2025-26 on 112 inches of snow, less than a third of its annual average. The whole state had a bad year. The Colorado Sun reported that Colorado skier visits fell 24% to 10.5 million. In a winter like that, a brand-new basin running from late January to late March is a real result, even if it fell short of what the project was built for.

How a mountain with no snowmaking kept most of its terrain open

Monarch does no snowmaking at all. SAM Magazine described the mountain as relying "entirely on capturing natural snowfall to open and operate." Its answer is snow farming. Permanent wooden snow fences line the ridgelines and wind corridors. In lean years the crews add portable fencing wherever drifting snow collects. Snowcats then push the captured snow onto the trails.

Last winter Monarch went well past its usual setup. When early forecasts looked bad, it bought every temporary snow fence it could find locally. That was about 50 extra sections, each roughly 4 feet tall and 50 feet long, all set out before the December holidays. As the dry spell continued, the team built 30 more movable fences in-house. Those are 15 to 18 feet wide and 8 to 10 feet tall, and a snowcat can carry them. "We can pick them up with forks on the blade, and move them where we want," general manager Chris Haggerty told SAM. Before storms, ski patrol leads what the staff call "fence parties." "Everybody in mountain ops is out there putting them up," Haggerty said.

On the front side, it worked. By Dec. 22, when most Colorado ski areas had barely opened, Monarch had more than 50 trails running. From the holidays on, it kept 85 to 90 percent of its terrain open.

No Name Basin was in the missing 10 to 15 percent for a month after that. Colorado Public Radio reported on Jan. 8 that most of the mountain was open but the basin was not, and that its opening depended on snow conditions because Monarch doesn't make its own. It took a storm to finish the job. Monarch's Jan. 26 opening notice credited "the most recent storm" for letting the snowcat operators, patrollers and lift crews prepare the terrain. SAM credited snow farming with getting the basin open at all.

Monarch has never published how much snow the basin needs to open, so there's no threshold to track. What is known is the process. Fences catch the wind-blown snow, snowcats spread it, and a storm finishes the job.

What the fences are working toward

The terrain is on the Gunnison side of the Continental Divide, behind the Breezeway lift. You reach it from Breezeway or Panorama, and the top of the new lift sits next to the top of Shagnasty. On opening day, entry ran through a single gate near the Tomichi top terminal starting at 9:30 a.m., and more entry points opened at 10. Runs drop to the bottom of the Tomichi lift, and you ride the chair back up.

The Tomichi is a fixed-grip triple built by Skytrac. Project reporting puts it at about 2,700 feet long with 960 feet of vertical, which Monarch rounds to 1,000. CPR reported it was Monarch's first new chairlift since 1999. According to Monarch's website, the name "is believed to be a Ute word meaning of rocks and water."

"It has a totally different feel than the front side of the mountain. You're looking out at the Gunnison Valley and you don't see the highway, you don't see the base area and it's just a more quiet experience and really neat terrain." Scott Pressly, speaking to Colorado Public Radio in January 2026

Monarch describes the basin as intermediate to advanced, with bowls, glades, fall-line runs and a mix of groomed, bumped and off-piste skiing. It lists no beginner terrain back there. The conditions page names the runs Ambush, Bonanza, Eureka, Mule Train, Prospector, Riches, Snowblind, Wapiti, Buckhorn, North Star Glades, Sunset Glades and White Pine. That roster has 12 names. CPR also reported a dozen, but Monarch's own history page says the expansion added ten trails.

The size depends on how you measure it. Monarch markets 377 new acres and a skiable-area increase of more than 50 percent. The Forest Service describes a 377-acre expansion of the permit boundary that contains 139 acres of new terrain. Either way, every one of those acres depends on the same snow-farming crews.

What is still unconfirmed on October 5

A few things a local skier would want to plan around haven't been announced yet:

• Opening day for the mountain. As of Oct. 2, Monarch had not set an official 2026-27 opening date. CPR passed along OnTheSnow's projection of Dec. 3, 2026, which is a forecast and not a resort date.
• Opening day for No Name Basin. Nothing has been published. Last year the basin opened more than a month after the front side was mostly running.
• Basin amenities. The approved project includes a warming hut, restrooms at the bottom of the Tomichi and a bigger ski-patrol outpost. We couldn't confirm whether any of them were finished and ready for this season.
• Early snowfall outlook for Monarch Pass. We haven't found any forecast specific to the pass for this winter yet.

The plan that keeps snowmaking on paper only

The biggest change since March is a long-range plan, not a new lift. In July, Monarch announced that the National Forest Service had accepted its 2025 Master Development Plan. The plan includes expanded parking, lift upgrades and new lifts. It also proposes buildings at Pano Flats, Paradise Lot and the top of Pano, plus replacements for the Rental and Lesson Center, Patrol Headquarters and Lift Maintenance Shop. Monarch is careful about the wording. The plan covers 10 to 15 years, it is "accepted" rather than "approved," and every project still needs its own NEPA review. None of it has a construction date for this winter.

Snowmaking appears in the plan too, and Monarch addressed it head-on. The resort wrote that it "is committed to remaining 100% all natural." It says snowmaking appears "to cover all bases," and that nothing will be built "unless Mother Nature gives us no other choice." Zach Moore, director of strategy and safety, put it this way: "We are committed to keeping the soul of Monarch alive." So this winter, the fences and snowcats are still the only way the basin gets its snow.

The people running that system have changed. In May, Pressly announced he was stepping down as director of mountain operations after 27 years. B.L. Holdinghaus took over mountain operations, Moore moved into strategy and safety, and Malcolm Wilber took on operations that include parking and shuttles. Ownership hasn't changed. Monarch's history page still lists PowderMonarch, LLC as the owner since 2002 and describes the mountain as independently owned.

The one date you can count on

The snow is out of anyone's control, but the pass deadline is fixed. Monarch's 2026-27 prices are good through 11/30/26, which is eight weeks from today.

• Full-benefit renewal: $639 adult, $379 youth, $489 senior
• New full-benefit pass: $659 adult, $399 youth, $529 senior
• Monarch Only, no partner resorts: $549 adult, $329 youth, $429 senior
• Week-Day: $489 adult, $299 youth, $359 senior
• Children 6 and under and super seniors 69 and older: $25

Passholders get unlimited skiing with no reservations and a free uphill pass. There's also a list of discounts at businesses around the valley, including 15% off for up to four diners at Pizza Rio during the 2026/27 season and 10% off Anupa IV services in Salida or Buena Vista. The perks come with the pass. You don't need to live in the county to use them. A renewing adult who buys before the cutoff pays $20 less than a new buyer of the same full-benefit pass.

Following the snow on Monarch Pass is part of living in the Arkansas Valley, and so is knowing which properties put you closest to the backside of the Divide on a powder morning. If you're weighing a home around Salida, Poncha Springs or Buena Vista with winter at Monarch in mind, The Kersting Team knows how that drive works in every season. Work With Julie.