It’s been an interesting past couple of years for Cuchara Mountain. The Cuchara Foundation bought the lost Colorado ski area in 2017 for $150,000 and has slowly worked on getting Lift 4 operating again. Lift 4 is now able to spin after $300,000 of parts and labor but will need to be inspected in order for people to ride it again. More fees are likely to come through, as the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board inspections and final contractor work will cost $27,000, and the lift insurance will be $24,000. If they can raise the funds via donations, the lift could run this summer. The Gazette reports that their goal would be a July 4th reopening with a party.
This summer, they plan on adding a mountain biking section with a “small pump track, trails, and rollers built for beginners.” Other future plans could include adding intermediate and advanced mountain biking trails. In terms of their winter operations, their goal is to run Chair 4(the unshaded portion of the trail map below) to give families access to beginner and intermediate terrain. Will Pirkey of the Pandero Ski Corporation told me that their goal is to create a “community-based ski hill with as affordable lift tickets as possible.” The rest of the 200 acres of trails on the upper mountain will be free of cost and accessible for backcountry skiing and snowshoeing.