Purgatory Resort began helicopter operations earlier this month for the construction of its newest lift, which will activate seven new trails and connectors to the mountain.
The Colorado Couloir lift is on track to debut in December and will scale more than 1,600 feet in just nine minutes.
“Colorado Couloir will give guests a new way to experience Purgatory this winter,” said Dave Rathbun, CEO of Purgatory Resort, in a news release. “It expands advanced and expert skiing on the front side of the mountain, creates a new access point from Gelande and helps us evolve in a way that stays true to what makes Purgatory special.”
Named for the steep terrain the lift climbs, some of the resort’s most technical and challenging skiing can be found off Colorado Couloir. The new runs, whose names have not been announced, will include chutes and glades for advanced skiers, according to the resort.
This won’t be the first time the Colorado Couloir carries skiers up a mountain. The new lift previously called Telluride Ski Resort home. Couloir incorporates the chairs, grips and internal machinery of the former Plunge Lift at Telluride.
The repurposed triple chairlift will serve about 1,500 skiers an hour. The fixed-grip lift will not slow down to load and unload passengers as a detachable lift would. It will, however, eliminate the need for a shuttle to begin skiing from the Gelande area on the mountain.
The new project was originally approved in 2008 and was reaffirmed by a 2019 Environmental Assessment. It was known as the Gelande Lift project for its access to that area of the mountain, but has since been renamed.
Construction was originally slated for summer 2025, but the project was delayed by unexpected permitting delays, Matt Ericksen, Purgatory’s marketing director, told The Durango Herald in August last year.
Helicopters mark the most visible phase of the project. The steep mountainside the lift climbs, at some points reaching a 60% grade, isn’t accessible by road. Helicopters have aided in timber removal and now bring in concrete forms and other materials for construction. Crews are currently excavating tower and terminal foundations, according to the resort.
Helicopter operations began July 7. The next helicopter operations will take place Aug. 1 and 2, said James Graven, spokesperson for the resort. After the first weekend of August, helicopters will return mid-August and again Sept. 23.
Purgatory has announced nearly $7 million in capital improvements this summer, including the new lift. The summer total is just one portion of the $37.5 million in improvements this year announced by Mountain Capital Partners, the management company operating Purgatory and other resorts across the country.
The new lift is the first since the construction of the Legends Express lift in 2015, Graven said in a statement. Purgatory currently has 11 lifts. The completion of Colorado Couloir will provide the mountain with 12 lifts total and more than 110 trails.
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