Gunnison Ski Club member launches the ski jump 1946

The Pioneer Guest Cabins were originally a part of the base area for the old Gunnison-Pioneer Winter Sports Area. In the 1930s, despite the perils of the Great Depression, local volunteers championed a cause to create the region's first ski area. As true pioneers, the men and women of the Gunnison County Ski Club decided to build Colorado's first chairlift. Bought for $50 and completed in 1939, the single seated Comet Chair brought adventurous skiers almost 2000 feet up to the warming hut that still sits in the trees overlooking Paradise Divide. Today travellers and guests can hike to the hut, which continues to be maintained by local volunteers in the tradition of the "Old Pioneer Spirit." The cabins that once housed these great pioneers have been remodeled with a focus on comfort while retaining their original charm and character and now sleep today's skiers, travellers and adventurers.