Berthoud Pass Ski Resort has a rich history spanning all the way back to the 1920s. In the early 1920s, Charles Fitchett constructed the Berthoud Pass Inn, a hotel built using logs with around six guest rooms and a restaurant which encouraged many people to take trips up the pass. While at first the pass was only open in the summer, after the Forest Service started plowing the road in the winter the hotel remained open year-round. As the pass sat at over 11,000 feet, the snow conditions were excellent, and people started hiking up the mountain to ski down.

As early as 1935, plans were already being drawn up for the Berthoud Pass resort, which would have included cabins, trails, and ski slopes. In 1937 a rope tow was constructed, which was an instant hit. Ski races were held weekly at Berthoud and the ski hill saw strong visitation numbers from Denver. Although the hotel closed in 1939, the resort continued operations even during World War II. The war brought on harder times for the resort, but it never actually suspended operations.

After the war, ownership of the ski area fell to three local families. Avalanches were always a big concern at Berthoud Pass, as there had been several fatalities. Most notably, two German tourists were killed after an avalanche swept them away. After the war, Berthoud tried using military artillery to trigger avalanches. In 1943 a new ski lodge was constructed, which burnt down in 1946. However, the ski hill was on the verge of a huge innovation: one of the first double chairlifts in North America. The lift was constructed by Bob Herron, a local from Denver, and had a capacity of 400 skiers per hour. This was the only double chairlift in Colorado at the time and was a big draw in both summer and winter. Additionally, a T-bar was constructed up the Mines Peak area.

The iconic three-story lodge was constructed in 1949 and had every amenity a skier could wish for, including a lounge, dining room, bar, and hotel rooms. It was truly a grand lodge for the time. The pass consistently received lots of snow, which helped the area open early and close late, sometimes even beating Arapahoe Basin. It wasn't unusual for Berthoud to stay open until June or July.

Berthoud Pass was purchased by Irma Hill in the 1960s, though under her ownership it was operated with a greater emphasis on summer tourism. The ski area only opened on weekends and holidays until it was sold in 1977 to Ike Garst. Garst had a true vision for the mountain, hoping to expand its footprint and update the aging infrastructure. Under Garst, snowboarders were allowed on the mountain, the first ski area in Colorado to do so, and the mountain experienced some improvements. However, with new ski resorts like Winter Park opening nearby, skier visits dwindled. In the 1986–87 ski season the resort only saw 11,000 total skier visits, which eventually led Ike Garst to sell Berthoud Pass to Pete Crowley in 1987, after five years of the resort sitting on the market with no sale.

Pete Crowley closed Berthoud in August of 1987 and immediately renamed the mountain to Timberline. He had grand plans for the ski area and started totally rebranding the resort. Crowley's vision for Timberline was to turn it into a lift-served backcountry haven. However, an unfortunate accident on the 41-year-old Herron chairlift that sent a woman to the emergency room caused the Colorado Tramway Board to condemn the lift. The double chair was the oldest in Colorado at the time and was already under a safety review following a rope evacuation. The lost revenue caused by the lift's closure led to Timberline filing for bankruptcy one year later.

In late 1988, Borvig, an American ski lift manufacturer, announced plans to relocate their facility from Pine Island, New York to Idaho Springs, Colorado. Additionally, the head of Borvig, Gary Schultz, announced that he would be acquiring the defunct Timberline ski area and would completely refurbish it. In the summer of 1989, Borvig constructed three lifts: the new Frontier quad traveled up the west side of the mountain replacing the original double chairlift; the Mines Peak triple traveled up the former Robinson T-bar line on the east side; and the new Prospect beginner double serviced the easiest terrain at Berthoud, right next to the Mines Peak triple.

Gary Schultz had vastly improved the lift network, yet the ski area continued to struggle financially. By 1991, Schultz had filed Berthoud Pass for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The ski area had only seen 30,000 skier visits and reportedly did no marketing. While the double was removed, the triple and the quad along with the lodge were left standing. During this time the chairs were removed and the haul rope was left lying on the ground. The lodge was stripped down to studs and was seriously vandalized. While there were several attempts and bids to get Berthoud running again, nothing came to fruition. As quoted from the Forest Service: "We still have concerns that Berthoud is not a viable ski area."

Even though Berthoud remained closed in the 1990s, thousands of skiers and boarders continued to visit the slopes. There was even an unofficial ski patrol that would travel up the mountain looking for injured skiers. In 1997, Jim Paraso proposed to reopen the mountain and purchased all of the assets from the bankruptcy courts. In 1998 the Mines Peak triple resumed normal skiing operations, and in 1999 the Frontier quad did as well.

Unfortunately, Berthoud Pass was not getting the numbers it needed. On weekdays only around 100 skiers would buy tickets, with the number increasing to 250 on weekends. Berthoud tried to market itself as a small local family ski resort, however the 75 percent advanced terrain really hindered them. Sadly, in 1999 Paraso died in a car crash, which inadvertently spelled the end of the ski resort. It was sold a month later to Maurice Capriani, who owned Silver Creek Resort, now known as Granby Ranch. Like all the other investors before her, she had big plans for Berthoud, but with fierce competition in the area and declining skier numbers, she decided to close the ski lifts in 2001. Capriani still ran a snow cat service until 2003, when that was also halted.

In 2003 she sold the Borvig ski lifts, and one year later the Forest Service demolished the historic ski lodge, leaving Berthoud Pass suddenly devoid of any ski infrastructure. The Prospect double was sold to Cascade Mountain in Wisconsin, where it operates as the Bunny double. The Mines Peak triple went to Mad River Mountain in Ohio as the Momentum chair, while the Frontier quad went to Berkshire East in Massachusetts as the Wilderness Peak lift. If you want to see a remnant of the original Herron double chair, the top bull wheel, a tower, and two chairs are still visible at the Clear Creek County Waste Transfer Plant in Colorado.

While the lifts haven't spun at Berthoud since 2001, the skiing has certainly not stopped. Berthoud Pass is now a very well-known backcountry ski spot, and the Forest Service constructed a smaller visitor centre near where the old lodge stood. The old parking lot is still in use, and virtually all of the old ski runs are still visible, so in a way, Berthoud Pass is still operating, just in a more sustainable way.