10 minute read
Runway to Renovation
by Elizabeth Miller
If you value your time, there’s no more efficient way to get in or out of southwest Colorado than the Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO). Short TSA lines, close parking, and efficient boarding practices create a stress-free launch to any trip. DRO welcomes approximately 400,000 passengers annually and provides a gateway to Durango, southwest Colorado, and the Four Corners region.
The original Durango-La Plata County Airport rested on the mesa where Fort Lewis College now stands. As air travel and technology grew, the runway space became a challenge and the airport was relocated in the mid-40s to where it currently resides, about 10 miles outside of Durango. The current terminal was built in 1988, and the airport began to see significant growth during the early 2000s. Over the years the airport has gone through several renovations and expansions. The most recent was the Runway Rehabilitation Project, which resulted in a ten-day runway closure in September for routine asphalt maintenance.
With an eye toward the future, DRO is looking to expand its infrastructure to support the increased demand for air service in our community. Tony Vicari, aviation director for the Durango-La Plata County Airport noted, “What we’ve seen over the last fifteen to twenty years is that our overall traffic has doubled, which puts constraints on daily operations and future growth opportunities for airlines.” With the increase in traffic, the airport has outgrown its current terminal and plans to renovate and expand are underway.
Funded solely by revenues at the airport, DRO initiated a formal terminal facilities design project in September of 2021, looking at options to expand the existing terminal. Phase one, slated to begin in the Spring of 2023, includes additional airline gate seating and an upgrade in restroom facilities and food and beverage options, incrementally expanding post-screening services available at the airport.
After these improvements and expansions, a larger, more sweeping renovation project will be underway, anticipated in 2024. This would move the existing TSA screening checkpoint to develop a more streamlined, linear space and add an additional airline gate. Baggage claim will be moved and receive a facelift, with the renovations reorienting the entire flow of the existing airport. This longer project will likely take 18-24 months of construction to work around existing operations. “It’s exciting we have a path forward, and these renovations should really improve passenger experience, and also create a much better conduit for us to have a quality platform for airline recruitment,” Vicari said. These improvements to the facilities will enhance the ability of the airport to gracefully and efficiently accommodate multiple larger aircraft simultaneously.
Improving passenger experience is also at the heart of DRO’s design project, as well as providing a pathway for airline recruitment. Airlines gravitate toward markets where there is a strong and consistent demand. With the renovation project, the air-
Tony Vicari, aviation director at Durango-La Plata County Airport Photos Courtesy of Durango-La Plata County Airport
port is hoping to recruit more passenger traffic to support a market where airlines see the value of flying into the Durango-La Plata County Airport. “What we do is create a really stable platform for the airline to operate in,” Vicari said. “We as an airport can’t control market economics, but we can make sure that our environment can accommodate any type of air service, and do so efficiently and cost effectively for airlines.” Currently the airport is on a long-term growth trajectory and the goal is to have functional operations that are out in front of demand and modern aircraft supply.
The Durango-La Plata County Airport also provides benefits in addition to commercial airline traffic. The US Forest Service air tanker base is stationed at DRO for immediate response to wildfires, providing a critical prevention piece during fire season in Durango through aerial firefighting services for the entire region. In addition, DRO provides air freight operations for inbound and outbound shipments for the region, including overnight shipments for major freight shipping and package services. The airport also supports private aviation and military training. Other critical components to DRO’s benefits are EMS Flight for Life, and Life Safety Services, which provide critical emergency care for our community’s residents – a vital part of airport services from an emergency response perspective.
Aside from the emergency and community services the airport provides, having a close-to-home, manageable and efficient airport experience can alleviate many of the stressors conducive to travel and provide a more relaxing launch to your trip. Whether you travel for work, play, or out of necessity, the Durango-La Plata County Airport is an influential part of our community. With expansion and greatly improved infrastructure on the horizon, our airport continues to constantly adapt to provide functional, safe, and affordable facilities to support the community’s travel and air service needs.
Welcome to Silverton, colorado!
