Colorado Resort Adding 7 New Trails in Expert Terrain

Colorado's Purgatory Resort is moving ahead with one of its most ambitious terrain expansions in years, as construction accelerates on Colorado Couloir, a new triple chairlift rising from the Gelande parking area to reach expert terrain in the upper mountain and accessing 7 new trails.

Helicopters are now transporting concrete forms, steel components and materials directly onto the steep, roadless alignment, a key milestone for a project designed to open some of the resort’s most challenging terrain by December 2026.

Colorado Couloir replaces the long‑planned Gelande Lift concept and brings a new identity to a zone defined by narrow chutes, technical glades and sustained fall‑line pitches. The lift will eliminate the shuttle previously required to reach the area, giving advanced and expert skiers direct access to terrain that has long been part of Purgatory’s vision. Spanning 4,439 feet and climbing 1,625 vertical feet, the lift reaches grades of up to 60 percent and carries 1,445 skiers per hour, offering a dramatic preview of the terrain below.

Seven new trails and connectors will accompany the expansion, with names to be released later this summer. Crews have already completed timber removal by helicopter and are excavating tower and terminal foundations ahead of installation. To reduce waste, the lift incorporates chairs and machinery from Telluride’s retired Plunge Lift, extending the life of proven components.

The project is grounded in approvals dating back to Purgatory’s 2008 master plan and reaffirmed in 2019. It forms part of roughly $7 million in summer upgrades and a wider $37.5 million investment across the resort's owners Mountain Capital Partners’ portfolio.