Echo Mountain opening delayed

Terrain park near Evergreen planned to start by January

Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, February 11, 2006

With the ski season already about half over, the state's newest winter playground has yet to open for business.

The much-touted Echo Mountain Snowboard and Ski Park near Evergreen initially hoped to open in December or January, but the pace of construction has prevented it from committing to a specific opening date for the 2005-2006 ski season. The area held its groundbreaking in August and planned one lift.

Echo Mountain general manager Doug Donovan could not be reached Friday for an update. He also hasn't returned several calls over the past two weeks.

Last month, he said the park would aim to open sometime in February.

A posting on Echo's Web site this week said the area would not announce a date until it can be "100 percent sure" it can live up to it.

"We decided to cross a few more t's before we commit. At Echo we are always going to be straight with you. We won't tell you that the weather's great if it sux (sic)," the Web site (www.echomtnpark.com) says. "We won't try to back door you with fake deals. We won't tell you it's a powder day if all we have is dust on crust."

On the site's weekly update section, Echo's Chris Harris also writes: "I hope to see all my pals on the 25th. Oops. Did I just say the 25th? Stay tuned. It's coming."

The new terrain park is being built at the site of the long-closed Squaw Pass Ski Area, which went out of business decades ago because of a lack of snow.

Renamed Echo Mountain last summer, the park is located about 13 miles west of Evergreen on the road leading to Echo Lake near Mount Evans.

The new owner, Bethesda, Md.-based hotel executive Gerald Petitt, has invested in snowmaking equipment and has been installing new lifts and visitor facilities.

The park did announce that it will soon start selling what it calls an "access pass" for $99.

The pass includes:

• Four lift tickets good for any day with no blackouts; $20 lift tickets for the rest of the season.

• Two $20 lift tickets for friends.

• Discounts of 20 percent off all food and merchandise.

The kicker: Only access pass members will be invited to opening days.

"We only want people who share our vision of what Echo can be to have these passes," the site says.

Echo Mountain has developed a loyal online following of terrain park enthusiasts.

Many of them visit the site to voice their support for a terrain park so close to the metro area. One of this week's postings reads:

"Stoked for you guys to open. Just curious, do you have a planned closing date for this year?"

kelleyj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5068