There’s a certain feeling in the San Juans when winter starts to feel real. The temperatures drop, snowmaking guns fire up, and that first round of fresh snow starts to cover the peaks. Around Purgatory, we’re getting that feeling right now—and with our scheduled opening day of November 20 approaching, there’s plenty to be excited about.
Behind the scenes, our team has been putting in the work to get the mountain ready for another winter. One of the biggest projects is getting closer to the finish line: the new Colorado Couloir lift.
Connecting the Final Pieces
If you’ve been following our Colorado Couloir updates, you’ve seen the progress from summer construction through tower installation. Now, we’re reaching another major milestone: the haul rope.
The haul rope is the cable that chairs are attached to, carrying skiers and riders up the mountain. Getting it installed is a major undertaking for any lift, but especially for Colorado Couloir. The process involves more than simply putting a big loop around the bull wheels, more so than usual on a lift that climbs such steep, technical terrain.
In our case, we had our friends from Skytrac come help intricately lace our tag lines through the towers via helicopter, so that the haul rope could be carefully pulled into position along the sheaves (the wheels on towers) and over the steep cliff lines. After that, the ends of the rope must be woven into 6 connections to complete the circle, through a specialized process called splicing.
During splicing, the rope’s strands are intertwined by a team of Purg staff to create a continuous loop designed to withstand the demands of daily lift operations. It takes specialized expertise, careful execution, and plenty of attention to detail. Now that the rope is spliced and installed, the team can move closer to the remaining commissioning, testing, and safety checks required before the lift can carry guests.
It’s one of those behind-the-scenes steps that might not get the same attention as a new trail or a powder day, but it’s essential to getting a new lift ready for winter.
And what does all this work mean for you? Colorado Couloir will provide access to approximately 40 acres of new advanced and expert terrain, including five new trails and gladed tree skiing. It will also create a new connection from the Gelande parking area to the upper mountain, giving skiers and riders another way to access Purgatory’s terrain.
For those who love steep lines, technical skiing, and exploring new parts of the mountain, this is an exciting addition. We’re looking forward to seeing how you make it your own.
Making Snow, Making Progress
While the lift team works toward the finish line, our snowmaking crew has been getting after it, too.
We’ve begun making snow as temperatures allow, building the foundation for opening day. Snowmaking is a bit of a balancing act: we need the right combination of temperature, humidity, and weather conditions to make quality snow efficiently. When those windows open, our team takes advantage of them.
Then came the weekend of October 24–25, when Purgatory received some fresh natural snow. It’s an encouraging sight across the mountain and a welcome reminder that winter is on its way.
Of course, a little early-season snowfall doesn’t mean we’re ready to open everything just yet. There’s still plenty of work ahead, and conditions will determine how much terrain we can offer when the lifts start spinning. But every favorable weather window gives our team another opportunity to prepare.
November 20 Is Getting Closer
Opening day is about more than getting the lifts running. It’s the culmination of months of planning, construction, maintenance, and teamwork across the entire resort. From the people installing lift infrastructure to the crews making snow and preparing trails, everyone is working toward that first day when we get to welcome you back to the mountain.
This season, that welcome comes with something new. Colorado Couloir represents an exciting step forward for Purgatory, expanding access to advanced and expert terrain while giving guests a new way to experience the mountain. At the same time, our snowmaking efforts and early-season snowfall are helping build momentum toward the start of winter.
We’re not across the finish line quite yet, but we’re getting closer every day.
Keep an eye on our updates as we continue preparing for November 20. We can’t wait to kick off another winter with you in the San Juan Mountains.
We’ll see you on opening day,
The Purgatory Team
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