Weather or not
Ski areas adapt to recent run of warm, dry days

It’s unseasonably warm – that’s what everyone’s saying. The high temperatures and lack of precipitation, in not only the Southwest but most of Colorado, is causing some to have nervous twitches over the supposedly upcoming ski season. But, for the folks who call the local ski mountains home, it’s just another day in Durango.
“It doesn’t seem like we have a whole lot of average winters,”

Jeff Givens, the self-proclaimed weather nerd behind Durango Snow Lovers, said Tuesday.

After moving to Durango from the Front Range in 2008, Givens began trying to understand the enigma that is weather in Southwest Colorado.

“Here’s a town with no TV station and no radar,” he said, “relying on somebody 250 miles away.”

With Grand Junction the closest satellite office for the National Weather Service, Givens took to combining outside sources, like WeatherBELL Analytics, with on-the-ground observations. When his wife suggested he share his hobby, Durango Snow Lovers was born.

Started in 2012, his Facebook page now enjoys lots of followers, including some of the pros like the National Weather Service and Joel Gratz from Open Snow.

When asked about this year’s warm temps and dry skies, Givens said it does show some interesting similarities to 2012 – when there was an active La Niña and the Pacific Northwest got hammered by rain and snowfall, just like they have in recent weeks.

“I don’t really think it’s that unusual,” he explained.

Givens also doesn’t think there’s any need to worry. He’s calling the storm expected this week a warm-up or opening act. It’ll likely be followed by a stronger storm Monday, and possibly more in the weeks to come.

The most notable difference this week, Givens said, will be the temperature drop.

The falling mercury will be a welcome sight for ski areas – it’s their key ingredient for snowmaking. Wolf Creek, Purgatory and Telluride are all looking to kick snowmaking into high gear with the onset of lower temperatures. However, it might not be enough.

“While the long-range forecast points to more favorable temperatures for snowmaking, there aren’t enough snowmaking hours over the next week to 10 days to make the quantity of snow necessary to achieve our planned opening date,” Bill Jensen, CEO of Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, said in a statement.

As a result of the tight schedule, Telluride has decided to delay its opening day, pushing an official decision back to Nov. 28.

Wolf Creek, on the other hand, does plan to open Thanksgiving Day with one lift and a couple of runs, while Purgatory is still shooting for this Sat., Nov. 19, with runs open under Lift 2 (aka, the two-seater Engineer Lift).

In some ways, Wolf Creek has an advantage over the other local areas with its higher elevation, the base sits at 10,300 feet, and a majority of north-facing slopes.

The bulk of what Wolf Creek will likely open Nov. 24 is in the beginner area. The Nova Lift will service the Nova and Susan runs during regular hours, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Ski school, rentals, the sports shop and Main Day Lodge will also be ready to go.

For the past several years, according to Rosanne Pitcher, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Wolf Creek hasn’t opened any later than mid-November. The last time it had a later opening was in 1999, when they fired up the lifts Dec. 1 with just six inches of snow.

“We’re expecting snow on Thursday,” she said. “And that could change everything.”

Skiers understand that not only are the resorts making these decisions day-to-day, she added, but that Mother Nature is in charge.

All the resorts in Southwest Colorado made big changes during the off-season. For Wolf Creek, the biggest change is a new lift in the beginner area called the Lynx Lift.

Ski area officials are still waiting final approval from the Forest Service, but after it’s official, the lift will do more than just help out beginner skiers and riders. The new lift and new beginner area will take pressure off other areas on the mountain, especially during busy times.

Other noticeable improvements at Wolf Creek include repainted buildings and repaved parking lots.

Wolf Creek isn’t the only one who’s been busy. Purgatory made changes to the ski area, as well as to the company.

First off are the changes to the resort. Purgatory added a rope tow, or surface lift, to the bottom of the backside.

The resort also improved the Legends Bypass, an intermediate option first cut last year heading down to the base of Lift 8; expanded and regraded the Columbine/beginner area; and performed hazard tree mitigation, which helped improve both forest health and tree skiing, according to Kim Oyler, director of communications.

There were also changes within the company. Over the summer, Purgatory owner James Coleman picked up the Hesperus Ski Area, giving Purgatory a night skiing opportunity for its passholders. He also acquired San Juan Un- tracked, rebranded as Purgatory Snowcat Adventures, which allows the resort to offer snowcat skiing.

Another addition is a new building on North Main in the former Hassle Free Sports location. The site will house retail, rental and ticket sales, as well as a reservations center and serve as the company’s headquarters. Construction is expected to be finished by the end of November.