Snow sports

Local News

Purgatory Resort delays opening day

weather, lack of snow push back start of 2025-26 ski season

November 20, 2025 • Scout Edmondson — Herald Staff Writer

Alpine skiing

Purgatory Resort announces bonus weekend of skiing after major snowstorm

area to open for this weekend after getting nearly a foot of snow

November 7, 2024 • Tri-City Record Staff

Colorado Avalanche

Sliding toward a snow and avalanche studies certificate

cohort of students in Fort Lewis College working through new program

April 14, 2024 • Reuben M. Schafir — Herald Staff Writer

Alpine skiing

Wolf Creek opens multiple lifts after 23-inch storm

Purgatory opens top-to-bottom skiing after receiving 14 inches

November 26, 2023 • Tri-City Record Staff

History

History and science merge in Fort Lewis College analysis of Purgatory Resort snowpack

ski patrol data, student examines ski area’s unique snowfall patterns

May 17, 2023 • Reuben M. Schafir — Herald Staff Writer

Local News

The enduring joy of fat tire bikes

have declined and access is limited, but riders are psyched to hit the trail

March 7, 2023 • Reuben M. Schafir — Herald Staff Writer

Avalanche/landslide

Snowmobiler who rescued friend from avalanche in La Plata Mountains urges preparation

‘I'm just glad that I instinctually knew which steps to take,’ says rescuer

March 1, 2023 • Reuben M. Schafir — Herald Staff Writer

Alpine skiing

City issues proposals request to replace ski rope tows at Chapman Hill

Reliance on decades-old lines makes staff feel like they’re ‘living on borrowed time’

December 27, 2022 • Christian Burney — Herald Staff Writer

Chapman Hill

Photos: Chapman Hill Ski Area needs more snow

Tim Kuss pushes snow Saturday on Chapman Hill with the city’s snowcat machine. The in-town ski hill has been making…

December 6, 2022 • Jerry McBride — Herald Photo Editor

Local News

Snow lovers flock to Purgatory Resort on opening day

‘Now that everyone wants to share a chair it’s kind of nice’

November 19, 2022 • Christian Burney — Herald Staff Writer

Climbing

Alaska’s Denali is finally open to guided skiing, and you have a Colorado company to thank

rules were written with the expectation that mountaineers would stay roped, walking uphill and down

July 4, 2022 • Elizabeth Miller — The Colorado Sun

Alpine skiing

San Juan National Forest approves Purgatory’s Ice Creek project

45-acre expansion will add a new ski lift and beginner trails

March 22, 2022 • Aedan Hannon — Herald Staff Writer

Colorado Department of Transportation

Snow misses lower elevations but slams mountains

‘Southwest flow’ and banding limited accumulations

February 24, 2022 • Aedan Hannon — Herald Staff Writer

Environment

San Juan Mountains Association expands ambassador program to winter

Interpretive tours and winter education at Andrews Lake have been popular with plans to expand

February 18, 2022 • Aedan Hannon — Herald Staff Writer

Local News

Warm, dry weather forces Purgatory to push back opening day

Above-average temperatures have made snowmaking difficult this fall

November 18, 2021 • Nicholas A. Johnson — Herald Staff Writer

Alpine skiing

A-Basin provides glimpse of what next ski season may look like

snow was soft, the sun was shining and the lift lines were short. Besides mask-wearing and social distancing, it felt…

June 1, 2020 • JESSE PAUL