The mountain first opened on December 16, 1961, consisting of trails on Peak 8 serviced currently by the Colorado SuperChair. The main lift was a double chairlift, Lift 1, which had a midway unloading station. Lift 1 ran from the base area up to a point slightly west of the top of the current Colorado SuperChair. This small butte overlooks the Rocky Mountain SuperChair and is accessible by hiking from the Vista Haus along a short dirt road in the summer.