Turn out at Chapman Hill Ski Area has been strong this year, but staff members feel like they are “living on borrowed time” in regard to the two-decades-old rope tows used to take skiers part way up the hill and to the top.
The city has put out a request for proposals to replace the smaller of the two rope tows, which is currently situated near the middle of the slope, and is considering upgrading the big rope tow at the south end of the ski area to a platter lift, a disk-like support one saddles like a bicycle to ride upward.
The city is accepting proposals until 3 p.m. Feb. 2, and scheduled a non-mandatory pre-bid conference for 10 a.m. Jan. 10 at Chapman Ski Hill, according to the city’s request for proposals.
Matt Nimetz, operations supervisor at Chapman Hill, said the tows are old enough for his father to have made them. The motor that runs the big rope tow originated at Camp Hale in central Colorado where World War II soldiers trained for winter combat, navigation and survival.
“The big rope tow is tough for people because you have to hold on at like a 35% to 40% grade,” he said. “Most people can’t do that for more than five or six runs, so we’d like to replace that with a platter. It would basically be pulling them up by their butts.”
The new site of the small rope tow when replaced is planned to be a little farther north in the ski area, into an area currently populated by trees. The rope tow would reach a little higher on the hill as well, he said.
The idea is the new small rope tow will service more terrain while still being suitable for beginning skiers to practice along, he said. Moguls are planned for an area of the hill near where the small rope tow currently sits.
The city is pursuing a rope tow and platter lift, or surface lifts because they are safer than chair lifts, he said. Chapman Hill’s biggest ski customers are parents and their young kids who are learning how to ski or practicing for snow sports. Feedback from the community showed that people prefer their kids aren’t using chairlifts alone.
If there is an issue with a rope or platter lift, a skier can just let go and slide down the hill from there. But if something goes wrong with a chairlift, then people stuck hanging in the air need to be evacuated, he said. And falling from a chairlift poses a greater chance of injury.
Maintenance on the lifts occurs daily, and while a major break hasn’t occurred before, the tow rope has been derailed from its wheels, wrecking the rope and requiring temporary closure of the park, Nimetz said.
“Everything’s just really old. We’re at a point right now where it kind of hurts to spend any kind of money on this stuff when you want to get it replaced,” he said.
Last year, the big rope broke, closing Chapman Hill’s ski area for about two days.
“But yeah, we’re trying to get new stuff that is going to be more reliable,” he said. “Quite honestly, daily, we’re kind of wondering, ‘Are we going to make it again? Are we going to make it this week? Make it this year?’ It feels like we’re on borrowed time on our lifts.”
Nemitz said Chapman Hill’s ski area is a “gem” for Durango residents. It’s a safe place with a dozen or so parents around supervising their kids at any given time in addition to staff.
“Someone who has, like, a 9-year-old kid, they can drop them off, go run some errands and come back. Which is kind of sweet ’cause it’s pretty safe,” he said.
Besides the need for new lifts, Chapman Hill has to rely on human-made snow because the city doesn’t get a lot of snow very often, he said. But the snow-making equipment is mostly updated. Another issue the ski area encounters is mud on the slopes, which can melt away the artificial snow Chapman Hill made.
“All this (mud) will just torch the snow,” he said. “Since we’ve got to make all our own snow – whew. So we always try to combat mud. Which is tough because people are walking through the parking lot and all that stuff.
Replacement and relocation of the small rope tow, in addition to updates to lighting on the hill, is planned for summer 2023, he said. He isn’t sure what project costs will be yet because an RFP has only just been sent out and the city is still waiting to receive bids on the project.
Nimetz said Chapman Hill is an “awesome” place for ski training for kids because one can get in many laps in a short amount of time and the hill is steep.
“This really is almost a world-class slalom hill. If you go to Purgatory you can get, like, eight laps in a day. These guys can get eight laps in an hour doing the slalom course,” he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
