| Purgatory | |
|---|---|
 A view of the resort from the chairlift in the summer | |
  Purgatory Purgatory (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | La Plata County, Colorado, United States |
| Nearest major city | Durango,Colorado |
| Coordinates | 37°37′47″N107°48′52″W / 37.62972°N 107.81444°W /37.62972; -107.81444 |
| Vertical | 2,029 ft (618 m) |
| Top elevation | 10,822 ft (3,299 m) |
| Base elevation | 8,793 ft (2,680 m) |
| Skiable area | 1,650 acres (6.7 km2) |
| Trails | 105 total 22% beginner 35% intermediate 43% advanced |
| Longest run | 1.3 mi (2.1 km)[1] |
| Lift system | 12 lifts: 1 high-speed six-personchairlift, 2 high-speed quad chairs, 3 triple chairs, 3 double chairs, 3surface lifts |
| Lift capacity | 15,000+ skiers/hr |
| Terrain parks | 6 |
| Snowfall | 260 inches |
| Snowmaking | 21% |
| Website | http://www.purgatoryresort.com/ |
Purgatory Resort is aski resort located in theSan Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, 25 miles (42 km) north of the town ofDurango. Established in 1965, Purgatory offers 105 trails, including 5 terrain parks, over 1,500 skiable acres, and 12 lifts, including one six-person and two high speed quad lifts. 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).
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 bymidlevel health care providers from the nearby town ofDurango, 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.
Cascade and Rockwood 6.9 NNW are weather stations located near Purgatory Resort.[2][3] Purgatory Resort has ahumid continental climate (KöppenDfb), closely bordering on asubalpine climate (KöppenDfc).
| Climate data for Cascade, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, 1986-2020 extremes: 8880ft (2707m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) | 65 (18) | 74 (23) | 74 (23) | 86 (30) | 90 (32) | 95 (35) | 89 (32) | 97 (36) | 82 (28) | 80 (27) | 61 (16) | 97 (36) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 54.5 (12.5) | 55.7 (13.2) | 62.3 (16.8) | 65.9 (18.8) | 74.0 (23.3) | 82.1 (27.8) | 85.8 (29.9) | 82.1 (27.8) | 79.3 (26.3) | 71.0 (21.7) | 62.0 (16.7) | 54.6 (12.6) | 86.7 (30.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 40.9 (4.9) | 42.5 (5.8) | 48.9 (9.4) | 52.4 (11.3) | 61.2 (16.2) | 71.5 (21.9) | 76.4 (24.7) | 73.4 (23.0) | 67.4 (19.7) | 58.2 (14.6) | 47.2 (8.4) | 40.0 (4.4) | 56.7 (13.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 27.0 (−2.8) | 28.4 (−2.0) | 34.4 (1.3) | 38.7 (3.7) | 46.1 (7.8) | 54.2 (12.3) | 60.0 (15.6) | 58.6 (14.8) | 52.5 (11.4) | 44.2 (6.8) | 33.8 (1.0) | 26.6 (−3.0) | 42.0 (5.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 12.9 (−10.6) | 14.5 (−9.7) | 20.1 (−6.6) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 31.0 (−0.6) | 37.2 (2.9) | 43.9 (6.6) | 44.0 (6.7) | 37.7 (3.2) | 30.3 (−0.9) | 20.5 (−6.4) | 13.2 (−10.4) | 27.5 (−2.5) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −3.8 (−19.9) | −1.1 (−18.4) | 5.1 (−14.9) | 12.4 (−10.9) | 20.6 (−6.3) | 26.8 (−2.9) | 36.4 (2.4) | 37.5 (3.1) | 27.5 (−2.5) | 17.3 (−8.2) | 2.6 (−16.3) | −5.0 (−20.6) | −7.3 (−21.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −16 (−27) | −14 (−26) | −9 (−23) | −6 (−21) | 6 (−14) | 6 (−14) | 18 (−8) | 19 (−7) | 6 (−14) | 5 (−15) | −6 (−21) | −22 (−30) | −22 (−30) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.37 (86) | 3.43 (87) | 2.83 (72) | 2.21 (56) | 1.92 (49) | 0.95 (24) | 2.45 (62) | 3.12 (79) | 2.93 (74) | 2.84 (72) | 2.89 (73) | 3.29 (84) | 32.23 (818) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 41.7 (106) | 45.8 (116) | 33.8 (86) | 9.7 (25) | 10.8 (27) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 4.1 (10) | 19.7 (50) | 54.1 (137) | 220.3 (558.55) |
| Source 1: XMACIS2 (Cascade normals & Rockwood 6.9 2015-2022 snowfall)[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (Precipitation)[5] | |||||||||||||
