Telluride

The town (and ski resort) of Telluride sits among the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. These are part of the Rocky Mountains, and the area has the highest concentration of 13,000 and 14,000-foot peaks in North America.

Colorado Highway 145 brings motorists into the town, and it is from here that visitors can access the ski area. Travelers flying into the region can use the local airport, Montrose-Telluride, Durango-La Plata, or the Grand Junction airports. Those facilities range from six miles to over 130, with travel times from Grand Junction taking 2.5 hours to reach the ski resort (Car rental and shuttle services are available from these airports).

Lots of Skiing Amongst the Views

The ski area at Telluride has over 2,000 acres for visitors to explore. That terrain rests in the alpine biome range, giving plankers breathtaking views (and thin oxygen) as they work over the various trails that the staff groom and maintain.

Base elevation for the ski area rests at 8,725 feet, with a peak elevation of 13,150 feet. Guests to the mountain will find plenty of potential for fun skiing and challenging terrain to navigate while descending the 4,425-foot verticle. That verticle drop is twice many resorts and is a feature that stands out when traveling to the ski area.

While gold and other precious metals once attracted people to the Telluride area, today's visitors are here for the attractive snow and the sports that it attracts. An example would be Black Iron Bowl, a hike-to terrain that more advanced skiers can enjoy.

Unlike other areas one hikes into, this terrain is inbounds and allows plankers to drop in along several points of the 1,000-foot face filled with chutes, open glades, and European-style faces. It is one area where guests have a good chance of cutting first tracks during most of the season.

A full Experience at Telluride

Fans of Nordic skiing and snowshoeing have plenty to do here, with five loops on the Top-A-Ten Nordic Trails system and groomed snowshoe trails tailored to an explorer's skill level. While some sections are multi-use trails, a majority serve the specific interests of the backcountry fans.

Telluride has 147 trails on the ski area, with the longest run at roughly 4.6 miles on the Galloping Goose. Just under a quarter of the trails are rated green for beginners, with around 36-percent rated blue for intermediate skill level. The remainder of the terrain is either black diamond or double diamond located higher up the mountain, offering advanced skiers and experts plenty of action.

The Telluride resort gets around 280 inches of snowfall each year. Colorado's famous sunny days mean rippers and shredders will cut through the powder in the sun as often as during a dump.

There are three main terrain parks in Telluride worth mentioning. Ute Park is designed for beginners and intermediates to get comfortable with freestyling on terrain. Hoot Brown Intermediate and Hoot Brown Advanced represent progressive terrain for skiers and snowboarders to navigate.

Telluride has a lift capacity well past 22,000 people an hour with just under 20 lifts, including a couple of high-speed gondolas and three magic carpets.