When Boulder writer Peter Bronski learned Colorado once hosted nearly 200 ski areas, he decided to rediscover as many as he could.
The result: “Powder Ghost Towns: Epic Backcountry Runs in Colorado’s Lost Ski Resorts,” which culls 36 of the most accessible and challenging shuttered slopes.
His criteria: The resort had to be on public property with a decent vertical drop and receive reliable snowfall. That eliminated Golden’s Magic Mountain and Colorado Springs’ Ski Broadmoor, which both depended on manufactured snow.
“I could have included many more areas than I did, but I chose the ones with good history and good skiing,” Bronski said.
“The common denominator for my criteria was snow. And for ski areas that closed 40, 50 years ago, those runs are still pretty well-preserved. In some areas, you still find lift towers and chairs hanging from cables.”
The rope tows and Poma lifts — two old-school methods for hauling skiers uphill — are gone but not forgotten by the skiers who once held on for an uphill ride.
“I’ve heard from people who skied those areas, and say the book brings back good memories,” Bronski said.
Some must be very old memories. Pioneer, a ghost resort near Crested Butte, was the first Colorado operation to offer a chairlift — 30 single chairs on a system that formerly served an old mine.
