Private, residential ski resort comes to Cimarron Valley

Some local ties to the project

By Alissa Johnson

A new mountain club covering 2,000 acres in Cimarron Valley aims to give a select group of a dozen property owners their own private wilderness retreat. Founder Jim Aronstein has created a skier’s paradise spanning Gunnison and Montrose counties with more than 60 beginner, intermediate and advanced runs reached by snowcat, helicopter and snowmobile.

Crested Butte resident and former ski industry executive John Norton is chairman of the board of directors and helped developed the Cimarron Mountain Club vision.

“[Aronstein] is an old buddy who I hadn’t seen in years and years who came by three years ago and said, ‘Boy, I want to start this ski area near the Silver Jack reservoir, and I want you to get involved,’” Norton says.

He made the trip as a courtesy, expecting to see the land and steer Aronstein away from the idea. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw.

Aronstein had cut north- and east-facing runs on steep terrain—perfectly suited for snow conditions. The area gets a lot of snow, with 200 inches as of early January, and the club offers more terrain than Aspen Mountain.

“It’s just terrific exposure. The runs are done right, facing north and east so you don’t get the sun crust that makes skiing lots of places problematic in late February and March,” Norton said.

Norton was so impressed that he called the former chief operating officer of Telluride Ski Resort, Johnnie Stevens, and got him involved as well. Now the board of directors is made up of former heavyweights of several Colorado ski resorts and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission.

“These are guys that worked together on industry issues over the years on behalf of national ski areas and ski country, but we competed like cats and dogs for years and years and years. It really is fun to see Telluride, Vail, Aspen and Crested Butte—veterans of those places—all pulling together on this magical ski area,” Norton said.

Together with Aronstein they shaped the club to preserve the wilderness feel and, of course, powder. They created 12 lots from 35 acres to 204 acres, down from the original idea of 50 lots. Prices start at $2.7 million and rise to $3.85 million with annual dues between $50,000 and $90,000 per property (sometimes split between families in the case of joint-ownership).

In return for their investment, families get unlimited snowcat and guided skiing, and the fun won’t be limited to winter. Gunnison mountain biker Dave Wiens designed single track for mountain biking.

There will also be a clubhouse on-site with meals, a pool, a hot tub and a yoga room. A couple has been hired to live on-site and act as mountain hosts, and a property manager and snowcat driver have already been hired.

Because part of the terrain lies in Gunnison County, the Mountain Club was reviewed by the Gunnison County Planning Commission. It took a bit, Norton says, for people to wrap their heads around the idea because it looks like a ski resort but functions more like a residential development.

The Cimarron Mountain Club is not a commercial enterprise. It will be jointly owned and run by the 12 property owners—even Aronstein, who bought the property in 2005. He will simply become one of the 12 once lots are all sold.

According to Russ Forrest, director of Gunnison County’s Community Development Department, the scale of the project made for a fairly straightforward review process despite its unique nature. Because the proposal included the development of a road, it triggered a minor impact review under the county’s land use resolution.

“A pivotal point was the applicant made a decision to not really have any significant density on the site, given how big the area is, and made a decision not to have commercial activity up there. That simplified the process in the context of county’s land use resolution,” Forrest said.

Forrest says Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Bureau of Land Management were also consulted during the review process. Neither agency identified significant impacts from an environmental standpoint.

“The key issue was that it would not be a commercial endeavor, so there was a lot of language in the conditions of approval in the discussion of what the covenants would be. There was even consideration [that they] couldn’t just turn a home into a corporate retreat. It had to be used by the property owner,” Forrest said. Vacation rentals are also not allowed.

Any potential future development leading to more than 7,500 square feet of disturbance would trigger another review.

Just unveiled this winter, Norton believes that it’s a passionate skier who will be drawn to the opportunity to buy a parcel.

“I think of our family’s trips to Snowbird, which we used to take almost every spring after Aspen or Crested Butte shut down. We just skied our brains out, got in the hot tub, ate, went to bed and repeat,” Norton said, noting that the trips gave him the opportunity to ski without the demands that come with running ski resorts. “People are going to go there because they want to ski powder and love to ski powder.”

You can check out the Cimarron Mountain Club at http://www.cimarronclub.com/.