Durango ski area has received more snow than all of last season
Skier visits were up 33 percent Nov. 21 through Jan. 3 at Purgatory Resort thanks to cooler temperatures that allowed for early snowmaking and an earlier-than-usual opening.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file photo
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
El Niño has delivered more than above-average snowfall in Southwest Colorado.
Purgatory Resort saw a 33 percent increase in visitations from Nov. 21 through Jan. 3 compared with the same period last year, said ski area spokeswoman Kim Oyler. And bookings for lodging are up 15 percent for January and February, she said.
“El Niño has helped with driving interest in southwestern Colorado, and the great snowfall Purgatory’s receiving is providing incredible conditions on the slope,” she said. It also helped that Purgatory opened about a week earlier than last season.
Early-season skier visits were up 10 percent in late 2015 at Colorado Ski Country’s 21 member resorts, according to the trade association.
Ski Country President Melanie Mills says the spike was fueled by strong snowfall and buzz about the El Niño weather pattern.
But for the rest of the season, room bookings are lagging.
An end-of-November analysis from Denver-based DestiMetrics said bookings for both January and February were down. DestiMetrics analyzes lodging reports from 19 mountain communities in six Western states.
DestiMetrics director Ralf Garrison says the research group expected strong bookings for those months, calling the data inconsistent with recent history.
Purgatory Resort may be bucking the trend thanks to renewed interest in the resort’s 50th anniversary, a new high-speed quad chairlift installed on the backside, and stay-and-ski packages offered this year, Oyler said. The resort, under new ownership, changed its name back to Purgatory Resort and joined a network of sister resorts in the Southwest, including Sipapu, Pajarito and Arizona Snowbowl.
Purgatory has received 150 inches of snowfall this season at the halfway point. Last year, the resort received 147 inches during the entire season.
“We believe that all of these factors combined has made Purgatory Resort a very attractive place to ski and take a winter vacation,” Oyler said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. shane@durangoherald.com
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