{"id":90141,"date":"2020-03-15T16:33:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-15T22:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/purgatory-wolf-creek-ski-areas-receive-little-notice-about-closures\/"},"modified":"2020-03-15T16:33:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T22:33:39","slug":"purgatory-wolf-creek-ski-areas-receive-little-notice-about-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/purgatory-wolf-creek-ski-areas-receive-little-notice-about-closures\/","title":{"rendered":"Purgatory, Wolf Creek ski areas receive little notice about closures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Purgatory
Purgatory Resort and other ski areas in Southwest Colorado scrambled Sunday morning to close their slopes after Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order closing ski areas in the state from Sunday through March 22 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ski areas in Southwest Colorado hastily shuttered operations Sunday after Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order banning operations from Sunday through March 22.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed 30 new positive cases in Colorado, based on overnight test results. None of the cases was in La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta, San Juan, San Miguel or Dolores counties. None of those counties yet has a confirmed case of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s numbers bring the total number of positive cases to date in Colorado to 131.<\/p>\n

Roseanne Pitcher, co-owner of Wolf Creek Ski Area, and Dave Rathbun, general manager of Purgatory Resort, both scrambled to close their slopes. They both expressed dismay about the lack of communication between the governor\u2019s office and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and ski areas concerning the closures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re compliant. We have closed down, but I\u2019m a little upset about the lack of notice,\u201d Pitcher said in a phone interview Sunday. \u201cWe had no notice; no one called us. We heard nothing until it was made public. I feel there is poor communication between government offices and ski areas, at least the smaller ski areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday night, Wolf Creek was selling lift tickets and taking reservations for its ski school for Sunday, and if the governor\u2019s office had better communication with the ski area, it would have been able to avoid selling those tickets and then refunding money back to customers, Pitcher said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A web camera at Purgatory Resort showed people sledding Sunday near the base area of Purgatory Resort, but no lifts operating and no skiers coming down from top to bottom.<\/span>Courtesy of Purgatory Resort<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Rathbun said he received a telephone call from Butch Knowlton, La Plata County emergency manager, about noon Saturday, when Knowlton told Purgatory executives to be prepared for a call from the governor\u2019s office, but he said the phone call never came.<\/p>\n

\u201cText and messages kept coming at me with different information, but we never got the phone call from the governor\u2019s office. Finally, I called Butch about 9:30 last night and asked him, \u2018What the heck is going on.\u2019 And he didn\u2019t know either,\u201d Rathbun said.<\/p>\n

Late Saturday night, Rathbun said La Plata County and Purgatory Resort both separately confirmed that the closures ordered by Polis were from Sunday through Sunday, March 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we had not done the outreach on our own, I don\u2019t think anyone was going to tell us about the executive order. I\u2019m concerned that this doesn\u2019t happen again. This is a rapidly changing situation, and if poor communication like this continues it will be problematic. It leaves a lot to be desired,\u201d Rathbun said.<\/p>\n

Rathbun said mid-March to mid-April typically brings in 10% to 15% of skiers for the season to Purgatory and the closure will hurt not only the ski area, but the 900 employees at the ski area, who are employed during peak season. He said the 900 employee peak included the upcoming week, which is heavy because it is spring break season.<\/p>\n

At Wolf Creek Ski Area, 400 employees are idled by the closure. Employees at both Wolf Creek and Purgatory will not be paid while they are not at work, Pitcher and Rathbun said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the largest employer in Mineral County. People are dependent on us for income,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A web camera showed good snow coverage but little activity Sunday at Wolf Creek Ski Area.<\/span>Courtesy of Wolf Creek Ski Area<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Pitcher also noted that guests who would have been on the slopes Sunday were instead concentrated in restaurants and hotels in Pagosa Springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was confusing to our guests. They\u2019re concentrated in Pagosa Springs and South Fork. We don\u2019t have a lodge on the mountain, and now you have people concentrated in town in restaurants and hotels. I don\u2019t understand how the health department thinks that\u2019s more healthy than having people on the lifts and on the mountains,\u201d Pitcher said.<\/p>\n

Based on the current situation, Pitcher said, she plans to reopen Wolf Creek on March 23, unless further orders come extending the closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work all summer for the ski season, for about 150 to 160 days of operation. Being a winter-only operation, we\u2019re dependent on this business as our only means of income,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Telluride Ski Area decided to close for the season with the governor\u2019s executive order.<\/p>\n

Nancy Clark, a spokeswoman with Telluride Ski Area, said the executive team was meeting Sunday on how to handle the shut down.<\/p>\n

Clark said she\u2019s heard the closure might be extended, given that COVID-19\u2019s incubation period is 14 days.<\/p>\n

In a news release announcing the closure of ski resorts, Polis said, \u201cThe challenges posed by COVID-19 are unique and place significant burdens on hospitals and medical personnel. We are aware of the great cost that mountain communities face if our downhill ski resorts close, even temporarily.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese costs will be borne by local residents and businesses, and by the individuals and families who come to Colorado to enjoy our beautiful mountains and world-renowned skiing. But in the face of this pandemic emergency we cannot hesitate to protect public health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rathbun said Purgatory will reassess the situation in the upcoming week to determine if it will reopen.<\/p>\n

Purgatory had a plan in place to mitigate the risks of COVID-19, and until the Polis-ordered shut down, Purgatory executives had planned to remain open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a clear plan to mitigate the risks to our guests and employees, and as long as there were no cases of the virus in La Plata County, we were planning to continue operating, unless that changed,\u201d Rathbun said.<\/p>\n

Ski areas are so diverse in Colorado, he said his personal opinion is that a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d plan for all the state\u2019s ski areas is not needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very different from bigger ski areas that host far more visitors on the Front Range,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pitcher concurred that different protective measures could have been taken at more remote ski areas in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could have asked people to bring their lunches, and we could have closed down the restaurants and other public places,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

parmijo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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