Purgatory will embark on a significant expansion this summer, constructing the long-awaited Gelande lift and five new trails. The top drive Skytrac triple will introduce a new out-of-base option, allowing day visitors to bypass the main village. “This addition will greatly improve our guests’ experience by creating a new way to access the top of the mountain without requiring access through the Columbine or Village base areas while adding to the advanced and expert terrain offered on the frontside of the mountain,” said Purgatory General Manager Dave Rathbun.
The triple chair will be substantial for a fixed grip, spanning roughly 4,200 feet with 1,600 feet of vertical rise. The alignment includes some very steep sections near the bottom and flatter segments up top.
The Forest Service approved this project back in 2018 and it will add 26 acres to Purgatory’s special use permit boundary. The expansion is expected to create 12-15 construction jobs, mostly utilizing existing winter seasonal employees. Purgatory hopes the new year-round team will continue building new lifts and trails in future summers. “We are excited to be in position to grow and develop our year-round team of employees,” said Rathbun. “These positions will play a crucial role in the ski lift construction and ski trail development. It will also give us the opportunity to provide year-round, benefited positions to some of our key winter seasonal employees and build a stronger, more knowledgeable and experienced team.”
Due to construction, the Purgatory Bike Park will not operate in 2025. “We understand that the temporary closure of the Mountain Bike Park may be an adjustment, but we are confident that the long-term benefits of the new Gelande chairlift and ski terrain will be well worth it,” said Purgatory.
Lift Blog 
Though it’s a fixed grip versus a detachable, it’s arguably will serve some of the best advanced terrain at Purgatory
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another lift from MCP!
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Wait how many acres? 26 total?
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Yes, 26 acres of additional special use permit area. Probably closer to 150 new acres of terrain access.
2 existing “inbounds” run including the namesake Gelande are patrolled and act as double black exits to a parking lot, or a shuttle… But it’s not really worth the effort to drive. These existing runs are on Purgatory’s private land. Then there are higher extreme chutes like Monkey that are on the map but “out of bounds”, and aren’t patrolled regularly. These treed chutes start in the SUP, cross over a slice of USFS non-SUP land, then end in the same chunk of private land that Gelande trail is in.
The 26 acres is the slice of non-SUP land, and will have a portion of the actual lift line. Between new runs, adding lift service to existing runs, and new lift service glade areas, this would add up to at least 150+ new acres of expert terrain, and new parking access.
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Stoked overall to see Purgatory finally getting another new lift, 10 years after Chair 8 went in. Some gnarly lift-served terrain in a good snow year! Based on the letter from the GM about hiring a crew, it seems they might be building this lift in house…?
This lift was originally in the master plans as a transit gondola, then as a high-speed quad with trails to the bottom, and now a lengthy fixed grip. Going to be a long ride! That trail pod is very steep and doesn’t hold snow super well, so I am a little surprised they went with a lift option that isn’t as friendly for downloading. Wonder if a day skier lodge at the Gelande Base is still planned.
Makes me wonder about the timing of some of the other long rumored Purgatory plans too. The Twilight Lift remains an out-of-base workhorse that is nearly 50 years old, and the Ice Creek expansion was in the works with the Forest Service at one point. There were rumors for a while that they purchased the old Chair 9 from Telluride, not sure if there is any truth to that though.
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This will help the front side crowds on 1 in a big way and make it where shuttles from lower lot are not necessary. And with Sandia proposal so much for belt tightening…. Pajarito getting new water line for snowmaking. Hope they can figure out Hesperus and secure some water right for making snow so they’ll invest into it.
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These fake German lift and run names always puzzle me :)
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What do you mean FAKE?
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I think he’s referring to the fact that some American resorts borrow German names to sound like they’re closer to their Alpine heritage, which does sound fake sometimes. He’s also from Austria.
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Well, for one it’s missing the umlaut, like so often. But “Gelände” really means terrain, which is a rather weird name for a run and lift, and the American pronounciation doesn’t make it better. But run and lift names works so differently in North American vs the German speaking alps, so it might just be a personal thing when you’re fluent in both languages and ski in both parts of the world.
Alpental and it’s naming scheme is another example. The “Internationale” always makes me think I’m in a communist or socialist chair, maybe that’s just me :) And calling a chair lift Sessel (aka chair) feels weird, but then again I found small resorts here on liftblog where the only chair is called “chair” so maybe not that unusual. Naming a run after that on the other hands feels really odd.
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I checked and I think its actually just named after the road that the lift sits on, so if anything that road took a german name
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A portion of that general area right off the highway began life as a 70 meter nordic jumping hill used primarily by Fort Lewis, the local college. The NCAA ski championships were held at Purgatory in 1975.
Later, the jumping hill became better known for Alpine “Gelande” competitions – short for “Gelandesprung.”
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/02/24/Skier-dies-of-head-injuries/4467478069200/
The “Gelande” hill eventually became litle more than a rarely used spur off the “Styx” trail.
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Peter, congrats on Liftblog’s 10th anniversary!
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Saw something that said this is old 9 from Telluride? Guess Skytrack will just provide new terminals…..
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I was under the impression that this will be all-new. If the story is true, Purg bought old chair 9 to use on the new beginner lift behind the existing chair 4 (Icicle-something?)
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