December 2009 - Posts
December 26, 2009
Hi Folks,
How good does it get spending time with friends and family in Telluride. Today was another beautiful blue-sky ski day. It's fun to tour around here - there is so much to see and do. Below is a possible route...
I like to head to the top of the mountain in the morning. Try a run from the top of Revelation to the Town of Telluride. 3,845 vertcial feet. You might want to stop by Alpino Vino on the way if you're a late riser and on vacation:
Or, swing by the historic Gorrono Saloon for a hot chocolate:
Then, maybe a lap or two on the Apex Chair (6):
Okay, maybe a easy run all the way down to the bottom of the Chondola at the Meadows:
Of course, a High Camp Warming Hut cookie run, at the top of Prospect Express:
Just following, travel over to the Revelation Observation Deck to take some nice group photos. This deck is a "must see" and is located at the bottom of the Revelation Chair, perched over a thousand-foot cliff with views in every direction:
For the fun of it, how about exploring some soft bumps on the west side of Gold Hill:
How about a quick rest and espresso at Alpino Vino in the afternoon? Elaine is going for it:
It's time for a lap down to the Town of Telluride, under the gondola, on Coonskin:
Wrapping up the ski segment for the day, it's back up the gondola for apres ski drinks and appetizers at Allred's - the nicest apres-ski view and dinner restarurant in the area:
It's probably time for a little shopping. Slide down to Mountain Village and swing by the newest boutique in the village, Telluride Naturals:
Telluride Naturals will introduce you to the greatest local products and art from the Telluride region. Locally grown and produced items you will find there include Bluecorn Candles from Ridgeway, Honeyville honeys, jams and sauces from Durange, Black Horse Essential soaps and lotions from Telluride, Pawlm candles from Montrose, James Ranch cheeses from Dolores, Tomboy soaps from Telluride, local photography, batiks, weavings, paintings and more.
Telluride Naturals is also the exclusive tasting and sales room for Telluride Vodka - expertly distilled with Telluride water - now featuring flavored vodkas such as carmel, cinnamon, and vanilla:
Below is a picture of Hanna Penberthy, who along with Ben Ladowski, will help explain the products and there orgins. Support your local producers - check it out:
Telluride Naturals is right next to the new ice skating rink in Mountain Village:
If you need logo items from Telluride, check out the new Telluride Resort Store. They've got all sorts of things like posters, stickers, shot glasses, pint glasses, tee- shirts, hoodies, Telluride post cards, etc.
The Resort Store is packed with fun stuff. Where else can you get a logoed Hop Garden pint beer glass or an Allred's coffee mug?
Between shops, I highly recommend a ride on the bungy trampline:
And, maybe a quick stop by the new heated outdoor bar at the Hop Garden:
Then, you might want to swing by the new Telluride Eco Adventures. This place is really unique:
The ski company created this store as part of its "Eco Tourism" initiative. It's set up to provide adventures for both adults and children. Inside, you'll find wonderful interpretive displays. For example, we've got gold and silver mining information, geological displays, animal pelts, skulls, animal tracks, and much more.
The mining history and interpretive displays are interesting for everyone:
Eco Adventures offers everything from guided snowshoe and nordic tours, to snowmobiling, ice climbing, heli-skiing, winter fly fishing, children's activities, and more. Today, the kids made their own snowshoes inside, then went outside and tried them out!
San Juan Mountain Bobcat display:
There is so much to do in Mountain Village, the Town of Telluride, and up in the beautiful San Juan alpine. Hopfully, this blog has given you a few ways to experience this great resort!
Please feel free to post comments or questions - we love to hear from you. - Dave
December 24, 2009
Hi Folks,
Telluride has been blessed with great early season snowfall and conditions. All lifts are now open with great skiing. A big thank you goes out to the ski patrol department for a safe and efficient opening of the mountain!
Below is a picture of opening day at the gorgeous Revelation Bowl last weekend.
A winch-cat groomed Silver Cloud. Another big thank you goes out to the grooming department for the excellent work!
Telluride's first World Cup event was a great success last week. You can view it on NBC network television December 27th at 11:00 a.m. (Mountain Standard Time). Check it out. This exciting event was made possible by the combined efforts of the entire community. Thanks to all the volunteers, lodgers, restaurants, Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club, Telluirde Tourism Board, Telluride Foundation, Town of Mountain Village, Town of Telluride, USSA, FIS, and the Telluride Ski Resort folks for making it happen. Great work everyone!
