Owners Explain Why Local Colorado Ski Area Will Remain Closed for Another Season

Of those two problems, snowmaking is the biggest.

Ericksen said it was possible to repair the Bighorn, but doing so without addressing snowmaking capacity wouldn’t make Hesperus sustainable. He said that Hesperus is reliant on snowmaking to open by the holidays, an important time of year for the small ski area.

In 2024, an announcement from Hesperus stated that there were water sources nearby that could be used for snowmaking, but no agreement had been reached. 

“We know how much Hesperus means to local families and to Durango’s skiing heritage. It is disappointing not to have the hill open,” Ericksen said in a statement. “Our commitment has not changed: we want Hesperus to reopen in a way that is safe, sustainable, and positioned to serve this community well into the future.”

Hesperus was purchased by James Coleman, the founder of Mountain Capital Partners (MCP)—which also owns the larger Purgatory ski resort—in 2016. Purgatory is near Durango and became part of MCP a year earlier.

“​​We want to maintain the unassuming small ski area ambience while enhancing the overall skier experience in the future,” Coleman said in 2016, after the purchase.

MCP did not provide a timeline for reopening Hesperus.