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Purgatory Nordic skied out

The Nordic Center at Purgatory will have to close for the season because of a lack of snow.

Warm weather claimed another victim late Monday afternoon when the Nordic Center at Purgatory closed, possibly for the season, after the Presidents Day holiday.

“I’ve never known to close in February like this,” Nordic Center manager Helen Low said Tuesday. “It was so warm.”

Even the big piles of snow pushed by plows in the parking lot had disappeared as of last weekend, she said.

The area was open Monday for the final day of Snowburners – youth lessons – and “we had a blast,” she said. But they were limited to where they could go.

It’s possible the Nordic Center could reopen, but “it’s going to take a lot,” she said. “If we get 4 inches, that’s not going to do anything.”

A possible storm this weekend doesn’t promise to dump huge amounts of snow at Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort, she said. The Nordic Center is across U.S. Highway 550 from Purgatory.

Meanwhile, the Durango Nordic Ski Club has qualified four skiers for junior nationals March 8-14 in Truckee, California. Those four – Anna Fake, Katja Freeburn, Marit May and Avra Saslow – will train at the beginners slope at Purgatory, Low said.

The Vallecito Nordic Ski Club announced Friday it has stopped grooming trails for cross country skiing but will remain open.

johnp@durangoherald.com



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