Flooded river scene with trees and barrier near a road, autumn colors.
As of Tuesday, the San Juan River has started to recede. Image Credit: PJ's Fine Bamboo Rods.

Pagosa Springs, Colorado — The footage from the past few days in Southwestern Colorado has been a tough watch.

Following heavy flooding last month, Durango and Pagosa Springs saw heavy flooding Sunday into Monday. Some people lost their homes, while some businesses, like Pagosa Springs’ museum, suffered notable damage. Meanwhile, one of the town’s ski shops has had a few close calls.

Since 1976, Summit Ski and Sports has been a staple of the Pagosa Springs community. The veteran-owned and operated business serves Pagosa Springs, which is also home to Wolf Creek Ski Area. The shop is well liked, with a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Google. Unfortunately, they weren’t immune from the recent flooding in Pagosa Springs

The ski shop was damaged by the October flooding. The basement of Summit Ski and Sports was flooded due to its proximity to the San Juan River. Because of this, some of their inventory was damaged.

The good news for customers is that they were able to offer the impacted gear at a discounted value.

Then came this latest wave, which occurred on Sunday and Monday. This time, they prepared with a barrier that surrounded the shop. It appeared to work, with no damage to their existing gear this time.

In Pagosa Springs, there are other ski businesses that are also near the San Juan River. These include Ski & Bow Rack and Pagosa Ski Rentals. The status of these two businesses is uncertain. While not a ski shop, outdoor gear shop Pagosa Mountain Sports confirmed they aren’t dealing with damage.

Also situated in Pagosa Springs, Wolf Creek Ski Area remains closed due to the flooding in town. They plan to stay closed until the county lifts its evacuation order. The ski area only operated one day before having to close due to flooding. Wolf Creek was planning to be closed for the midweek regardless. The good news for Wolf Creek is that they have seen around a foot of snow from this system. A reopening date has yet to be announced. However, the water has started to recede, so it could be soon.

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Image/Video Credits: PJ’s Fine Bamboo Rods, Summit Ski & Sports

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Ian Wood became passionate about the ski industry while learning to ski at Mt. Sunapee. In high school, he became a ski patroller at Proctor Ski Area. He travelled out...