Nestled at 9,318 elevation feet between some of North America’s highest and most scenic mountain passes, it is in the heart of the San Juan Mountains. If you’ve made it to Silverton, you're already geared up with a taste for winter adventure and you’ve found one of the last wild places in the West. Most of the town’s shops, cafes and restaurants are open year-round and you might be surprised at the gems to be found in the boutiques and art galleries here. Silverton has become a haven for artist and artisan products. With many options for winter sports, Silverton is a skier’s paradise. Kendall Mountain Ski Area is perfect for families and beginner skiers, and Silverton Mountain offers visitors access to 400 inches of powder a year. Whether you prefer to find your dream line via lift access or guided heli-skiing, this mountain is an expert rider’s paradise. Silverton also has access to hundreds of miles of groomed snowmobile, cross country, and walking trails. Either start your adventure right here in town or up at Molas Lake to enjoy the connected groomed trail system. If snowmobiling, ice fishing, or ice climbing are more your speed, there are plenty of trails, holes, and pitches to explore. No matter how you get your thrills, if you’re looking for access to wildness and adventure with plenty of cozy places to lay your head after a full day at altitude, Silverton is your basecamp for adventure!
SILVERTON MOUNTAIN:
North America’s Highest New Year’s Party
By Graham Coffey
Photos Courtesy of Silverton Mountain
Have you ever dreamed of ushering in the New Year while surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks in the San Juan Mountains? Does that dream include riding steep powder runs with friends and family without having to fight big crowds for dinner reservations or lift lines?
For the last 20 years, Silverton Mountain has provided skiers lift access to dreamy turns in untouched backcountry powder stashes. Once described as “Backcountry Lite” by the New York Times, the mountain has a chair lift that allows riders to hike along the ridge and pick their own runs. A day at Silverton Mountain is much closer to wilderness skiing than the experience of fighting for clean turns on crowded runs at a traditional resort. At 13,487 feet, it is North America’s highest ski area.
The mountain boasts 1,819 acres of lift-accessed terrain and over 22,000 acres of terrain that can be accessed by hike or helicopter.
Even though Silverton sits in Colorado’s least-populated county, it still makes an effort to control its crowds. “We limit the number of skiers on the mountain throughout the year so it feels like your own mountain. We usually have approximately 80 skiers on the mountain per a day but in December it’s less”, says co-founder Jen Brill. High-altitude powder runs in the San Juans can leave riders with the type of rush they spend a lifetime trying to recreate. Silverton Mountain’s lift access and avalanche control work allow riders to have those powder runs without having to navigate the steep faces and notoriously sketchy snowpack for which the range is infamous. Visitors can find skiing options in any direction once they’ve reached the top of the lift, but it should be noted that the terrain is steep, and considered advanced and expert terrain. “People should be comfortable on black diamond or
double black diamond runs. They don’t have to look amazing doing it, they just have to be able to get down it,” says Brill. “A high-intermediate skier probably wants to bring other people of their same ability level to ski with.”
Some people are intimidated by the hiking that is required after getting off the lift, but Brill says that many groups make a pact to move slower, and the mountain also has heli runs for purchase.
Whether local or tourist, most skiers are used to waking up before dawn after a big storm has hit. There won’t be any powder left to ski if they don’t get on one of the first chairs when the lift starts running. That’s not the case at Silverton Mountain. Says Brill: “Even if it hasn’t snowed in a while, because there’s a lowered volume of skiers, we just have powder for longer. It’s not a place where you have to chase powder days. In fact, you might want to wait a couple days so the conditions can settle out and more terrain will open.”
The New Year’s Eve experience in Silverton is much different than what you find in most of Colorado’s high-altitude destinations. The corporate dollars that have come into many mountain towns have not filtered into Silverton and the town’s location between two of Colorado’s highest mountain passes makes it harder to get to than most destinations.
Those factors help create a destination New Year’s experience without high costs and big crowds. The expensive fixed-price menus and crowded slopes that are the holiday season norm across most of the Centennial State are nowhere to be found in Silverton. Local restaurants even have reservations and open tables available for visitors who end up planning last-minute visits.
Across town there are parties on the night of December 30. Visitors and locals who are looking to sing Auld Lang Syne and dance away the first moments of 2023 are in luck. Avalanche Brewing and Golden Block Brewery are hosting New Year’s Eve parties with live bands.
Town is quite festive during the holiday season and both couples and singles alike have made a yearly tradition of heading up the mountain for a few days of skiing and solitude. The views of snow-covered peaks from downtown provide a beautiful backdrop for those who decide to take an afternoon to explore the many shops and cafes Silverton has to offer.
Silverton’s reputation as a small town is an accurate one, but it attracts adventurous types who know how to throw down when it is time to party. Many singles have come to town for New Year’s festivities in the past and found new friends. Oftentimes strangers form groups that ski together during the day and hit the town at night.
Whether traveling from near or far, all parties agree that aprés-ski drinks at the base of the mountain seem to taste a little bit better and arrive extra cold when served at over 10,000 feet.
