Powderhorn Mountain Resort: Past, Present + Future
Whether you’re talking about Powderhorn Mountain Resort’s past, present or future, one common thread is woven through all three: the core mission to be accessible and affordable for all ages and abilities.
No one understands this better than Ryan Robinson, Powderhorn’s director of marketing and sales. Robinson grew up in the Grand Valley and learned to ski at Powderhorn — a tradition he now loves to enjoy with his wife and two sons.
Photos courtesy of Powderhorn Mountain Resort
Past
“Founding families such as the Sisacs and Beverlys intended from the beginning for Powderhorn to be family friendly and provide something for everyone,” shares Robinson. “It was not only their mission back in the 60s, but we continue to see multiple generations of those families up here as an example of what we value.”
Skiing on the Grand Mesa began back in the 1930s with a tow rope in the Land’s End area. Shortly after WWII, skiing reappeared at Mesa Creek when the Grand Mesa Ski Club opened a small slope, now known to locals as “Old Powderhorn” or the “tubing hill.”
Surveying of the current site on the northern edge of the Grand Mesa began in 1958, and on December 5, 1966, 1,500 people witnessed Colorado Governor John Love cut the ribbon, officially opening Powderhorn Ski Area. The ski area had six miles of runs, a double chair lift and a surface lift. In its first ski season, Powderhorn hosted 21,000 people.
Over the next 45 years, lifts were replaced and new ones installed, terrain expanded, lodging and base facilities were built and upgraded, and ownership changed hands several times. Through the bumps along the way, such as the 1982 oil shale bust, Grand Valley residents and businesses remained steadfast supporters, determined to see the ski area succeed and thrive.
Present
In the past five years, Powderhorn has seen three record-breaking years in the history of the resort, and this fall it had its most successful season-pass sale ever.
“We’ve had some wonderful owners over the years,” says Robinson. “In 2011, Andy Daly and Kent Gart purchased the resort, and it was the first time ownership focused on the mountain experience in a full-fledged way.”
They immediately invested in snow making expansion, lodging and upgrading the quad lift from a fixed grip quad to a high-speed detachable quad. The new lift not only enhanced the winter experience but made a summer season possible, because bikes could now be easily transported.
In 2018, an operating partner was brought on, Pacific Group Resorts, who had similar programs out east that Powderhorn adopted. At the same time, Powderhorn slashed their season pass prices.
“With these new owners and partners, there has been really good synergy for a lot of growth in recent years,” explains Robinson. “The original founders had vision and were forward thinking in development and growth on the winter side, but I don’t think they anticipated the summer side and the growth of downhill mountain biking and so many other things that no one could have anticipated.”
When the downhill bike park opened in 2016, Powderhorn truly became a two-season model. Your mountain bike precedes you on the Flat Top Flyer high speed detachable quad, and once you catch up to it, it’s all downhill from there on numerous, multi-level biking trails.
Popularity of the park has been given a huge world-wide bump in awareness with the completion of the 32-mile, expert level Palisade Plunge bike trail. Destination people coming to ride the Plunge are also using Powderhorn’s bike park, lodging and other amenities.
Brilliantly, Powderhorn has taken advantage of the opportunity by building the 1.4-mile Rim View Connector Trail, which allows intermediate riders a 17-mile, 2,500 vertical option from the Palisade Plunge trailhead. A summer-long shuttle service helps make this ride a reality.
It’s exciting to note the Rim View Connector Trail and the new snowmaking pipeline to Andersen Reservoir share the same route, for the most part, to minimize environmental impact.
“We operate the resort on a special use permit from the United States Forest Service, so it’s not ours,” says Robinson. “We are tasked with being good stewards of the forest up here, and it’s important to demonstrate we’re taking good care of it.”
With the new snowmaking infrastructure complete, it’s the first time in the resort’s history that they have been able to make snow top to bottom.
“It’s very, very rare and unique that our system is gravity fed, since we are on a mesa with water above us,” adds Robinson. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of another resort that uses gravity. They do top to bottom snowmaking by pumping water up the hill from a base area.”
Gravity fed snowmaking is incredibly energy efficient when you take out the pumping process. Once snowcat machines move the guns into place, they are automated from a central shop location.
“We like to remind folks the water we use for snowmaking doesn’t get used up,” says Robinson. “We store it for the winter and it comes off the hill and feeds the valley just as a rainstorm would.”
Powderhorn touts a large range of events throughout the year and is a picturesque location for weddings. From “Gears and Beers” to CMU collegiate ski and bike races to charity events and live music, winter Olympic games modified for kids, terrain park events and the most popular event of the year — the New Year’s Eve torch light parade and fireworks show — Powderhorn has something for everyone.
And, that includes lodging. Powderhorn is going into is third season of the tiny home project — six units just 50 feet from the base of the quad lift. The tiny homes are built in a pod with a central après ski area, fire pit, yard games and Adirondack chairs.
“A big fancy hotel is just not us,” states Robinson. “Tiny homes are a great fit and have done exceptionally well.”
Three years ago, Powderhorn started the Bob Beverly Free Learn to Ski or Ride Program, including both snowboarding and skiing. If you have never skied before, your first three days of tickets, lessons and rental equipment are totally free. Discounted Rossignal equipment and a $69 pass for the remainder of the season are then available. The second, or sophomore, year a season pass is just $179.
“The idea is that we want to make new skiers,” explains Robinson. “We know the barriers can be cost and the perception of difficulty, so by eliminating those barriers, we offer a program that is grounded in our mission of affordability and accessibility.”
Colorado Discoverability has recently expanded their main headquarters in Grand Junction in a working space provided by Powderhorn.
“They have been an outstanding volunteer-based partner for many years, offering a method of access for a group of folks that we may not otherwise be able to accommodate,” shares Robinson.
Because so much has changed at Powderhorn over the past five years, the evolution induced rebranding included a visual change with a new logo. True to Powderhorn’s respect for its history, the powder-horn icon remains central.
Future
Future plans include snowmaking laterals, bike trail expansion, the addition of many more tiny homes and other alternative lodging concepts, such as camping platforms and RV hookups, and the ongoing conversation about shoulder seasons.
“Almost as important as what will change is what won’t change,” says Robinson. “We still have an important mission the founders set: to create a family friendly environment, that is affordable, accessible and beneficial to the Grand Valley.”
Originally published in the Winter 2021-22 issue of Spoke+Blossom.