Pagosa Springs, CO – The Pitcher family that owns Wolf Creek in southwestern Colorado has long fought against one Texas millionaire’s plans to develop a village at the ski area’s base. Now, however, they’re eying an expansion of their own that’s focused on the ski area itself.

Davey Pitcher emphasizes that Wolf Creek is a ski area, not a ski resort. The idea he’s tossing around aren’t focused on residential development, they’re designed to enhance the skiing experience while maintaining environmental stewardship and could include up to six new and two replaced lifts as well as expanded terrain on 1,000 new acres in the San Juan National Forest that would increase the ski area’s vertical drop to 2,300 feet.  Snowmaking could cover Wolf Creek’s slopes for the first time, as the ski area already owns the necessary water rights.

The last new chairlift to be installed at Wolf creek was the Alberta lift in 1999. Part of the proposed expansion includes a new lift to access backcountry-style terrain adjacent to Alberta that is currently only accessible via hiking.

Pitcher is inviting interested parties to participate in a series of meetings scheduled throughout the region to discuss his ideas in developing a master plan for the resort that could be implemented over a 20-year period.

One thing that Pitcher doesn’t envision is increased parking at the ski area. Instead, he’d prefer to bus skiers and riders from off-site facilities along both sides of Wolf Creek Pass.