September 2 , 2020 Press Contact: Nancy Clark
For Immediate Release nclark@tellurideskiresort.com
603-986-5221
Telluride Ski & Golf prepares for the 20/21 ski season
Winter to look a little different than normal
Telluride, CO -- With the 20/21 ski season only 13 weeks away, Telluride Ski & Golf resort is
busy planning for winter operations.
“We plan to open on Thanksgiving Day (November 26),weather and COVID restrictions
permitting and close on April 4, 2021(Easter Sunday),” said Chuck Horning, majority owner in
the ski resort. “Our teams here have been working tirelessly to make this happen, and we all
appreciate their efforts.” The resort will have its annual Donation Day on Wednesday, November
25 with proceeds from the day’s $25 lift tickets going to the Telluride Ski & Snowboard Club.
The ski resort is facing a challenging ski season due to reduction in visitors, decreased flights
and lodging/restaurant occupancy restrictions. While the resort is preparing for a significant drop
in revenue, the expenses required to run the mountain will remain constant in many areas, but
in general, it’s more costly to operate in the COVID environment. This season, there will be
additional expenses in crowd management, food service, sanitation and other COVID related
issues. The community should expect increases in prices to help offset some of these costs as
well as new lower price pass options with date restrictions during our busiest times to
accommodate capacity constraints brought on by COVID.
“The safety of our employees and guests are paramount to us,” added Horning, “This is a
significant part of our planning process right now.”
The ski resort is currently working on the purchase of temporary outdoor structures for socially
distanced food service operations, and investing in communication and ecommerce software to
offer “contactless” sales operations. Additionally, the mountain operations team is developing a
snowmaking and lift plan to safely spread skiers out around the mountain.
Horning went on to add, “we've had tough times before, and we remain committed to deliver a
quality experience this winter, facing many unknowns and constraints. What doesn't kill us
makes us stronger. We will work with this community to continue improving our mountain and
this year is no exception.”
This region’s economic sustainability, in spite of the years of economic growth, remains
marginal for many businesses, and for people who grow up here or relocate here for work. Over
the next few years, the ski resort plans to participate with the community to understand a path to
economic sustainability. They will work with merchants to strengthen the core economy,
something that is challenging for a remote “no-growth” community.
There are few successful models in Europe of resorts who are remote, intentionally limit growth
and are good places to raise a family. The ski area plans to continue to learn from them.
“We are in this for the long term. Folks here care about Telluride, and while there is a history of
fighting over the progress or lack thereof, today we enjoy amazing success from the creation of
communities, while preserving the quality of life, environmentally and culturally,” said Horning.
The long-standing issue that the community has struggled with is the lack of affordable
adequate housing.
To make progress with this issue, Horning commented “we will be moving forward with the
projects for which we have approval or are in progress, but that is only (27) units. We probably
need several hundred units, and this is doable. We need another Lawson Hill, which will require
zoning changes. Lawson Hill required a zoning change and it was controversial but, today, it
reflects what can be done. Opening up some land for employee housing is the only responsible
thing to do. With the growth limitations our communities have, we can carefully but safely and
without creating growth issues, solve our employee housing needs”
