Small towns reclaim abandoned ski areas as nonprofits
By BRITTANY PETERSON
CUCHARA, Colorado (AP) — It’s been the longest wait, their whole lives, in fact. But Race Lessar and Landen Ozzello are finally right where they want to be, on a snowy slope close to home, molding snow into a ski jump.
Their local ski mountain just reopened.
“I’m happy that it’s open for at least one year,” Lessar said. It opened as a nonprofit, and that may be the key. “I didn’t know that there was a hope,” he said.
His ties to the mountain are so close, he’s practically named after it. His dad used to race here and named his son for what brought him joy. Chad Lessar first skied on hand-me-down gear and later worked summers at a nearby ranch to earn money for more nimble racing equipment.
“We’ve never been very rich,” Chad said of Huerfano, one of the poorest counties in the state. “It’s nice to see a little area open up on the cheap,” he said. The ski runs here are short, but the fact it’s affordable just might be enough to keep it up and running.
