MONARCH — When Bob Nicolls led his investment group to buy the 800-acre Monarch ski area in 2002, the ski resort industry was listing heavily toward real estate. Without condos to sell, it was almost impossible to make money. Or so he was told. “I heard that a lot,” said Nicolls, one of four principal owners who joined about 10 other smaller investors to buy the flagging ski hill for a little more than $5 million. Nicolls didn’t subscribe to the industry narrative.