Chapman Hill Ski Area opened 10 a.m. Saturday for its holiday ski hours, and some people were eager to hit the slopes.
It wasn’t a particularly busy morning, but resident Marc Galeazzi said he was excited for his two boys, Rowan, 8, and Mason, 10, to get outside and enjoy the day.
The boys were the first ones on the hill.
“I’m just excited that my boys like to ski with me,” he said “I’m not going out today, but I’m glad that they enjoy it like I did, because there was a lot of work getting them up to the point where they actually could ski.”
Rowan and Mason have been skiing since they were 3 and 4 years old, he said.
“The hardest part is getting them out the door getting dressed and getting them going. But they’re great at it and they enjoy it,” he said.
Galeazzi said his family hasn’t been to Purgatory Resort yet and he’s glad they get to ski right in town.
A group of New Mexico residents traveled to Durango on Saturday morning to snowboard at Chapman Hill.
“We went up to Wolf Creek twice, maybe three times now, but we’re a bunch of broke farmer boys, so this is so much better and cheaper,” Chris Culpepper said.
He said he and his friends learned how to snowboard at Chapman Hill, and they are in their second season snowboarding.
“The adrenaline rush, the exercise, everything. We love it,” he said.
Chapman Hill Operations Manager Diego Lopez said the ski area’s hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through the holidays. It will be closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
The ski area is currently only operating its big tow, a Poma lift that takes skiers and snowboarders halfway up the hill to its midway station.
“We’re hoping that we can get some snowmaking operations started up here maybe in the next week or so,” he said. “Looks like temperatures might drop again after Christmas, and we’ll try and get the hill more open when we’re able to get some more terrain.”
A lightning strike during a November thunderstorm fried relays and electrical components as well as one of the ski area’s light panels, and replacement parts were needed before opening day, he said.
The parts were installed earlier this week, and safety features were checked before operations began. Additionally, crews have been blowing snow and grooming terrain for opening day.
“We haven’t had the lights on the big tow side of the hill working. We have parts for that in and those are planned to get installed this weekend,” Lopez said. “We’ll hopefully be ready for night skiing here after the holiday hours.”
Snow depth at the base of the hill is 4 to 8 inches deep, he said. Crews aim to have about 1 foot of depth before snowmaking operations cease so the snow will last until the middle of March.
Ski lessons at Chapman Hill start in January, and private lessons can be booked over the holidays, he said.
Ski passes and lessons can be ordered online at durangoco.gov/544/Ski-Area.
A day pass is $6 for children age 3 and younger; $14 for children ages 4 and 5; $14 for children ages 6 to 17; and $16 for adults ages 18 to 61. Passes are $5 for seniors age 62 and older, according to the city of Durango.
cburney@durangoherald.com
