Conquistador
A Sangre de Cristo ski area that invested in two Doppelmayr lifts in 1982, was foreclosed to the federal government, reopened as Mountain Cliffe and was finished off by a windstorm that stripped its slopes bare.
- Region
- Colorado
- Country
- USA
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1976
- Year closed
- 1993
- Reason for closure
- A long financial unravelling followed by bad luck. After heavy investment in 1982 the owners foreclosed the property to the Small Business Administration, which ran the area until it closed in 1988. It reopened for 1992-93 as Mountain Cliffe under new owners, but snow was late that season and when it finally opened a large windstorm stripped the exposed slopes clear, forcing an early close for poor conditions. Skiers last made turns there in the spring of 1993.
History
Conquistador lay above Westcliffe in Custer County, Colorado, on the eastern flank of the Sangre de Cristo range. It opened in 1976 with two small pony lifts and very little terrain, then made a serious bid for the market in 1982 by buying two new Doppelmayr lifts, a double and a triple, which with a surface tow served fifteen trails. The investment did not save it: the owners foreclosed the property to the Small Business Administration, and the federal government found itself running a Colorado ski area until it closed in 1988. It came back for the 1992-93 season under the name Mountain Cliffe, bought by Mund Shaikly of Los Angeles and Ray McEnhill of Salisbury in England, and that winter went wrong in almost every available way - the snow came late, and when the area did open a large windstorm stripped the exposed slopes bare, forcing it to close early citing poor conditions. The last turns were made in the spring of 1993. The site sat vacant until June 1995, when Paul Zeller bought 150 acres around the base lodge for 1.2 million dollars and turned it into a Christian camp and conference centre, in the manner of Horn Creek nearby which he already ran. Trail names and the individual lift specifications are not compiled in accessible sources; the coordinates mark Horn Creek, adjacent to the former ski area.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Triple | Doppelmayr | One of two lifts bought new from Doppelmayr for the 1982 season |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | Doppelmayr | The second of the two 1982 Doppelmayr lifts |
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | A tow; the area had begun in 1976 with two small pony lifts and limited terrain |
Sources and further reading
- https://www.coloradoskihistory.com/lost/conquistador.html
- https://gazette.com/outthere/7-abandoned-ski-areas-in-colorado-looking-back-at-industrys-skeletons/article_5ebce0a6-059e-11ea-a25b-8b2acbb3729a.html
- https://www.coloradocentralmagazine.com/the-rocky-slope-of-custer-skiing/
- https://kdumas.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/conquistador-ski-area/
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Location
38.0057, -105.5918