New owners. New bosses. Big snow. Big money.
This is the year for skiing in the southwest.
From Taos to Purgatory to Wolf Creek to Silverton to Telluride, new energy is joining the El Niño snow gun to champion the ski experience in a region that labors in the shadow of Rocky Mountain megaresorts.
At the renowned Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico, billionaire conservationist on improvements like a new chairlift up the resort’s famed Kachina Peak and a new hotel anchoring a base area redevelopment.
, spent $6 million over the summer, adding a new high-speed lift and better snowmaking. Coleman, whose investment team also owns Parajito Mountain and Sipapu in New Mexico and Arizona’s Snowbowl, has boosted traffic into Durango with an unlimited season pass to all four ski areas.
Resort industry veteran as a part owner and chief executive, delivering a dose of stability to the resort that has seen a steady rotation of bosses in recent years. Jensen hopes to develop the resort’s hotel-bed base and increase air service into nearby Montrose.
Tim Petrick left his CEO post at behemoth ski manufacturer K2 Sports to become , helping founders Aaron and Jenny Brill run their steep-and-deep southern Colorado hill and their thriving helicopter skiing operation in Alaska.
The momentum is there. Snowfall wasn’t huge in the south last season, but
. Visitors to Taos climbed 10,000 in 2014-15 thanks to the new Kachina Peak lift to the 12,481-foot summit that was previously accessible only by a long hike. Wolf Creek saw visitation dip but revenues climb; same for Purgatory. Telluride saw a record 478,000 visits in 2014-15, and lodging revenue soared 33 percent despite snowpack that dipped to 50 percent of average.
Add all that to the promise of heavy snow from the supersized El Niño weather pattern that favors the southwestern mountains and the southern resorts are poised for a record year.
Especially if they work together.
“We are all very different but we are very complementary in a way,” Petrick said. “There’s certainly going to be some outreach to see how we can collaborate and make this really special place in Colorado a more compelling destination.”
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or @jasonblevins
