Durango, Colorado — This is shaping up to be an exciting winter for Purgatory Resort. While their new chairlift and terrain expansion are exciting, they intend to build on that momentum with more terrain and new lifts.
Last week, Purgatory CEO Dave Rathbun caught up with Stuart Winchester of The Storm Skiing Journal & Podcast. In the episode, they discuss the Colorado Couloir chairlift and expansion, snowmaking upgrades, plus projects planned for the 2027 and 2028 offseasons.
The Projects For This Offseason
The focus of this offseason has been the construction of the Colorado Couloir. This fixed-grip triple chairlift will travel from the Geland parking lot. It will feature new SkyTrac terminals, along with parts of the old Plunge chairlift from Telluride. It will have a ride time of less than ten minutes, giving guests an alternative option to get up the mountain.
As part of the expansion, Purgatory is adding 40 new acres of skiing. The resort will add five new advanced and expert trails, plus additional glade zones. It will feature some of the toughest terrain at Purgatory Resort.
Also underway is the Divinty trail snowmaking expansion. This will provide snowmaking infrastructure from the top of Lift 4 to the mid-mountain, improving beginner access.
Potential 2027 & 28 Projects
The big takeaway from the podcast is that they’re eyeing big projects in 2027 and 2028. For 2027, the plan is to work on the Ice Creek Expansion. This will add several low blue trails to the terrain network as a next step for beginner skiers. While mostly catering to less experienced skiers, it does have a huge cliff on its liftline for those who have good health insurance. It could possibly be served by the remaining parts of Telluride’s Plunge chairlift.
Also being planned is a snowmaking expansion to the lower portions of the Colorado Couloir lift. While they plan to open it this year with a neveplast surface and/or natural snowpack, getting snowmaking will lead to an easier transition to the slopes for riders.
In 2028, Purgatory is planning to install a new detachable gondola. It would replace Lift 4, which is a vintage Riblet double chair. Also envisioned is a new lodge next to the top of the gondola. This would also serve as a second relialiale high-capacity option for the base village outside of the Purgatory Village Express. An additional incentive for installing it is hosting future mountain bike competitions, including the 2030 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Obviously, these are subject to change, as they did point out that changes to the U.S. Forest Service and local government have impacted the speed at which projects get approved.
Image/Video Credits: The Storm Skiing Journal & Podcast, Purgatory Resort
