Purgatory, Pandemonium and a Question of UFOs

There is nothing comparable to the wonder of the blue skies of Southwestern Colorado over the vast white of the ski runs of Purgatory, now Durango Ski Area. This was the end of winter 1988 and my girlfriend and I were headed out to get one last ski trip in for the year.

We were staying in a motel at the north end of the main street in Durango. It was filled with folks from the various states in search of that perfect run. The weather was beautiful and the sky was clear. At night, from the hot tub you felt that you could reach out and touch the Milky Way, the Pleiades, Ursula Major and Minor. We tracked satellites with ease, it was breathtaking.

On our last day we headed to the ski are via a shuttle service (read old yellow school bus) that was provided by the motel. We gathered our equipment together, and met at the bus. As equipment was getting loaded onto the bus, that familiar tingling started right at the base of my neck. I looked everywhere in the sky, but did not see anything that I felt could account for that feeling. We headed out.

For the early part of the day, my girlfriend skied with her brother’s girlfriend, teaching her how to ski. I was left up to my own resources, and made a couple of new friends from Texas. We had skied down a run called Lower Pandemonium and were heading back up to the top, when the gentleman next to me on the lift asked me my opinion on ETs and UFOs.

I told him that I was quite certain that there were other sentient beings beside us on this planet. We chatted for the better part of the lift ride to the top of the run, where he began to tell me about a crash that had taken place near the Texas/Mexican border, Laredo I believe, and the retrieval. We then got off the lift he waved goodbye and headed down the run. I never saw him again. Never. Not on the run. Not on the bus back to the motel. I didn’t think twice about it at the time.

That night we were getting ready for bed, and J and I were discussing the day. I was telling her about this Texan that I had met, and she asked me where he was from in Texas. I didn’t know. What was his name, again not a clue. We finished getting ready, showered and gathered our belongings so that the next day would go off without a hitch. I was out like a light. 

The next thing I know I have the feeling of falling. The bed compressed as I ‘hit’ it, and it bounced J up and then back down. She awoke with a start and rolled over to see what had happened. According to her there were several seconds that I had laid there, my eyes opened, but not responding to her voice. 

Needless to say, it shook her up. Then I had “The Talk” with her regarding Socorro.