Durango, Colorado — One of the most anticipated new lifts for expert skiers and riders for this upcoming winter is at Purgatory Resort.
Work is well underway on the Colorado Couloir chairlift, which will improve access to the resort and add new challenging terrain to the mix. We got our latest update this week, and things are looking promising.
Construction Update
In a blog post from earlier this week, Purgatory Resort shared the latest on the construction process. Helicopter crews have installed the lift towers, and work on the top terminal is complete. Meanwhile, ground crews are clearing out the future terrain.
Next up is building out the bottom terminal, followed by the haul rope splice, electrical and control work, and certification of the lift by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board.
About The Colorado Couloir & Expansion
Previously, those who parked at the Gelande lot had to go to the village to access the lifts. This isn’t the most convenient process, which is partially why they’re adding a new lift.
The Gelande parking lot will now be served by a fixed-grip triple chairlift (named the Colorado Couloir), reducing the need to travel to Purgatory’s village. To make things sweeter, the expansion will add new and improved expert terrain.
The new expansion will feature “steep, technical, unapologetic high-alpine skiing.” Hell yeah, brother. This will include several new trails, along with some very steep glades. The signature run will liekly be the new lift line, full of cliffs and a slanted fall line. For perspective, the new lift’s grade will reach 60%. Some of these are already glades, such as the Monkey Gullies and Brimstone. However, Purgatory has also cleared glades in between those existing glade areas. A new connector trail to the bottom of the Colorado Couloir has also been created.
This new terrain pod will be served by a fixed-grip triple chairlift, with some parts coming from the old Plunge lift at Telluride Ski Resort. Here are the chairlift’s stats: a length of 4,439 feet, a vertical rise of 1,625 feet, an uphill carrying capacity of 1,445 skiers per hour, and a ride time of around nine minutes.
“Colorado Couloir will give guests a new way to experience Purgatory this winter. It expands advanced and expert skiing on the front side of the mountain, creates a new access point from Gelande and helps us evolve in a way that stays true to what makes Purgatory special,” said Dave Rathbun, CEO of Purgatory Resort and Managing Partner of Mountain Capital Partners.
Image/Video Credits: Purgatory Resort
