DURANGO, CO — Purgatory Resort in Colorado has announced plans to build a new chairlift and develop up to five new trails this summer as part of an ongoing capital investment project. The resort will also temporarily close the Purgatory Bike Park during the summer to allow for the construction work.
The new lift, named Gelande, will be a fixed-grip triple chairlift made by Skytrac. It will be located to the left of the Needles lift. According to the resort, the new lift will expand the frontside terrain and provide easier access to the top of the mountain, bypassing the Columbine and Village base areas.
The U.S. Forest Service approved the Gelande lift project in 2018. The construction will also expand Purgatory Resort’s Special Use Permit (SUP) area by 26 acres.
“This is an exciting milestone for Purgatory,” said Dave Rathbun, general manager of Purgatory Resort, in a press release. “We are investing in improvements that will enhance the mountain experience and strengthen our year-round operations. Our goal is to give people more freedom to ski and improve that experience with each season.”
The new lift and trail improvements will involve two new working groups, each with 12 to 15 year-round employees. Many of these workers already assist seasonally in the winter months. Their roles will be essential in building the Gelande lift and the new trail network.
To ensure safety during construction, which will involve heavy machinery, the resort has decided to close the bike park temporarily. However, Purgatory Resort plans to continue maintaining and improving its trails in preparation for the future.
“We are committed to providing an even better mountain biking experience down the road,” Rathbun stated in a recent blog post.
The resort will release more information about its summer operations as the season progresses. Meanwhile, weekend ski operations will continue at Purgatory Resort until April 20, weather permitting.
In other news, Sandia Peak in New Mexico, another ski area under the same Mountain Capital Partners umbrella as Purgatory, is considering building a new “Chondola” — a chairlift-gondola hybrid — to replace Lift 1 and improve uphill capacity.