Iron Mountain - The Lost Resorts, Episode 21 (ft. Ben Eminger)

Thanks to ‪@beneminger3666‬ for breaking down the topography of Iron Mountain! Subscribe to his channel for more high quality skiing content, and also watch his 4 part Iron Mountain series here:
• Iron Mountain CA
Iron Mountain, a now-closed ski resort in California, stands as one of the most iconic lost ski areas in the United States, boasting a captivating story of its rise and ultimate decline. Once a vibrant fixture in California's skiing community, it has sadly dwindled into a mere shadow of its former self, marred by extensive vandalism. In this video, we'll embark on a journey through the complete v history of Iron Mountain, exploring its numerous peaks and valleys, multiple closures, and ultimately, its final shutdown.
The Lost Resorts is a weekly video series that focuses on the history of lost ski resorts in North America. New episodes release every Thursday at 5:15am MST (unless otherwise notified). Join me as we take a look at the lost resorts of North America.
Iron Mountain (California) Information:
Years of Operation: 1971-1995
Run Count: 21
Lifts: 2 Triples (Riblet), 3 Doubles (Riblet, SLI), 1 Poma (Poma), Rope Tows
Music by Artlist.io, ‪@LAKEYINSPIRED‬

[@beneminger3666]

It was a great time collaborating with you on this video, I look forward to when we are able to again!

[@craigpeterson7176]

Lots of memories at Silver Basin, spent lots of weekends camping in the parking lot

[@thomaskoiro6230]

One of the best powder days I ever skied was at Iron Mountain in the mid-80's. Had a weekday off and went solo (😢) in chest deep, light, fluffy powder. The place was empty that day...as it unfortunately often was. Had to do some digging for my skis after one biff off the Bruin Lift (#5). Now being a little more older and experienced, it was probably unwise to go solo in that kind of deep snow!😂 The resort was cheaper & easier to get to than Kirkwood as it was 15 minutes closer and you didn't need to go around "frequently closed for avalanche control" Carson Spur on CA-88. Loved going down "Lion's Run", bu the ski area had to have good snow coverage as when you approached the "Eagles Nest" (#4) lift (elev 6450'), there were some streambeds to cross. Wish it was still open! ⛷️🏂

[@kirkwoodbharris5110]

I wonder if the USFS would reconsider if it was proposed as a non-lift resort. Seems like a great place to explore with skins, especially if there was ski patrol monitoring avelanche conditions

[@Umberto2]

It’s open as a recreation area now. Many people backcountry ski it

[@gregford5971]

Thanks for putting this video together. I skied there a handful of times in the early 90s and wondered what had happened to the resort. One thing to note, I believe the lifts were all powered by diesel generators. If so, the energy costs would have been highly volatile and expensive. I'm not sure that there is electric service on that section of highway 88.

[@bertdorf3]

Wow, I never knew the history and I skied there a dozen plus times in my early years. Always remember it being a hell of a lot of fun!

[@timberlineoffroad]

Iron mountain is a cool place to visit! I happened to stumble onto this resort while driving up hwy 88 a couple of years ago and was able to drive down a few of the old runs in my 4x4 and check out the old lift equipment! I was blown away by how such a beautiful Place could have closed down! Thanks for this video and explanation on the history of Iron mountain!

[@SeanHansenpmp]

Thanks for this great video! We "snow camped" at the top a few years ago and always wondered what happened as it looked like great terrain. Now I know and appreciate the thoughtful research. Better yet, you shared the map, so now I know where to go back country this year!

[@timreminga4568]

Another great video!

[@iceberg210]

Love these videos, I have a snowcat (LMC3700CFS) that was bought originally from LMC by Carson Ski Company in 94, I'm sure part of the reason it has so few hours on it is it would have been up there only one season before being mothballed and ending up at Pine Creek in Wyoming before ending up with me.

[@grizzkid795]

Peddler Hill ski area, which was a few miles down the road from here, shut down the year Silver Basin opened. Kirkwood opened the year after that (1972) and pulled business away from Silver Basin. Although it had better terrain than other small areas like Boreal, Tahoe Donner, or Donner Ski Ranch, it was too isolated to attract that demographic.

[@nathanjanuszewski]

Another great video. Resort had possible potential.

