Echo Mountain Park
| Echo Mountain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Clear Creek County, Colorado, USA |
| Nearest city | Evergreen, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 39°41′6″N 105°31′10″W / 39.68500°N 105.51944°W |
| Vertical | 600 ft (180 m). |
| Top elevation | 10,650 ft (3,250 m). |
| Base elevation | 10,050 ft (3,060 m). |
| Runs |
13 total - 3 easiest - 6 more difficult - 4 most difficult |
| Longest run | Pops (0.4 Mi.) |
| Lift system | 3 (1 triple chairs, 1 ski tow, 1 handle tow) |
| Snowfall | 275 in/year |
| Snowmaking | 50 acres (200,000 m2) |
| Night skiing | 100% lit all week |
| Website | |
Echo Mountain is a ski and snowboard area located in Clear Creek County, west of Evergreen, Colorado. Echo Mountain is home to Front Range Ski Club, an alpine ski racing training team and facility.
Description
Echo Mountain is located at the former site of the Squaw Pass Ski Area. It is owned by Norah Pykkonen. Echo opened late in the 2006 season. The private ski area is operated by Front Range Ski Club as a alpine ski racing training facility. It is fully lit to offer night skiing. The park is 75 acres (300,000 m2) and is located within the Arapaho National Forest and sits on the North face of Chief Mountain (elv. 11,709 ft.).
Front Range Ski Club uses the ability to manipulate snow conditions to suit alpine racing to further enhance the training.[1] The main lift, the Milk Run Special, is a triple that has a turn around time of 4 minutes 39 seconds. Music can also be played, which runs through several speakers located across the hill. The two lodge buildings are of modern industrial design featuring many windows overlooking the slopes, corrugated metal walls, and exposed ceilings. Modern interior design provides a comfortable place to rest while not on the slopes.
The area was created out of lodgepole pines, bristlecone pines, and Douglas firs. The base of the mountain is located at 10,050 feet (3,060 m) and the summit is at about 10,650 feet (3,250 m). When the ski area was built in 2005, the builders built a reservoir at the base to capture some of the manmade snow runoff.
Change of Ownership
Echo Mountain was formerly owned by Jerry Petitt and his family. After buying the property in 2002 Petitt revived the ski area. The hill was originally designed and marketed as a terrain park for younger skiers and snowboarders. In the Summer of 2012, Echo Mountain Park was bought by the current owner, Nora Pykkonen. Pykkonen is now operating, Front Range Ski Club, an alpine ski racing facility out of Echo. Both parties seemed to by excited of how Echo will change, "I think this will be a very interesting opportunity for them and hopefully in a few years we will hear about an Olympic skier that came out of Echo." said Petitt. The auction sale was operated by Sheldon Good & Co.[2]
Lifts
Two of Echo’s lifts are used lifts purchased from other resorts. The Yan 1000 Triple was purchased from Vail Resorts’ Heavenly Resort and installed in 2005. The triple, named Milk Run Special, is situated to serve the entire park. The second lift is a used handle tow, named Frog Legs, which was purchased from the Snowmass ski area.