Pictures 5, 8, 9, 10, and 13 remind me of Beginner and Spruce at Pajarito where the longer lift is seen climbing over a hill from the smaller lift. The differences are that Beginner is a CTEC and Spruce is a shorter center pole. Spruce is also further away.
It appears that Chair 2 went to Hidden Valley, Missouri. The towers, drive terminal, amount of towers, length, return terminal carriers, and lift shacks match directly, along with the years not conflicting. It does list on the spreadsheet that he lift came from Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, but there weren’t any Riblet doubles removed from there at that time.
Considering the fact that this place has been abandoned for almost 25 years, this place looks great! There is a place about 40 minutes away from me called tuxedo ridge in NY, it’s been abandoned since 2016 and the place looks like a jungle. I have some photos i will try to send
Given that the Rocky Mountains in Colorado are considered a high mountain desert, we don’t get a ton of moisture vs what you guys get out east, so the forest growth is pretty much limited to the pine and aspen trees here. Not much else.
I found some of my photos from tuxedo ridge, they have 1 hall, 2 borvigs, and a poma with a unique top terminal i have not seen before, all doubles from the 60’s and 70’s. Heres their trail map:
Lift Blog 
Where was Chair 2 relocated to?
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I don’t believe it has shown up anywhere yet. But I also could not find it on the Cuchara property today. Maybe scrapped?
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It’s east mountain at hidden valley Missouri
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Why was Chair 2 removed in the first place when 3, 4, and 5 were left standing?
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Looks like they’re going to try to have Chair 4 open for mountain biking this summer: https://youtu.be/oOyzHBDhZ2M
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As of June 22, 2022, 4 is “fully operational”!
See it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zrMBDV878w&t=137s
Always great to see a lost ski area being revived, especially with vintage (in today’s terms) lifts running again.
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Chair 2 pics (taken from coloradoskihistory.com):
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Pictures 5, 8, 9, 10, and 13 remind me of Beginner and Spruce at Pajarito where the longer lift is seen climbing over a hill from the smaller lift. The differences are that Beginner is a CTEC and Spruce is a shorter center pole. Spruce is also further away.
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What about chair 1?
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It’s a rope tow.
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The one in the 2nd pic isn’t lift 1, I think that one was lift 6.
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One minor correction- that’s not a rope tow but a wire roped Handle Tow. The handles have been removed.
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It appears that Chair 2 went to Hidden Valley, Missouri. The towers, drive terminal, amount of towers, length, return terminal carriers, and lift shacks match directly, along with the years not conflicting. It does list on the spreadsheet that he lift came from Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, but there weren’t any Riblet doubles removed from there at that time.
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Sure look extremely similar
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According to Colorado Ski History, Lift 2 was removed in 2010.. and the dining lodge was demolished in 2010 as well.
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Here’s another recent article about Cuchara from a denver news station. Things are hopeful for reopening.
https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/small-ski-areas-that-bounced-back-from-closures-serve-as-inspiration-for-cuchara-mountain-park
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And here is another update.
https://www.denver7.com/follow-up/cuchara-mountain-park-in-southern-colorado-opens-for-snowcat-skiing-as-its-quest-for-revival-continues
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Considering the fact that this place has been abandoned for almost 25 years, this place looks great! There is a place about 40 minutes away from me called tuxedo ridge in NY, it’s been abandoned since 2016 and the place looks like a jungle. I have some photos i will try to send
LikeLike
Given that the Rocky Mountains in Colorado are considered a high mountain desert, we don’t get a ton of moisture vs what you guys get out east, so the forest growth is pretty much limited to the pine and aspen trees here. Not much else.
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I found some of my photos from tuxedo ridge, they have 1 hall, 2 borvigs, and a poma with a unique top terminal i have not seen before, all doubles from the 60’s and 70’s. Heres their trail map:
Bowl lift:
Alley lift:
Tiger lift:
Bunny lift:
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Shame they went under, i have never ridden an old style Poma or a Borvig, despite being from the northeast.
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Here is a photo of the lodge:
I went there last June to try and hike up again, but the place was so overgrown that i decided it wasn’t really worth it:
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