Despite the name, the resort is actually on the slopes of Slide Mountain rather than Mount Rose, which is on the other side of Nevada State Route 431.

[1] The resort opened 72 years ago in 1953 as the "Reno Ski Bowl" on the east face of Slide Mountain (Nevada).

The event was hosted by the University of Nevada, with the downhill competition won by Wolf Pack senior Pat Meyers.

[2][3][4][5] In 1959, the resort was chosen as an alternate site for the 1960 Winter Olympics Downhill event, which was to be held at Palisades Tahoe.

[6] An official FIS Downhill run and additional facilities were constructed, but never needed because Palisades received sufficient snow to host the event.

In 2022, the Lakeview Express lift opened after a $7.5 million capital improvement project, the largest investment in the resort's history.

[1] Mount Rose Ski Area has a dry summer subarctic climate (Köppen Dsc).