Alli Salaman lifted her billowing red velvet skirt to step into her skis at the top of Winter Park Resort’s Super Gauge lift Saturday afternoon.

Salaman was one of thousands of people who gathered at Winter Park’s Mary Jane for the ski area’s 50th birthday, but she was dressed differently than most.

Rather than ski pants and a ski jacket, Salaman donned a late 1800s-style red velvet gown and bonnet atop her ski helmet — embodying the namesake of Mary Jane as her dress billowed behind her down the mountain.

Mary Jane — the skier’s right side of Winter Park Resort — is known for its difficult ski terrain. For 50 years, the area has carried a legacy of ruggedness, with its tall moguls, steep tree runs, hidden lines and adventurous terrain.

As the new year dawned and snowfall remained minimal, skiers worried Mary Jane wouldn’t open in time for its birthday. But new snow fell over the resort just in time, and lifts started spinning Friday.

Parking lots overflowed, lift lines ran to the base of the runs and people from all walks of life gathered for Saturday’s birthday party.

Music blared, people danced in their ski boots and shot-skis were passed around the crowds of celebrators.

The celebration encompassed the energy that many have come to associate with Mary Jane — joy, community, friendship and a great time.

“It’s important for people to remember that skiing is fun, and we don’t have to take it really seriously,” Salaman said. “We’re just here to have a good time and spread the love. How hard can it be? You can do it in a dress.”

“No Pain, No Jane”

Since its official incorporation into Winter Park in January 1976, Mary Jane has developed a cult following among skiers in search of a challenge.

Unlike the Winter Park side of the mountain, Mary Jane has few green — or beginner friendly — runs, and a diversion from main trails can quickly leave skiers in steep, unforgiving terrain.

Of Mary Jane’s 4.5 miles of ski trails, only 6% is beginner terrain.

The grit that embodies Mary Jane weaves with the area’s history, telling a story about the rugged spirit of the late 19th century mining boom. At the time, skiing was a method of necessary travel for high-alpine postal workers, Mary Jane historical documents say.

Sometime in the late 1900s, Mary Jane organically adopted its well-known motto — “No Pain, No Jane” — that now adorns resort merchandise.

“The terrain is unforgiving and challenging, and there are ski loyalists who seek that out,” Winter Park Resort spokesperson Jen Miller said. “There are loyalists to Mary Jane who never go to the Winter Park side. They only come here to ski this part of the mountain.”

Max Nelson is a volunteer ski patroller at Winter Park and has skied the mountain since childhood.

In its early years, Mary Jane was the quiet side of the mountain, Nelson said. It was harder to access at the time.

Mary Jane’s rugged legacy is carried on by people like Nelson, he said, who have a long and heartfelt history with the mountain.

Despite the increase in visitors to the Mary Jane side of the mountain, it maintains its unique charm, he said.

“People are eating burgers and hot dogs, and people are handing out beers to other people they don’t know,” Nelson said. “It’s just nostalgic, with the smell of burgers, dogs running everywhere, everybody parks terribly … it’s an informal community and it has a good feel.”

Allan Bock celebrated Mary Jane’s 50th birthday Saturday, 50 years after he first skied the mountain. Bock has skied Winter Park since 1974 and skied Mary Jane the month it opened.

“What they’ve built has been overwhelmed by the number of people who want to use it,” Bock said. “I think it’s wonderful. You don’t see too many sad faces out there.”

Many things have changed in his time skiing at Mary Jane, but one thing stays the same, he said.

“This has always been a happy place for people,” Bock said. “There are thousands of people here having a happy day today.”

That feeling of pure joy and enthusiasm is exactly what Brock hopes people experience at Mary Jane now and forever, he said.

“At the end of the day, did you have a feeling of joy and happiness? Did you ski some different terrain? Did you have fun making the same old turns on a different section of the mountain?” Brock said.

The cult following of Mary Jane also has a lot to do with the lore and legend that come with it, Miller said.

“The Lady”

Mary Jane’s namesake was a rumored madam of the late 1800s, whose successful brothel made way for a mine with her name and, later, a ski run that grew into the Mary Jane skiers know and love today.

In her honor, Mary Jane is often referred to as “The Jane” or “The Lady.”

Mary Jane is an enigma, however, and historical documentation of her existence lies solely in rumor and tale passed down through the centuries.

“No one, not even the Grand County Historical Society, really knows anything about her,” Miller said. “She’s sort of an idea.”

Salaman still skis Mary Jane in her character attire as a nod to the namesake every time she skis, as she has been for the last 20 years, except for powder days, she said.

“The velvet is not a technical fabric,” she said of her dress. “It definitely slows you down in the powder.”

In its early years, the area was a settlement for miners, railroad workers and loggers.

Long before settlers, the Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples were the first stewards of the lands, moving through the mountains and valleys that remain deeply connected to their cultural identities.

In 1976, Mary Jane officially opened to the public, turning Winter Park into what resort officials call a “two-mountain experience,” recognized at the time as one of the largest expansions of any ski area, according to Miller and resort historical documents.

Its initial opening brought 18 new trails to Winter Park Resort, expanding it by 80%.

In 1986, a $9 million capital investment added 20 more trails and steep runs like The Chutes, documents say.

In the 1990s, the Sunnyside lift opened, and in 2007, Panoramic lift became North America’s highest six-passenger high-speed chairlift at the time, opening the Parsenn Bowl and Vazquez Cirque.

A sense of pride

Mary Jane remains a testament to the origins of Colorado skiing, as well as the beginnings of the ski industry that now boasts an annual $5 billion contribution to Colorado’s economy, according to market research group RRC Associates.

Winter Park Resort officials call Mary Jane a resort that “evolves while staying true to their adventurous roots.”

Looking to the future, Miller said Mary Jane is “one of those places that is just perfect exactly as she is.”

“Having Mary Jane as part of Winter Park really sets us apart,” Miller said. “There’s a sense of pride in that 50 years and the origins of skiing in Colorado … it’s a big deal.”