Hesperus Ski Area reopens after two years

Hesperus Ski Area reopens after two years

Dec. 21, 2000

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

LIFT OPERATOR RAY FINNELL of Cortez helps Kate Kirkpatrick of Farmington, a member of the Hesperus Ski Patrol, load a rescue sled onto the lift at Hesperus on Wednesday. The ski area has been struggling for two years to stay open in the face of scanty snowfall.

After two years of struggling to cope with very little snowfall, Hesperus Ski Area owner Jim Pitcher is just hoping for a "normal" year.

The small ski area 36 miles east of Cortez on U.S. 160 was closed during all of last year’s ski-snowboard season and was open only 20 days the year before that.

It is finally open now, after some late-fall storms blanketed the slopes with more than 20 inches.

"We’re just hoping for a normal ski season," Pitcher said Wednesday. "We’re OK right now but we need more snow. I guess I would say we have ‘early’ conditions. But at least we are open."

The area, which has been operating since the late 1950s, offers one chairlift and one rope-tow lift, with 13 runs on 61 ungroomed acres.

Pitcher said it has been a tough go for the past two years.

"I have been here (as owner) for 15 years, and only during the last two and one other one have we not been able to open up by Christmas," he said.

During the 1998-99 season, Hesperus opened just for the month of February because the snowfall was so scanty, apparently because of El Niño conditions in the Pacific. The same drought kept the area closed for the entire 1999-2000 season.

Pitcher said the next two weeks – when schools let out for the holidays — are crucial to keeping the resort running.

"I do much of my business during the holidays. It’s like being open for 14 straight weekend days," he said.

In recent years, Pitcher has been able to do some limited improvements at the area. He added lights for nighttime skiing and boarding and has done work on the trails. He even built a snowboard park three years ago and put in a inner-tubing operation. But because cash flow has been low for the past two years, he has not been able to do some of the things he would like to do.

"Nothing new really, but I did buy a new refrigerator for the kitchen. The last one died," he joked. "It has been tough. I’m not kidding you. But we have hired some good people and we’re ready to go."

This season’s success will depend, naturally, on the kindness of Mother Nature.

"Right now what we really need is more snow," Pitcher said. "Pray for snow. We need a low-pressure system to dig and dig and carry the jet stream back into the Pacific to draw in moisture. We need one that will suck the fish right out and then bring cold enough temperatures to dump snow right on top of us. We need the ones like we typically used to get," he added.

According to the National Weather Service, some widely scattered snow showers are forecast for today. However, a better shot of snow could be coming on Christmas Day. That would be a nice Christmas present for Hesperus.

The area is open from 4 p.m.-9 p.m. today, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 9 to 4 Sunday. Holiday hours will be 9 to 9 over the Christmas-New Year’s holiday.

Lift tickets are $22 for adults and $15 for children ages 7-12 and seniors. A nighttime ticket, which is good between 4:30 and 9 p.m., costs $14 for adults and $8 for children. Tubing is $5 per hour with Pitcher supplying the inner tubes. Ski and snowboard rentals and lessons are available.

The Hesperus Ski Patrol is planning its fifth annual Avalanche Awareness and Avoidance Classes. The first one is set for Jan. 17-18 and 20. The second is slated Feb. 7-8 and 10.

The evening classes are offered from 6:30-10 at Animas Fire Department Central Station in Bodo Park in Durango. The day class is at Hesperus Ski Area from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

The cost is $35 per student and classes are limited to 24 people. Advance registration is required. Applications are available at area sporting-goods stores and departments and at the San Juan National Forest Supervisor’s Office. For details, phone Kathy Fritch at 247-4617.