Tuesday, Mar 29, 2016 10:42 AMUpdated Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2016 3:31 PM
Upgrade to help snowboarders, skiers access lifts 3, 5 and 8
Skiers board the new Legends Express quad chairlift that opened in December at Purgatory Resort. A new “surface lift” will help transport skiers and snowboarders to and from the lift on the backside of the mountain.
Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald file
With champagne held high, Tonia Coleman, wife of Purgatoy Resort owner James Coleman, christens the new Legends Express quad chairlift into service at the ski area Saturday. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Purgatory Resort’s Wedding and Events manager Sara Bath sits on the No. 50 chair of the new Legends Express quad chairlift that opened at the ski area Saturday. The chair carried the first skiers up the mountain and was selected since this is the ski area’s 50th year of operation. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Skiers wait their turn to board the new Legends Express quad chairlift that opened for service at Purgatory Resort Saturday. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Skiers head down the slopes of Purgatory Resort beneath the new Legends Express quad chairlift that opened for service Saturday. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Purgatory Resort owner James Coleman, left, high-fives some of the first riders to go up the mountain on the new Legends Express quad chairlift at the ski area Saturday. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
The No. 50 chair of the new Legends Express quad chairlift at Purgatory Resort was decorated to celebrate the ski area’s 50th year of operation Saturday, where the first skiers of the new lift rode to the top of the mountain. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Purgatory Resort owner James Coleman, left, high-fives some of the first riders to go up on the new Legends Express quad chairlift at the ski area Saturday. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Skiers head down the slopes of Purgatory Resort beneath the new Legends Express quad chairlift that opened for service Saturday. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Purgatory Resort owner James Coleman, left, and Mike McCormack, senior vice president of mountain operations, prepare to open the new Legends Express quad chairlift at the ski area Saturday. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Coming off the heels of installing a new high-speed chairlift last year,
The lift will transport skiers and snowboarders along a flat section near the bottom of Lifts 3, 5 and 8, said Purgatory spokeswoman Kim Oyler.
Surface lifts move skiers and snowboarders on the ground. Examples include a rope tow, T-bar and magic carpet. Purgatory managers haven’t decided what kind of surface lift it will install, Oyler said.
Only a portion of the lift will be built this summer, she said. It will help skiers and snowboarders get from Lower Bull Run to the base of Lift 8. At full build-out, the two-way lift will access all three lifts.
The resort also plans to build a new trail this summer on the backside, improve snowmaking and regrade the Legends Bypass Trail, which will improve access to the bottom of Lift 8 for intermediate skiers, Oyler said. The new trail, which is called Trail 83 until a formal name is picked, is a small segment accessed via Siegele Street near the bottom of Lift 8.
They are just a few of the $10 million in improvements planned this summer on a collective of four ski resorts: Purgatory, Arizona Snowbowl, Sipapu and Pajarito Mountain. In addition to the improvements at Purgatory, Snowbowl will install a six-pack high-speed chairlift, the first of its kind in Arizona.
Durango resident James Coleman purchased Purgatory Resort in February 2015. Since then, he has installed a high-speed quad lift on the backside and changed the name back to Purgatory Resort from Durango Mountain Resort.
“James Coleman is definitely committed to enhancing the overall guest experience at the mountain, and I think this shows his commitment in year two,” Oyler said.
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