Purgatory Resort
Purgatory Resort is a ski resort located in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, 25 miles (42 km) north of the town of Durango. Established in 1965, Purgatory offers 99 trails, including 5 terrain parks, over 1,500 skiable acres, 88 trails and 12 lifts, including one six-person and one high speed quad lift. Average annual snowfall is 260 inches per year, and artificial snow is produced on approximately one-fifth of the mountain. The elevation at the summit is 10,822 feet (3,299 m), with a vertical drop of 2,029 feet (618 m).
| Purgatory | |
|---|---|
 A view of the resort from the chairlift in the summer | |
  Purgatory Location in Colorado  Purgatory Purgatory (the United States) | |
| Location | La Plata County, Colorado, United States |
| Nearest major city | Durango, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 37°37′47″N 107°48′52″W |
| Vertical | 2,029 ft (618 m) |
| Top elevation | 10,822 ft (3,299 m) |
| Base elevation | 8,793 ft (2,680 m) |
| Skiable area | 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) |
| Runs | 85 total    |
| Longest run | 1.3 mi (2.1 km)[1] |
| Lift system | 10 lifts: 1 high-speed six-person chairlift, 2 high-speed quad chairs, 3 triple chairs, 3 double chairs, 1 surface lift |
| Lift capacity | 15,050 skiers/hr |
| Terrain parks | 6 |
| Snowfall | 260 inches |
| Snowmaking | 21% |
| Website | http://www.purgatoryresort.com/ |
Facilities
Facilities at the resort include condos that are rented out by their owners to vacationing tourists, a nightclub/bar at the bottom of the ski slopes by the chair lifts, a shuttle that goes back and forth from the resort to the nearby town of Durango, and a ski school with "bunny slopes". One of the more unusual features of the resort is an urgent care clinic, staffed by mid-level health care providers from the nearby town of Durango, Colorado. The on-site urgent care clinic is available anytime the slopes are open, and treats mostly ski related injuries. The Purgatory ski patrol takes injured skiers off the mountain directly to the clinic, expediting treatment and eliminating the need for patients to wait for an ambulance to respond from nearby Durango, Colorado.