Stoner Ski Area

Operation Dates: 1951 - 1985
Area Stats: (1984)
*Elevations: Summit 9,600; Base 8,500; Drop 1,260 ft
*Only open weekends and holidays
*Trails: 3 - Beg 10%; Int 40%; Adv 50%; Longest Run 4,000 ft
*Season: December - April; Hours: 10am - 4 pm
*Ticket Prices: $9 at 10 am then $0.5 less for each half hour until it is
free!
*Facilities: Lodge at base; Restaurant; Bar; Ski Patrol; Rentals; the area
also had a ski school with 4 instructors
Lifts: 2 t-bars, 2 tows (the T-bar was built by Constam and had a length
of 1250', 300 vertical, a capacity of 600 pph and a speed of 400 fpm)
History: The area was operated by a local ski club called Ski-Hi Club.
The area is off of Highway 145 at Stoner, which is 26 miles from Cortez.
They closed in 1985 when part of a t-bar tower fell over and they didn't
have funds to repair the lift.

Area Pictures (1979):

An Overview

The Rope Tow

The Base Area

Have you ever skied Stoner? If so,
please contact us with your memories!

Memories:

"In the 1960's there was a small ski area at Stoner, Colorado not too far from
Dolores. It had 2 T-bar lifts which served about 3 runs each. For many years the
physicians from the nearby Four Corners states met there for a Four Corners
Medical Conference. The families came too and many of us stayed at the lodge
located at the base of the ski runs. The doctors and their families would ski all day
and the medical lectures would be after dinner from 7:00 - 9:00 at night in the
lodge. Our family came from Farmington New Mexico along with many other
doctors from our town. Another family who attended regularly was from Flagstaff,
Arizona. Other doctors came from Durango, Dolores, Mancos and other southwest
Colorado towns.

The runs were not groomed much at all which did not matter to most of us who
were very new to skiing. It was the very first place my husband and I skied. A
good friend of ours taught us the basics. We had long wooden skies, leather
lace-up boots and bamboo ski poles with leather thong baskets.

Even the "beginner" runs were fairly steep and the harder runs would probably be
black diamonds if they had been marked at all (which at the time they were not.)
We were so young and foolish that we went down them anyway although not in any
great style. After several years the ski area closed and the lifts were removed. The
lodge remained for many years afterward and was just a restaurant. But I
remember with fondness our many trips there and the fun we all had."
-Nancy C.

"My father was in district attorney's office in Cortez in the late 70s and early 80s and
when we didn't want to drive to Telluride or Purgatory we would take an "easy" day
at Stoner, which was anything but. The long t-bar served 3 long usually ungroomed
slopes (think Bash, Balch and Mulligan's Mile at Winter Park) and because of it's
lower elevation the snow was usually thick. It was a great way to get strong
because 10 minutes on the t-bar led to 5 minutes bashing through thick snow, and
that was only one run. It was a lot of fun until my father bought me longer skis. The
restaurant at the lodge had incredibly good steaks though, so it was easy to get
refueled."
-John D.