Ski Broadmoor a busy place for many years

QUESTION: On the side of Cheyenne Mountain behind The Broadmoor there is a cleared-out section of sloped land that, when it snows, looks like two short ski runs. Rumor has it that it used to be a ski area connected to The Broadmoor in the 1940s. Is that true and what is it used for now?
- J.R. Briggs

ANSWER: For more than three decades, thousands of area snow bunnies learned to ski at Ski Broadmoor on Cheyenne Mountain. The tiny ski area, with 300-foot runs, a chairlift and snow-making equipment, opened in December 1959 and was managed by Olympic ski champion Steve Knowlton. It had a ski school and busy slopes for many years. For a time, the area had a popular summer alpine slide.

By 1986, the ski area had become a financial drain and The Broadmoor closed it. The city ran the ski area until 1988, when the unprofitable venture was returned to The Broadmoor. Vail Associates ran it until it was closed in 1991. Plans were announced in 1993 to move the resort’s stables to part of the ski area but now The Stables at The Broadmoor, used by hotel guests, are up Old Stage Road. The ski runs, still visible after it snows, are undeveloped.