After 20 years of being dark, the Cuchara ski resort is set to reopen in 2021.
By next ski season, the new public ski area will open on the same site where the Cuchara ski resort closed 20 years ago.
The resort was in operations from 1981 to 2000 and saw several different owners throughout its run.
The resort shut down in 2000 due to a lack of snow and the remoteness of the area, and the site reportedly running more as a development property than a ski resort.
However, a new interest in the area, which is along the scenic Highway 12, has prompted its reopening.
"This area is becoming more popular for tourists," a member of the Panadero Ski Corporation and the Cuchara Mountain Park Advisory Council Jim Littlefield told KDRO.
The Cuchura Foundation raised $250,000 in donations to buy the property and workers are in the process of getting the main ski lift back in operation, according to KDRO.
As for the unreliability of snowfall, Littlefield said the ski operation will make its own snow and use snowcats to groom so that the snow doesn't blow away with strong winds.
Littlefield also told KDRO the resort will run on a nonprofit basis to keep expenses and ticket prices low.
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