The ski area was developed by the Woodmoor Company of Colorado Springs. Although full of great terrain on north-facing slopes, financial problems of the developer nixed the project in 1973 and it closed after its second season of skiing in 1974.[1]
Now considered a "lost" ski hill, rumors of Stagecoach reopening are common, but are always denied by the Wittemyer family, who have owned the property for over twenty-five years.[2]
The ski area was a mile south of the present-day Stagecoach Reservoir, with north-facing slopes and three double chairlifts. The vertical drop was 1,700 feet (518 m) with a summit elevation of 9,150 feet (2,789 m) above sea level and the base at 7,450 feet (2,271 m)
Chairlifts
#
Lift Name
Vertical Drop
Length
Type
Ride Time
Hourly Capacity
Gradient
Year
1
Big Hitch
1,250 ft (381 m)
5,385 ft (1,641 m)
Double
10 min
1,200
23.2% (13.1 deg.)
1972
2
Yellow Jacket Express
570 ft (174 m)
2,000 ft (610 m)
Double
5 min
1,200
28.5% (15.9 deg.)
1972
3
Little Hitch
347 ft (106 m)
1,990 ft (607 m)
Double
6 min
1,100
17.4% (9.9 deg.)
1972
Stagecoach State Park
The Stagecoach Dam was built on the Yampa River in late 1988, and its reservoir filled over the next several years. The reservoir now hosts Stagecoach State Park and offers fishing, boating, camping, hiking, and winter cross-country skiing and dog-sledding.[3] The dam is at the northeast end of the reservoir; the water's surface elevation is 7,200 feet (2,195 m) above sea level. Originally designed in the 1970s as an earthen dam, it is a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) structure.[4]
Community
The community is now quickly growing, along with nearby Steamboat Springs. A new firehouse was built in 2006 and new neighborhoods are under development. An elementary school site has been allocated when the current facility in nearby Yampa reaches capacity.[citation needed]
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United States