As Purgatory prepares for the start of summer on June 20th, work is underway across the resort on a wide range of projects, events, and improvements. Mountain biking is returning, several major summer events are on the calendar, and construction crews continue making progress on multiple large projects around the mountain, including the long-awaited Colorado Couloir Lift, formerly referred to during the planning as the “Gelande” lift.
In addition to the new lift itself, the Colorado Couloir project will introduce several new trails and additional lift-served terrain to the mountain. We’ll be sharing more details, including the trail names and terrain information, as construction continues this summer.
This summer’s event calendar includes the return of Mountain States Cup at Purgatory August 27-30 as the final stop of the revived Rocky Mountain downhill race series, along with the return of Total Archery Challenge July 10-12 after a successful first year at the resort. Combined with weekly live music – every Thursday, scenic chairlift rides, mountain biking, and all of our summer activities, the resort is quickly coming back to life for the season.
At the same time, a great deal of work is happening behind the scenes to improve infrastructure and continue investing in the future of the resort.
Colorado Couloir Lift Progress
If you’ve driven up Highway 550 recently, you’ve likely seen the amount of activity already taking place on the mountain, including a helicopter bringing logs down as crews continue lift line clearing, grading, and other preparation work for the Colorado Couloir Lift project.
This project continues to require significant coordination between resort teams, contractors, engineers, and the USFS, and we remain on schedule to bring the Colorado Couloir Lift online for the 2026/27 winter season.
As construction activity increases throughout the summer and fall, we ask all guests and visitors to respect posted closures and stay out of active construction zones, parking lots, work roads, and equipment staging areas where heavy machinery and helicopter operations may be occurring.
Village Center Infrastructure Project
One of the largest infrastructure projects underway this summer is a major water utility replacement project in the Village Center and Eolus buildings. While this work is not the most visible project on the mountain, it is an important long-term investment in the reliability and future of the base area.
Because of the scale and complexity of the project, much of the Village Center will remain closed for most, if not all, of the summer season.
Despite those impacts, Purgatory Sports plans to remain open this summer and will serve as the primary location for bike rentals throughout the summer. Retail operations will continue as well in our Branded storefront location in the plaza. Paradise Pizza will remain closed during the summer.
To help offset these changes, we are expanding food offerings in other locations across the resort, including additional food offerings at Waffle Cabin and Purgy’s, along with an expanded food menu at the Bear Bar.
We appreciate everyone’s patience and flexibility as this important infrastructure project moves forward.
In addition to these larger projects, crews continue work across the resort on mountain maintenance, trail improvements, drainage work, and a variety of operational projects that help prepare the mountain for both summer operations and the coming winter season.
We’ll continue to provide updates throughout the summer as projects progress and additional work gets underway around the resort.
We’ll see you on the Mountain,
The Purgatory Team
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