An abandoned ski resort has sat empty until 2017. Now, dreams of the return of skiing is getting closer to a reality in a rural Southern Colorado community.
Abandoned Resort From its Ashes Rose Cuchara Mountain Park
Enter Cuchara Mountain Park. Following a grassroots effort, the park opened. Then a local foundation obtained the private property that was Panadaro Resort in the early 1980s. Ski runs are still visible on the mountainside from U.S. 160. They are reminders of a blighted operation that regularly swapped hands. It was also haunted by a bankruptcy over the span of two decades.
The Resort Rests in Huerfano County
In the hands of Huerfano County is where the grounds are now. Overseers say sledding and cross-country skiing on a groom loop is favorable this winter. Moreover, this is preceding a busy summer for Cuchara Mountain Park’s disc golf and mini-golf courses.
Therefore, it is said, the chairlift at the former resort’s base is almost ready for inspection. Before any skiers can ride, that official, state-run job can be a requirement.
I think they’re very close and as far as it being able to operate, said Carl Young, county administrator.
Panadero Ski Corporation Help Publicizing the Ski Resort
Panadero Ski Corporation is a nonprofit features locals with fundraising experience. It also has marketing experience at the ski resort that it was.
The goal has been to revive the lift, accessing a modest 56 acres and 400 vertical feet, before potentially approaching the U.S. Forest Service about more lifts and terrain on federal land reaching toward the summit near 10,800 feet.
Starting small is what the planners want to do. Selling lift tickets for revenue is the idea and would offset costs. The hope is of appealing to a concessionaire. They would take the responsibilities over including insurance.
