Press release from Purgatory Resort: Mountain Bike Director hired for trails, events, races

The following is a press release from Purgatory Resort’s Media Contact Kim Oyler regarding the hiring of Hogan Koesis, who was previously employed at the Angel Fire Bike Park.

Mountain Bike Director Hired for Purgatory Resort, Pajarito Mountain and other Mountain Capital Partners Resorts!

Bike Trail Assessments, Improvements, New Events & Races Planned for Resorts!

Durango, Colo. –  Officials with Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) announced the appointment of Hogan Koesis as its new Mountain Bike Director for its collection of resorts, including Purgatory Resort, Pajarito Mountain, Arizona Snowbowl, Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort, and Hesperus Ski Area

The new position was created at MCP to spearhead its efforts to improve the mountain bike offerings at its various resorts, to help build mountain bike parks, and to catapult Purgatory back into the spotlight of mountain bike championship events and world class riding.  Koesis is tasked with doing an assessment of the resorts’ mountain bike activities and assets, and developing a plan for improvements, trail additions, events and races, and more.

Koesis joins the MCP team with more than a decade of experience in the biking industry.  Koesis was most recently the assistant mountain manager and bike park director for Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico where he developed new mountain bike trails, creating the largest bike park in the Rocky Mountains.  Through his efforts, the resort increased visitation during the summer months, establishing a passionate community of riders frequenting the bike park.

“We are thrilled to have someone with Hogan’s knowledge to help us improve our mountain bike trails, and host sanctioned races and events at Purgatory, Pajarito, and our other resorts,” stated James Coleman, managing partner of Mountain Capital Partners, which owns Purgatory Resort and the four other resorts.  “We’ve already taken the next step at Purgatory by bringing Lift 1, our high-speed six person chairlift, online this summer for mountain bike uplifts.  Now, we want to once again host World Championship races and other events, and put Purgatory back on the map for mountain biking.”

Purgatory Resort held the first UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 1990, the first town in the U.S. to officially host the event, which included cross-country and downhill races.  This summer, Purgatory Resort offered for the first time in its history, regular mountain bike rides on its high-speed six-person chairlift, the Village Express Lift 1, in addition to its regular mountain bike uplift on Twilight Lift 4, a double chairlift.  In partnership with Trails 2000 and the U.S. Forest Service, Purgatory built and debuted its Divinity Downhill Flow Trail in 2015, which provides riders with a variety of features, including table-top jumps, berms, hits, flyovers, boardwalks and more.  Purgatory’s flow trail is Durango’s only lift-served gravity-powered trail, meaning no pedaling is required, which is 1.5 miles long, the longest in the area.

“I’m proud to be part of one of the largest mountain bike initiatives in the U.S.,” stated Koesis.  “Our goal is to be strategic about what improvements are made at our resorts, while maintaining the uniqueness of each one and providing fun and exciting mountain bike adventures.”

Ranked as a top-five mountain bike park in the Southwest by MTBparks, Pajarito Mountain is home to an extensive lift-served mountain bike trail system.  With 1,200 feet of downhill, cross country and freeride mountain bike trails, the 30-trail system was built and maintained almost entirely by local volunteers from Los Alamos, NM.  The bike park features North Shore-style trails.  Lift-served biking is available throughout the summer on select Saturdays and Sundays.  For the first time this summer, Pajarito and Purgatory partnered together to offer an unlimited Mountain Bike Uplift Pass valid at both resorts for $149.  Uplift tickets are $25 per day at Pajarito.

“Pajarito is a great mountain for hard-core riders and it has a ton of potential!   I’m excited to help enhance the mountain biking experience in Los Alamos,” stated Koesis.  “With easy access from Santa Fe and the surrounding area in Southwest, Pajarito is on the cusp of becoming the next major mountain bike park in the region.”

Koesis has recently moved to Durango, Colo. with his wife and his son, who enjoy spending time as a family on the trails, camping, skiing, and taking full advantage of the mountain lifestyle.

For more information on summer activities and events at Purgatory, visit www.PurgatoryResort.com or Pajarito Mountain, skiPajarito.com.

Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gzz7ni3omdtv6hn/VIDEO%20Summer%20Lift%201%20%26%20Flow%20Trail.mp4?dl=0%5C

About Mountain Capital Partners

Headquartered in Durango, Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) owns and manages the largest collection of ski resorts in the Southwest, including Purgatory Resort, Arizona Snowbowl, Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort, Pajarito Mountain, Hesperus Ski Area, and Colorado’s largest snowcat skiing operation, Purgatory Snowcat Adventures.  In total, the resorts feature more than 38,000 skiable acres, 245 trails, 32 lifts, 15 terrain parks, plus a variety of summer activities, such as lift-served mountain bike trails, scenic chairlift rides, an alpine slide, a new mountain coaster (coming soon to Purgatory), and more.   James Coleman is the managing partner of MCP, which has invested more than $35 million at its five resorts over the past three years alone, adding new chairlifts, trails, snowmaking, and other improvements.