[@cackerson10]

Can you do a video on Sugar Loaf Resort in northern Michigan sometime? These are great, thanks!

[@Skier72]

Absolutely, Sugar Loaf is on the list!

[@holymeto9981]

Isn't it in maine?

[@Skier72]

@@holymeto9981 The abandoned Sugar Loaf is in Michigan

[@rteitel1974]

Sugar Loaf had an amazing view of Lake Michigan!

[@skimanfree1073]

@@holymeto9981 there are 2 sugarloafs

[@Owaps]

Have you ever thought of doing north south ski bowl in Idaho?

[@Skier72]

It's on my radar, but I'm not sure if I will or not

[@tlyons4758]

I would love to see a video on North South Ski Bowl. I learned to snowboard there in the early 90’s

[@Connor_Goodwin]

I was also wondering if the wild cat and eagles nest ran counter clockwise or clockwise

[@crazysloth9]

I skied here with my boy scout troop a few times back in 1992ish. I even camped in the snow park area. The black runs off Kodiak were heavily shaded and often had huge icy moguls in the spring. The lodge had a low ceiling on the bottom floor and felt dingy and dark inside with 70s wood paneling.

[@Skier72]

Thanks for your comment! I wish I could have found operating photos of the resort and lodge.

[@joshhancock3163]

7200 vertical drop?! Haha I assume you meant 720?

[@skimanfree1073]

7200 is the elevation which is the distance above sea level. The second narrator said it was a 1200 foot vertical.

[@JamesRegister-np7gn]

Mountain run's chairlift was just like that resort's, just more risted, its color was originally blue. Are any of these resorts on your list, Mountain Run, Rappahannock, Cascade Mountain Resort, Ski Cherokee, Grand Coulee, Val Neiggette, BIG VANILLA, SKI WING, Dutchess/Beacon, Mont Glen, Mont Daniels, Centre de ski lac carling, center de ski A'barthisica, and Center de ski Lac carling, the french sounding ones, in quebec.

[@Skier72]

I don't think I will do Mountain Run, Rappahannock, Grand Coulee, Val Neiggette, SKI WING, or Dutchess/Beacon. For a Lost Resorts episode, the resort has to be at least either fairly big, or at least well known. For many of these places (Mountain Run especially), there is little to no information (or photos) on it's existance. Right now, I'm in the process of launching a completely new series, after which The Lost Resorts will become secondary. So I don't really have a set list of resorts at this time.

[@JamesRegister-np7gn]

Could you tell me which of them are more likely to make the list.

[@utahlostskiareas2036]

@@JamesRegister-np7gn Looks like DCski has some good info on Mountain Run and some of the other Southeastern US ski areas, seeing that you're quite interested. NY Ski blog also has some good info on a few of the lost ski areas in New York. It has been near impossible to find info on any of the lost Quebec ski resorts outside the Laurentians especially Grande Coulee that was only in operation for about 10 years.

[@Skier72]

@@JamesRegister-np7gn Next week: Forbidden Plateau, followed by Mt. McKay in Ontario. After that, there are no set plans, but I would like to cover Geneva Basin (Colorado), the old Mt. Shasta (in California), Marble Mountain (Colorado) and Fortress in Alberta.

[@Connor_Goodwin]

We’re the wild cat and eagles nest lifts triples or doubles?

[@Skier72]

Wildcat was a triple, Eagle's Nest was a double

[@Connor_Goodwin]

@@Skier72 nice, I was also wondering what direction the lifts ran in

[@SleepingPikachu]

FIRST

[@PD-we8vf]

Horrible narration and writing. 1:20 into it and o still don’t know where the fk this place is. Who has heard of Jackson California?

[@Skier72]

Okay then, dislike and move on. 😂 My goal with these videos is to go through the entire history of the operations of the resort. Not so much "where the fk this place is." Believe me, as a Canadian, I also don't know where the fk Jackson, California is. That's not the point of this video.

[@natemady1584]

I know where Jackson is. It's on the way to Kirkwood.

[@grizzkid795]

It's on Highway 88, west slope of the Sierra. He mentioned it was near Kirkwood Ski area. If you don't know where any of those are, time to use Google Maps.