Echo Mountain: Welcome to 10,000 Feet

Welcome to 10,000 feet.

That's what you need going into spring: altitude.

And Colorado's Echo Mountain, sitting just 20 minutes west of Evergreen and about 20 minutes south of Idaho Springs (it's Denver's closest resort) has plenty of altitude.

Its base sits at at 10,560 feet. The only higher resort in Colorado is A-Basin, just up the street (and a couple of hundred feet higher).

I popped into Echo during a blitz through the Front Range last week, both because I was curious about the resort and because Evergreen, Colo. has always been a sort of second home to me. A spiritual bean bag. A place to do a mental double take and wonder where we were in life. My wife grew up there.

I think the first time I learned about Echo was a few years ago while I was headed up to Mount ... Blue Sky.

Upon arrival you notice two things: One, the parking lot is tiny. That's because it's a small area and simply doesn't get a lot of traffic. I was there on an early April Wednesday, and I guess there were perhaps 15 other skiers.

And two, the lights in the parking area are built out of old lift towers. That was a delightful surprise, and when you notice said lights you'll spend bonus time examining them and pondering their former existences.

There's clearly an emphasis on teaching and getting beginners going at Echo. The main learning area, just off the lodge building, is the spatial emphasis of the area. You can barely go anywhere without ending up in a teaching zone.

That's good.

We are on this planet to bring people along for the good stuff. To teach them, to help them, to show them what's fun. My wife's friend is an instructor here, and he loves it.

I ripped a couple of laps on the untouched (at 10:30 am) corduroy then ventured west, into the Glades. For a ski area of 60 acres, I was impressed how sprawling the black diamond–rated Glades were. I got lost for considerable moments and crazy thoughts, and then remembered I'm old. Gotta go easy on those knees.

Echo has a pretty impressive history in Colorado skiing. Opened in 1960 as Squaw Pass Ski Area, it predates Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Vail, Steamboat, Powderhorn, Snowmass, Keystone, Copper Mountain ... you name it.

The resort closed in 1975, and remained closed until 2005, when it reopened as, essentially a terrain park.

In the years following it has been rebuilt and reinvented. The redevelopment has been organic, nothing forced. I like what the adolescent has become.

The locals working here are devoted to the cause that is Echo Mountain, and they're pretty proud to be doing what they're doing.

I spent time chatting with many of the employees, all excited to be out on the hill in some way on a sunny, spring day.

Today, Echo Mountain represents how small community resorts can exist, prosper, and bring skiing to people who truly enjoy the camaraderie and adventure.

I enjoyed the heck out myself.

See you out there! Go here for more info .

Here's Bunky's piece on Echo Mountain: