O.J. Stransky had a dream. His Evergreen ranch becoming the next Vail. He long noticed his ranch received much more snow than surrounding areas. In 1965 he began to cut trees on the north-facing slopes of his ranch. By August of 1965 Stransky was promising 2 double chair lifts and a base lodge. His promotional skills persuaded Colorado Ski Country USA to include Evergreen Basin in its' 1965-66 Ski Guide and poster.
But the area never materialized. Apparently, the insurance and associated costs were too high for a small, local businessman. He invited Denver South High School's ski team up to his ranch for practice, using horse power (literally) to pull the skiers up the slopes. But that was as close as the ranch ever came to being a ski area.
Three of his trails can be seen to this day, when you look to the southwest from portions of Evergreen and Bergen Park. Getting to the corner of the proposed ski area is not so easy.
The area can be accessed through the National Forest by starting at the Cub Creek Trailhead parking area, off Brook Forest Road, about a mile past the Brook Forest Inn. There is a trail junction about a mile or so from the parking lot. Take the left branch (the right goes to private property). The trail winds up to a saddle, which I believe was the top of one the two planned chairlifts. The fences and signage are a little confusing up here and you might actually be better off without the USGS Meridian Hill 7.5-minute quad map (the lines on the map don't exactly match the lines on the ground). The trail runs parallel to the property line. The cleared area (for the ski runs) approaches, but does not cross into, National Forest land.
Please click on the "related web page" link near the top of this page if you would like a longer description, along with photos and an excerpt from the Winter 1965-66 Colorado Ski Guide.