Alpine skiing - The Durango Herald

Resort owner’s donations to Lauren Boebert’s campaign irks ski industry climate advocates

Owner of Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has long supported candidates who oppose progressive climate policy

DATE: Oct 21, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Willamette Pass joins Purgatory’s orbit

Mountain Capital Partners welcomes first Pacific Northwest resort

DATE: Oct 4, 2022 | CATEGORY: Sports

Vail Resorts to limit number of day lift tickets during 2022-23 season

Cap is meant to prevent overcrowding and maintain a quality experience for skiers

DATE: Aug 23, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

National Ski Patrol in turmoil as third director in five years leaves, citing conflict

Group’s board of directors described as a ‘dysfunctional HOA’

DATE: Aug 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Outdoors

Forest Service OKs Vail Resorts’ plan to restore Keystone tundra

Deal keeps one of the country’s largest expansions on schedule

DATE: Aug 4, 2022 | CATEGORY: Sports

Forest Service halts new Keystone chairlift after resort mistakenly builds road in protected tundra

Vail Resorts has apologized for the mistake

DATE: Jul 29, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado ski areas set a new visitor record last season

Visitation to Colorado ski areas surpassed 14 million in 2021-22

DATE: Jul 5, 2022 | CATEGORY: Sports

Colorado’s independent ski areas are thriving in shadow of resort giants

Silverton Mountain, Wolf Creek among those reporting record visits, revenues in last two seasons

DATE: Jun 1, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Durango man recounts avalanche, harrowing rescue and road to recovery

Mint Henk survived a crushing wall of snow on Parrot Peak in the La Plata Mountains

DATE: Apr 4, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

San Juan National Forest approves Purgatory’s Ice Creek project

The 45-acre expansion will add a new ski lift and beginner trails

DATE: Mar 21, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

How Crested Butte’s first-ever extreme skiing contests birthed the freeskiing movement

Pioneering athletes transformed the resort industry with a push for wider skis and steeper terrain

DATE: Mar 17, 2022 | CATEGORY: Outdoors

Vail Resorts promises $175 million more for employees, bumps starting pay to $20 an hour

North America’s largest resort operator was vilified this past season as it struggled to open chairs and handle crowds

DATE: Mar 15, 2022 | CATEGORY: Sports

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Photos: Chapman Hill fires up the snow guns

Resort owner’s donations to Lauren Boebert’s campaign irks ski industry climate advocates

Willamette Pass joins Purgatory’s orbit

Vail Resorts to limit number of day lift tickets during 2022-23 season

National Ski Patrol in turmoil as third director in five years leaves, citing conflict

Forest Service OKs Vail Resorts’ plan to restore Keystone tundra

Forest Service halts new Keystone chairlift after resort mistakenly builds road in protected tundra

Colorado ski areas set a new visitor record last season

Colorado’s independent ski areas are thriving in shadow of resort giants

Durango man recounts avalanche, harrowing rescue and road to recovery

San Juan National Forest approves Purgatory’s Ice Creek project

How Crested Butte’s first-ever extreme skiing contests birthed the freeskiing movement

Vail Resorts promises $175 million more for employees, bumps starting pay to $20 an hour

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