Lindsey Jacobellis spraying champagne:
Alpino Vino, with its attentive staff, is now open for business. It's the highest wine bar in the world (we think). Yes, those are wine bottles incorporated into the new deck railing. This is a very unique restaurant:
At Alpino Vino, you'll find comfy furniture and genuine people who are committed to providing exceptional guest service:
Mountain Village has new hotels, new restaurants, new retail stores, a new Eco Adventure Center, and a new ice skating rink. You never know what surprises will unfold at Telluride:
Enjoy skiing Telluride, and the wonderful combination of the historic mining Town of Telluride, plus the European Mountain Village, all connected with a free gondola that runs 'till midnight seven days a week. Telluride is truly Unmatched in North America:
Please feel free to post a comment or question; we always love to hear from you. Have a wonderful, safe and happy holiday. - Dave
December 15, 2009
Hi Folks,
We're planning on opening a huge amount of beginner and intermediate terrain tomorrow, Wednesday. Sunshine Express (10), Ute Park Express (11), and the Lynx surface lift will open at 9:00 a.m.
Telluride is known for its challenging, "extreme" terrain, but we also have miles and miles of easy terrain too. These uncrowded runs served by high speed lifts are perfect for the families, beginners, or for anyone just wanting to soak up the incredible sunshine and views of the San Juan Mountains.
Below are a few pictures I took this morning. Let's start with Sundance - which is a favorite, super-wide intermediate run off Sunshine Express - with the best grooming you'll find, anywhere:
Ballroom dancing allowed:
Ute Park Express, is a pure beginner area on the upper mountain. This is a perfect, uncrowded, place to learn how to ski or snowboard through a lesson from one of our professional instructors:
Over at Prospect Express, which opened yesterday, the skiing is fantastic on the rolling, gladed groomers. Sunscreen recommended :)
High Camp Warming Hut is a great place for a break at the top of Prospect Express:
The snow conditions are perfect and the weather couldn't be better - SW Colorado sunshine and the most beautiful mountains in North America = Telluride:
Revelation Bowl is next on the list to open. This lift was installed the summer before last and has been a tremendous addition to Telluride. Stay tuned for updates:
The 2009 Visa Snowboardcross Cup started today and will go through Sunday the 20th. It's really neat to watch and to talk with athletes from around the world on the chairlift. Today, the Parallel Giant Slalom (PGS) races started on upper Misty Maiden. Here is a picture of the start gate:
Below is a picture of the finish area, right above the Gorrono Ranch Saloon:
The BoarderCross course is being completed today. The crews have worked on it for a couple weeks. Boardercross racing will happen Friday thru Sunday and the finish is right at Heritage Plaza in Mountain Village, so even if you don't ski you can come see the competion. These competitions are qualifiers for the 2010 Winter Olympics:
We've developed a special website for the Telluride World Cup. Check it out at www.tellurideworldcup.com
The weather is forecast to be sunny and beautiful all the way through the weekend. Enjoy!
Feel free to post a comment or questions. Thank you. - Dave
P.S. Late afternoon over the Boardercross finish:
December 14, 2009
Prospect Express (12) and Gold Hill Express (14) opened today. The runs on the west side of Gold Hill are still closed due to avalanche mitigation work.
I wasn't able to experience it - too many office duties today... But, everyone I saw who skied up in the Prospect area today were raving about it.
We're planning to open Sunshine Express (10) on Wednesday, and we should open Telluride Trail and additional runs on the Town side soon. I'll update on that soon.
Enjoy - Dave
December 13, 2009
Hi Folks,
Well, I promised we'd open Prospect Express and Gold Hill Express today, but the wind and snow prevented it... Murphy...
Below is a picture of the pow coming down on Apex Lift this afternoon:
The skiing over on the Plunge lift was really good today. I hope you had the opportunity to check it out:
I've been getting lots of feedback on Sunshine Express (10), and understand everyone's desire to get it going. We had it scheduled for December 19th. We'll see if we can advance that a little. We're also working on the north side access. Thank you for your input.
Feel free to post a comment or questions - alway open. - Dave
December 12, 2009
Hi Folks,
We all must be living right.
Another snowstorm is moving in with a forecast of a foot or more of powder over the next 48 hours. We've already got fantastic conditions for early December. The plan is to open Prospect Express (12) and Gold Hill Express (14) tomorrow, which is great.
I was out early this morning looking things over and grabbed some still shots for the blog.
