I enjoyed the column about Google Maps showing ponds on Smelter Mountain because Google was using data dating back to the Eisenhower administration. But here’s another mistake: Apparently, Bodo Park is home to three winter recreation sites. My questions: When did Office Depot become Monarch Ski Resort? Could Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort move without telling anyone? And isn’t it dangerous to have Ski Hesperus in the middle of the highway? I don’t recall “being hit by a truck” as one of the inherent risk and dangers of snow sports. Sign me, Confused and Amused
Having a trio of ski areas so close to town would certainly be a boon. But the biggest winners are Nature’s Oasis, the Comfort Inn & Suites and Zia Taqueria, according to the Google Map.
Nature’s O would be Hesperus Ski Area’s new base lodge, with a full-service deli and lots of seating by picture windows. Imagine the exciting après-ski scene with an all-organic vibe!
Expect big things from the Comfort Inn & Suites, as the facility transforms from a standard roadside motel to the exclusive slopeside lodging for the Monarch-DMR-Hesperus winterplex.
Innkeepers should change the name to the “Comfort Haus & Chalet.” You see a lot of “haus” and “chalet” in snow country.
Zia, meanwhile, will be up to its tortillas in skiers and snowboarders, all wanting fresh-Mex fare. And naturally, being a restaurant at the base of three ski mountains, burritos would cost 23 bucks.
Alas (or thankfully), Bodo Park has not become the next Summit County.
Action Line contacted officials at Monarch, DMR and Hesperus. All flatly denied their ski slopes have moved to Bodo.
“We like our current location at Monarch Pass,” said Jesse Smith, marketing coordinator. “It not only defines us by name but fits well with our business strategy,” she deadpanned.
“If we did relocate, I’m interested in learning where I should report to work,” she added with a laugh.
Monarch Mountain (That’s its name now) is about 210 miles northeast of Durango, near the towns of Salida and Poncha Springs.
Jim Pitcher, owner of Ski Hesperus, was equally shocked to learn that, according to Google, his ski hill was located smack-dab inside the busy intersection of U.S. Highway 550/160 and Bodo Park’s north entrance.
“Nope. I’m still here,” he said from the ski area’s base facilities, 12 miles west of Durango. “Besides, it’s way too hard to move.”
The Google map got Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort location correct, sort of.
DMR has a presence in Bodo Park. But it’s just the offices for accounting, marketing and central reservations – not exactly the place for a vacation.
“We’re still located 25 miles north,” confirmed Kris Oyler, DMR spokeswoman.
She also dismissed the DMR-Monarch conspiracy theory – that the map snafu was orchestrated by Greg Ralph, the resort’s new marketing chief, who came to DMR from Monarch and somehow brought Monarch’s geographical coordinates with him.
“The only mountains we move are for customer service,” Kris said.
DMR contacted Google about the error months ago but to no avail. Meanwhile, some tourists are disoriented.
“A little while ago, some people came into the office looking for Ski Hesperus,” said a worker based at DMR’s Bodo Park location. “I wonder if they had the Google app. That would explain why they were lost.”
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you remember that there are a mere 359 more shopping days before Snowdown 2016.
