HUERFANO COUNTY, Colo. — The nonprofit behind the quest for a ski revival at Cuchara Mountain Park in southern Colorado will continue to operate the park for decades to come, thanks to a new agreement it signed with Huerfano County.
Panadero Ski Corporation announced the 40-year agreement Wednesday night.
“Today was a huge step to ensure that there is an affordable option for skiers and snowboarders in southern Colorado,” Panadero board member Ken Clayton told Denver7 in a text message Wednesday evening.
Denver7 has extensively covered Panadero’s effort to revive the once-abandoned ski area. A “ski bus” – bus seats welded to a car hauler that’s attached to the back of a snowcat – pulled skiers and riders up the hill the past two winters, with tickets costing just $40. The ultimate goal is to raise the funds needed to rehabilitate Lift 4, the only chair fully on park property, and bring lift-powered skiing back to roughly 50 acres of trails at the base of the hill.
- Watch Denver7's original report on the Cuchara Comeback from February of 2023 in the video player below:
“We are humbled that the Huerfano County Commissioners have faith in PSC and trusted us as stewards of Cuchara Mountain Park for the next four decades,” Panadero Ski Corporation wrote in a Wednesday night social media post.
In addition to securing long term involvement for Panadero, Wednesday’s agreement prohibits lodging within the park – putting to bed rumors of private development that had bubbled up in recent months.
In a February letter to Huerfano County Commissioners, the Cuchara Foundation – the park’s original buyer who donated it to the county – expressed opposition to a development plan apparently proposed by Buckhorn Ridge Outfitters that would include “20 tiny home lodging units and other commercial amenities.”
A small business owner in the area told Denver7 that she was concerned that commercial development would put mom-and-pop businesses in the valley out of business. At a community forum in March, the developer faced pushback from community members despite maintaining that its proposal would boost tourism in the region.
Nearly two months later, those community concerns were put to rest.
Panadero also teased “exciting announcements” ahead for the park, including potential news on Lift 4. When Denver7 last spoke with Clayton in December, he said Panadero was waiting on grant money awarded to Huerfano County by the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) that would go toward Lift 4, in addition to some other building upgrades at the park.
Panadero had just been awarded $250,000 in grant money that would help with operational costs but could not be used for Lift 4. In 2023, Denver7 Gives viewers generously donated $3,000 to the mission to revive lift-powered skiing.
The nonprofit also had plans to host ski and bike camps at the park, to build an observation deck at the top of Lift 4 and to become "dark sky" certified for southern Colorado stargazers.
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