Original Garfield

Prior to the 1960-61 ski season, Monarch operated solely with surface rope tow lifts and a used T-Bar lift acquired from the long lost Tenderfoot Ski Area near Cripple Creek, CO. As the 1960’s rolled around, Monarch installed its first aerial chairlift. The lift was installed by Texan, Gus Irwin, and was made from used parts of oil derricks.  Components of the chair also included parts from the Hall Ski Lift Company of New York.  The hybrid double chair ran the current Garfield line for almost a decade. The lift was replaced by a Hall fixed-grip double chair in 1969. The bottom terminal was upgraded in 2011 with a Skytrac Monarch terminal. Monarch Mountain was Skytrac’s first customer and the terminal was named after our mountain. The Breezeway lift received this same upgrade in 2014.

Family riding the original Garfield Lift in the 1960's