Photo: Cuchara Mountain Park
Re-opening for a couple days of skiing and snowboarding in the summer is the new version of ski areas holding out and extending their season as deep into spring (or summer) as possible. These things are understandably a badge of honor for resorts or smaller ski areas everywhere when they can offer locals and season pass holders the option of even just a few extra days on snow. Colorado’s Cuchara Mountain Park, southwest of Pueblo, is the latest to join the club after it announced a brief reopening for at least two days of summer riding.
The June 12 and 13 event was announced last week on social media, with Cuchara saying it pulled the tarps off its snow pile so resort workers can build a small terrain park. Cuchara says it’s the first time it has ever re-opened in the summer. Hiking to take laps through the park costs just $10 for the day and entering in the terrain park competition costs $20.
Storing snow under tarps into the summer months is a method many resorts rely on to establish a base at the beginning of the winter months or even enable early-season openings. Finland’s Levi Ski Resort is well-known for mastering its snow-farming engineering, which allows the mountain to offer a “seven-month snow guarantee.” Much of it is made possible by producing massive amounts of man-made snow during peak winter conditions, and then covering mounds with specially-designed, insulated tarps.
Cuchara has an interesting, and positive story. The ski area in Southern Colorado closed in 2000 and was reopened 17 years later after some TLC and efforts to restore the terrain by the Cuchara Foundation and Panadero Ski Corporation. Now it operates as a non-profit outdoor area and this season marked the first time in 25 years it was able to offer lift-powered skiing and riding. The Panadero Ski Corporation now has a 40-year agreement to operate the park.
