Purgatory Resort is feeling thankful for early winter conditions after a winter storm delivered over a foot of fresh, heavy snow ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The ski resort is opening its Lift 3, which connects to the back side of the mountain, on Saturday and at least three more trails, including Peace, Boogie and Air Mail, ahead of schedule. The lift was originally planned to open around Dec. 7, said Theresa Graven, Purgatory spokeswoman.
She said 19 trails are currently open and are being served by lifts 1 and 2, and generally speaking, Purgatory has had a stronger-than-average start to the season.
She said about 14 inches of snow fell at the ski resort between Monday morning and Wednesday morning and skiers and staff alike are loving the conditions. Trees are weighed down by coats of snow and it’s really starting to look like winter on the mountain.
The conditions for snowmaking are great with low temperatures and low humidity, she said. Crews fired up their snow machines Thursday afternoon while the mountain was shutting down and ran them into Friday morning.
Thanksgiving came late this year on Nov. 28 compared to last year on Nov. 23. But it marks the first time in up to five years that Purgatory was able to open top-to-bottom skiing before the holiday, Graven said. Purgatory held a bonus ski weekend on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 ahead of its official opening day on Nov. 16.
“Early season conditions are definitely better than what we've been seeing in the past several years, for sure,” she said. “And we've had some great snow years. We just don't get the snow as early in November. (That) can be kind of hit or miss.”
Graven said she hit the slopes Thursday and she didn’t wait in a lift line at all, but she expects the mountain to be fairly busy Saturday morning with the opening of Lift 3.
Despite great conditions, it is still early season and the whole mountain is not open yet, so the resort could feel crowded, she said.
She said skiers are surely excited for the season, but the season is still early and they should be vigilant for obstacles hidden in the snow, keep their speed in check and watch for other people on the mountain.
“You want to stay healthy and in good physical condition for the rest of the season, so don't get too ahead of yourself,” she said.
Anecdotally, Graven said she noticed a lot of out-of-town license plates in the Purgatory parking lots on Thursday. She met many people visiting from Albuquerque, a group from Phoenix, and another family renting their gear who were visiting the resort and had never skied before.
“It felt like a lot of locals left town this week and that (there were) more visitors while I was waiting for my pass. There were some folks that had never, ever skied before from out of state who were in there getting all their rentals,” she said.
Purgatory has also experienced a strong increase in international visitors, particularly from Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico. Graven said Mexico is Colorado’s No. 1 international market for visitation.
“We're so close to them geographically, but they also don't have ski mountains and a lot of folks from Mexico City and from places like Monterey and Guadalajara love to ski,” she said. “They’ve been, historically, always coming to places like Vail and Aspen. But now they're starting to seek out other destinations that are more … off the beaten path.”
She added Mexican visitors are great guests at Purgatory. They are appreciative of services such as ski lessons, they tip well and their travel habits nail a sweet spot for sustainable tourism.
“They spend more money on rentals, staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants,” she said.
She said Purgatory is introducing a new event in partnership with the Durango Hot Springs on Dec. 7: Ullr Fest.
The event will feature polar plunges and an Ullr parade, and she suspects many skiers are paraders who will be wearing their best sasquatch and yeti costumes.
Ever since an alleged sasquatch was spotted near Silverton by a passenger riding on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in October 2023, sasquatch and yeti tourism has soared, she said.
“There has been this whole crazy uptick in sasquatch tourism to our region. So we're hoping to invoke the God of snow, Ullr, and make it snow more in December, and also just kind of lean into that sasquatch tourism,” she said. “You know, have a little bit of fun with that.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
