Industry News
In April 2025, Purgatory Resort in Southern Colorado announced that it planned to invest $6 million into the mountain. A large part of that is going towards the Gelande lift, a new fixed-grip triple lift which had originally been scheduled to open for the 2025-26 winter season. The proposed lift would originate from the Gelande overflow parking lot and terminate near the top of the Needles lift. Coming along with the lift are 5 new expert ski trails. The lift would have also allowed skiers and riders to lap Monkey Brains, Monkey Gully, Sun Dog and Gelande. Riders currently take a shuttle to get back to the lift network. The lift would have marked the first time the Gelande parking lot had lift access.
But not everything is going according to plan. Due to delays with the United States Forest Service and La Plata County, the lift has not made progress this summer and won’t be ready for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Most recently, the lift has been delayed indefinitely. The lift machinery will go into storage as winter approaches and the resort will try to construct the lift for the 2026-27 season. Even that timeline is up in the air right now, as the resort focuses on how to push the lift towards approval. Compounding the delay, the resort closed their mountain biking this summer to facilitate construction of the lift.
Smaller portions of the overall $6 million investment plan were completed as planned this summer. The resort added snowmaking on a few popular trails, including the lower portion of Ray’s Ridge and Black Burns Bash. The mountain will also have new rental equipment for the upcoming season, a new Prinoth Bison snowcat, multiple new high definition mountain cams and expanded wifi-coverage across the mountain.
As the 60th anniversary of the Purgatory Resort approaches, the plan to add the new Gelande lift has been derailed. The lift would have added lift service to the Gelande parking lot, introduced 5 new expert trails and allowed easier access to existing terrain. This improvement plan was set to elevate the Purgatory Resort experience, but La Plata County and the United States Forest Service had other plans.
