Industry News
Local residents of Durango, Colorado, were disappointed to learn earlier this month that Hesperus Ski Area, located just 11 miles from Durango, will not open for a second straight year. The small ski area, popular for its beginner-friendly terrain and cheap lift tickets, has suffered a string of bad luck, including poor snowfall and mechanical issues.
Two years ago, Hesperus replaced the haul rope on the 1960s-era Riblet chairlift, but shortly after that, the gearbox failed. Components for chairlifts this old usually have to be custom fabricated, and the Durango Herald reported this fix could cost around $200,000. Mountain Capital Partners, which also owns nearby Purgatory, Colorado, has drawn criticism after no plans for repairs have been made in yet another season, despite recent announcements of more than $15 million in improvements across its other resorts.
Mountain Capital Partners bought the ski area in 2016 with plans of keeping the small operation running. Hesperus only sees around 150 inches of snow each winter, which can make opening before Christmas a rare event. James Coleman, managing partner of Mountain Capital Partners, told the Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast that the Christmas holiday is essential for breaking even each year, and that Hesperus skiers are essentially all season pass holders outside of Christmas, spring break, and maybe a few other peak weekends during the winter. Coleman detailed that snowmaking capabilities would allow Hesperus to more routinely open for Christmas each year, which would help the $200,000+ gearbox project make more sense to pursue. Hesperus sits at an elevation of more than 8,000 feet and is largely north-facing, so temperatures for snowmaking would not be too much of a challenge.
Snowmaking needs water, and water is not as easy to come by in Southwestern Colorado. Mountain Capital Partners just owns the Hesperus Ski Area, but not the land it sits on. Approvals from both the landowner and the local governments make a snowmaking project much more complicated to pull off. The year after Mountain Capital Partners purchased Hesperus, it acquired Elk Ridge Ski Area in Arizona. Though Mountain Capital Partners obtained a new special-use permit from the Forest Service in 2020, Elk Ridge has not reopened, perhaps in part because the new permit does not include authorization for a snowmaking system.
The value of small ski areas is undeniable. Why else would Vail Resorts seek so many acquisitions across the Midwest and East Coast? But, with aging lift infrastructure and much more limited snowfall, keeping these small, unique ski areas around is not as easy as we would all like it to be. Hesperus ski area faces an uncertain future, but many continue to hope for an eventual return.