Below is a picture of the top of Prospect Express:
Looking down Magnolia, you can see we've got great coverage in Prospect Basin:
Here's another look down the intermediate run - Sandia. I love this run because the groomers go around the tree islands and it has lots of natural rolls and banks:
Looking up Gold Hill Express this morning:
Nice glade skiing with Palmyra Peak in the background:
This is from the top of the Plunge lift looking south at Revelation Bowl, Gold hill and Palmyra Peak. You can see the weather moving in:
After we open Prospect Express and Gold Hill Express tomorrow, the next terrain and lift the patrol will turn to is Revelation (15). The patrol kicked off a pretty big slide in the bowl today. If you look closely, you can see on "lookers right" the crown face and the slide. They were pleased with their results. The clouds just barely cleared enough to get this picture:
High Camp Warming Hut will also be open tomorrow when Prospect Express opens:
Enjoy the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado - Telluride.
Please feel free to post a comment or question. - Dave
December 11, 2009
Hi Folks,
Just a quick update before the weekend. I appologize for the lack of pictures in advance - my camera died today. The old Sony Cyber-shot gave me several years of blog photos, but it's now time to upgrade.
It looks like we will most likely open Prospect Express (12) and Gold Hill Express (14) this Sunday. Those lifts will not open Saturday. We might get more snow on Saturday night and if so the opening of 12 and 14 might be a delayed on Sunday morning. The patrol still has quite a bit of set up work to do as well as avalanche mitigation work in Prospect Basin and Gold Hill. It's not for lack of effort or resources, they just have a lot of work to complete.
The Coonskin Lift (7) will operate starting Saturday morning (12/12) for uploading and downloading only. The north side terrain is still under snowmaking construction and the whales have not been spread so it will take a few more days to open. The ticket office at Coonskin open Saturday morning.
All restaurants are open now except for Alpino Vino and High Camp. Presuming Chair 12 and 14 open Sunday, High Camp will open then. Alpino Vino is likely to open next weekend. The carpenters are finishing the new deck and heated outdoor bar. It's gong to be really neat when it's complete.
I had a great day skiing this morning. The conditions and coverage are really wonderful. Check it out.
Please feel free to post a comment or question. - Dave
December 9, 2009
Hi Folks,
Quick update...
We opened the Plunge Lift (9) today. Thanks to the Mountain Department staff for all the good work!
Next on the list would be Prospect Express (12) and Gold Hill Express (14). We'd all like to see that happen sometime this weekend.
People from all over the world are arriving in Telluride this week and we are very focused on putting our best foot forward, on every level, from the mountain - to the town - to the village. Let's kick ASS Telluride!
Have fun, be safe, stay tuned... - Dave
P.S. The terrain park is being moved to Polar Queen as we speak.
December 8, 2009
Hi Folks,
Telluride Ski Resort received over a foot of snow last night, and it's still snowing hard today. The timing of this could not be better.
This morning, the snow stake was showing 32 inches, and rising:
The new outdoor bar at the Hop Garden was buried this morning. At 4:00 p.m. today, we're doing a poster signing event at the Hop Garden with the US SkiX, Snowboardcross, and Parallel Giant Slalom athletes. The outdoor bar will be clean by then :)
Free posters, photo opportunities with US Team athletes, and lots of brewski will be on hand. Come check it out:
The skiing was great today. Below is a picture of Jeff Proteau, Senior VP of Mountain Operations and Planning (that's a long title) enjoying the fresh tracks:
Below is a picture of Elizabeth Howe, Executive Director of Resort Services. She is a strong telemark skier. Notice the avalanche behind her?
Deep powder at Telluride puts a smile on Elizabeth's face:
This is Doris, one of the rescue dogs, taking a nap at Patrol Headquarters. Check out those giant feet:
Ellie keeps watch over the office. Clearly, there is something about a powder day that just makes a dog sleepy:
Below is a picture (from left to right) of Daron Rahlves, Elizabeth, Casey Puckett, and Tyler Shepherd:
Casey is a four-time Olympian and six-time U.S. Champion. Daron is known as the most successful U.S. male downhiller with 12 World Cup wins, 28 podiums, and was the winner of the famed Hahnenkamm Downhill in 2003. Tyler Shepherd is the fulltime Ski Cross Head Coach.
We opened all the runs in the Polar Queen Express pod (Chair 5) today. It was epic. The next pod we're planning to open is the Plunge Lift (Chair 9). I can't guarantee right now, but the odds look favorable for this lift to open tomorrow sometime. Patrol is working hard on it. The next time you see a Telluride Ski Patrol member on the hill, stop and give them a big thank you for their work! They also like cookies at Patrol Headquarters :)
We are fortunate to have great early season snow this year. Come and get it!
Feel free to post a comment or question. Also, you can always reach me at driley@tellurideskiresort.com if you want to contact me directly.
Experience Telluride, it is truly an amazing place. - Dave