Construction of a new chairlift and the creation of seven new trails at Colorado’s Purgatory Resort has entered its most visible stage as helicopters begin ferrying components onto the steep, roadless terrain on the mountain’s front side.
The new fixed‑grip triple chairlift, scheduled to open in December 2026, will serve a zone of expert chutes and glades previously accessed only by shuttle from Gelande. The project, once known as the Gelande Lift, has been renamed Colorado Couloir to reflect the steep, technical nature of the terrain it will unlock.
Resort crews have already completed timber removal along the alignment, also by helicopter, and are now excavating tower and terminal foundations ahead of tower installation. Helicopter transport is being used to minimize disturbance across the rugged corridor, where no road access exists. The lift will climb 1,625 vertical feet over a 4,439‑foot span, reaching grades of up to 60 percent and carrying 1,445 skiers per hour with a ride time of roughly nine minutes.
The expansion includes seven new trails and connectors, with names to be announced later this summer. In a sustainability‑minded move, Purgatory is re‑using chairs, grips and machinery from Telluride’s retired Plunge Lift, keeping proven equipment in service in the San Juan Mountains.
Colorado Couloir has long been part of Purgatory’s master plan, originally approved in the resort’s 2008 Improvement Plan Environmental Impact Statement and reaffirmed in a 2019 Environmental Assessment. It forms a major piece of the resort’s $7 million in summer capital improvements and the broader $37.5 million investment announced this year by owners Mountain Capital Partners.