"Ghost" Ski Areas

Swaths of grass that cut through the pine forest are the first clue of a ghost.

Rusting engines and grooming equipment sitting amid aspens are more evidence of a sighting.

Concrete footings confirm the hillside is the site of the old Holiday Hills ski area - one of dozens of ghost ski areas scattered across the region.

More than 100 ghost ski areas exist in Colorado and are documented on the Web site - ColoradoSkiHistory.com.

It's a great site for those who want to explore them on hikes or back-road trips. Or people can simply read some history or share memories of the lost ski areas. Often, rusting lift towers, rotting wooden lift signs and trail markers are all that remain. And, of course, the telltale gaps in the trees where ski runs were carved through the forest.

"We had three tow lifts and nine ski runs," said Kay Nimrod, 75, of the ski area that she and her husband, Harlan, operated from 1963 to 1973. Now retired in Colorado Springs, Harlan Nimrod was a developer who built the ski area as part of the Holiday Hills subdivision, southwest of Woodland Park. The Nimrods had never skied, but, like many other 1960s entrepreneurs in Colorado, they thought it seemed like a good business.