Barett Ridge/Ryan Park
Operation Dates: N/A
Lifts: 1 Single Chairlift
History:
Barett Ridge was located in the Medicine Bow Mountains. It was also
called Snowy Range though that name is currently used by the ski area on
the other side of Snowy Range Pass (formerly called Medicine Bow from
the late 60s to mid 80s). When I was a kid the runs/lift towers at Ryan
were easily found but now they are mostly overgrown/gone, just in the last
decade. Remnants of the hut may still be there. The 800 vertical foot t-bar
was decent for its era, as is the local snowfall and base elevation (8180')
but the population (a thousand within an hour's drive, at the time) didn't
sell tickets. - J Pattyn
Directions: Saratoga, WY

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Memories:
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"On another note I grew up skiing Barrett Ridge outside of Saratoga in
Wyoming (early 60's). The chairlift was a modified copper ore tram that
was built in 1898. The ore buckets were cut off and single chairs
welded on, and the whole lot was moved from Encampment over to
Barrett Ridge in the 40's, then moved again in the 50's. Riding it was an
experience - each chair was designed to hold about 1/4 ton of ore, so a
human was really light and the chairs were constantly falling off.

The area closed down in the late 60's when a rare mountain tornado came
along and blew a bunch of trees over the cable and knocked all the chairs
off."
-B. Masson