Helicopter construction begins on new chairlift in southwest Colorado
Helicopter operations to construct Purgatory Resort’s new Colorado Couloir chairlift are underway, with lift components and construction materials being transported into the steep, roadless mountainside. The lift is scheduled to open in December 2026.
According to a press release from Purgatory Resort, the lift’s name — Colorado Couloir — reflects the “steep, technical character of the lift-served zone, which includes chutes, glades and some of the resort’s most challenging skiing.” The lift creates a new access point to the upper mountain, which will eliminate the need for the shuttle ride that skiers previously had to take to ski from Gelande. The expansion includes seven new trails and connectors.
Colorado Couloir is a fixed-grip triple chairlift that spans 4,439 feet and climbs 1,625 vertical feet from the Gelande parking area to the upper mountain, with a 60 percent grade at its peak. The lift will take about nine minutes to ride and has a capacity of 1,445 skiers per hour.
Helicopters are being used to transport concrete forms and other materials to construction sites because a lot of the lift alignment crosses steep mountainsides without road access, and it will help minimize disturbance to the surrounding landscape.
“Colorado Couloir will give guests a new way to experience Purgatory this winter,” said Dave Rathbun, CEO of Purgatory Resort, in the press release. “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.”
The lift will incorporate chairs, grips and other machinery that is from Telluride’s retired Plunge Lift, keeping “proven and reliable lift equipment out of the landfill and in service in the San Juan Mountains.”
The lift was originally approved through Purgatory’s 2008 Improvement Plan Environmental Impact Statement and reaffirmed through a 2019 Environmental Assessment. Colorado Couloir is part of about $7 million in capital improvements underway at Purgatory this summer and part of more than $37.5 million in improvements announced this year by Mountain Capital Partners, the ski resort management company that operates Purgatory.
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