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What's Your Story?
Mic Fairchild
Swany/Monarch Contest Winner
Swany Product:
>It was my pleasure and good fortune to win the 2009 Swany/Monarch
>Snowcat Trip. This was definitely a VIP package. The people involved
>and the level of service extended to us were first-class. I scheduled
>March 16-17 for skiing.
>
>Monarch Mountain is located on the Continental Divide in southern
>Colorado. The area itself feels bigger than the listed 1200'
>vertical drop with a good mix of slopes for all abilities. About a
>quarter of the 800 acres are hike-to double black. I'd guess that the
>cat skiing terrain is about 400 acres.
>
>Our snowcat day started early with orientation and beacon primer. This
>was a rare day when the cat wasn't booked to its capacity of 12- only 5
>customers. So it was easy for our guides Gail and Andy (plus patroller
>Nick) to wrangle us around. Cat skiing forges quick comradery, and
>soon I was hearing stories from Phil (who was my prize buddy), Gina,
>Joe, and Peg. The cat itself is pretty plush, and having some extra
>room to relax, eat some snacks, and shed layers was bonus. We're
>having a dry March (usually the snowiest month in Colorado), and there
>hadn't been appreciable snow in a couple weeks. I was a little worried
>that the surface conditions might be re-frozen and crunchy. But it was
>a nice surprise to find the piste chalky and edgeable. Not too firm
>and no crunch. It was a cloudless, sunny day- the only reasonable
>substitute for a foot of new. The cat skiing terrain is outside of the
>mountain proper, and has enough slope aspects to allow us to chase the
>sun to look for the best conditions.
>
>The first runs were short (about 600' vert) and sweet, allowing us to
>get warmed up and be subject to guide scrutiny. I was psyched to find
>some softer snow along the edges and in the trees. The slopes have
>decent pitch- enough steep to keep your attention, but not enough to
>make you pucker.
>
>As the day progressed, we explored a couple chutes and moved into a
>bowl with about 1000' vert. It started to soften about noon, and we
>skied through our lunch break (which became an apres meal) to make runs
>before it got mushy. We did a few runs that included some glade
>skiing, which held up well. In all we got 12 wonderful runs as the
>snow progressed to corn. The scenery was fantastic, and our guides and
>cat companions were great. The dictates of cat skiing- usually one at
>a time on the slope- precluded too many action photos, but the good
>memories won't fade.
>
>Swany/ Monarch put us up at the "Art House" in the town of Salida (18
>miles from the hill). It features eclectic paint schemes and
>decorating, and was cozy and welcoming. After the cat skiing the
>sponsors had set up dinner at the Laughing Ladies restaurant where we
>enjoyed a nice meal and toasted our good luck.
>
>The next day was free-skiing on the hill, another blue bird spring day.
>The temps rose quickly and the corn snow was terrific. It was
>wonderful being in the friendly confines of Monarch Mountain for a
>couple days. The relaxed pace and warm attitude made for a
>near-perfect weekend.
>
>Swany did a fantastic job of putting this together and was able to make
>me feel like a pseudo-celebrity for the whole trip. Thanks for all
>your help and consideration in assembling this prize package. Special
>thanks to Bill Dzierson and Carol Mancini from Swany, and Greg Ralph and
>the crew at Monarch for making this a GREAT time!
>
>Mic Fairchild
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