Telluride has often been tagged “The Most Beautiful Place You’ll Ever Ski,” but just because the views are breathtaking doesn’t mean the commute to the lifts has to be. The Gondola is free and can take you from Mountain Village to Telluride and vice-versa; and free shuttles loop regularly through both towns to help get you to the chairlifts without having to lug your skis and snowboard around. There are two free parking lots, one at the base of Lift 7 in Telluride and one off the main boulevard in Mountain Village.
Did you remember your sunscreen? Check. Goggles? Check. Money for a snack or après ski? Check. And of course, a helmet is a must. Now here’s what else you’ll need to know:
Telluride Ski Resort
Telluride is unique among ski resorts because it doesn’t have the big packed parking lot at the base of the mountain. Instead, the Towns of Telluride and Mountain Village are conveniently located at the base of the mountain. Staying in either mountain hamlet grants you easy access to the gondola or the lifts to get you on the hill. Grab a bite for breakfast and jump on the gondola—it puts you at the center of it all with easy and moderate slopes to your right, steeper pitches and moguls runs to your left. The ski map is perfectly centered at this midway point, which is framed by the snowy Wilson range to the southwest. Unlike most ski resorts, Telluride Ski Area’s chairlifts are numbered, not named, although a couple of the lifts still have nicknames from the early days of the resort.
Newbies
For those new to the hill, try out the Meadows area and Lifts 1, 10 and 4, they’re all the right place to go to test the snow. Pop into Telluride Ski & Snowboard School and sign up for a group or individual ski or snowboard lessons for beginner adventures, morning clinics and all-day adventures, full days, early riser mornings and flex times—Telski has a little or a lot of lesson for everyone. Runs off of Lift 4 are pretty mellow but can get crowded. So head over to Lift 10 to Holy Cow!, a great run near the quiet woods. If you’ve never clicked into ski bindings or buckled into snowboard bindings, you might want to make the lift rounds on the Meadows and Lift 1 (one meaning first for first-timers).
Intermediates
So you’ve skied before? Maybe you’re a weekend warrior skiing your local mountain on the weekends? Or perhaps you dedicate a few weeks a year to Colorado or Utah sliding around on skis or a snowboard? Warm up those legs on Lift 5 with Polar Queen and Palmyra. Take Lift 4 from the Beach in Mountain Village to Lift 5, and when you tire of laps on 5, make your way over through the archway to Prospect Bowl. Prospect Lift, or Lift 12, is a perfect mix of intermediate and beginner terrain with the option for more advanced lines off of Prospect Ridge via a quick five to ten minute hike.
Advanced/Experts
For the advanced, all-mountain skier Prospect Bowl is the perfect place to spend the day. Walk just minutes from Lift 12 and the possibilities of steep, well-covered terrain challenge and delight. These double black diamond runs are true favorites and the terrain is as diverse as it gets, with small rocky cliffs, tight trees, open bowls and aspen glades. If you’ve eaten your Wheaties, hike even farther up to Black Iron Bowl, Telski’s newest addition. This terrain is similar to shots off Prospect Ridge, but it’s bigger and steeper. And if that doesn’t satiate the extreme skier in you, Telski has opened access to the 13,320-foot summit of Palmyra Peak and all of the 200 acres and 2,000 vertical feet below.
Silverton Mountain: Experts Only
Silverton’s charm is more about what it doesn’t have, than what it does. No lift lines, no ritzy lodge, no ski lessons, no high-speed chairlifts or gondolas, no groomed corduroy slopes … and no whining. Silverton is for the purist: almost 2,000 acres are serviced by a single lift, so you have to hike along the ridge to access the steep chutes, faces and couloirs. The terrain is for experts only, and you will need to carry avalanche gear — a beacon, probe, and shovel — and know how to use it. The snowpack in the San Juan Mountains is so hazardous you will need to go with a guide between January 17 and March 30, when the abundance of snowfall makes it hard to control avalanches.
How to Get There
Even the drive to Silverton Mountain is hairy. Plan on at least two hours in the car, and be prepared with four-wheel drive, chains or studded snow tires to make it over Red Mountain Pass. The pass is one of the most scenic drives in America, traveling over a beautiful granite gorge and by some pristine peaks, but you will want to keep your eyes on the road as it is also one of the most dangerous drives in the country.
When To Go
The resort is only open Thursdays-Sundays, so a Thursday after a stormy week is your best bet because there is guaranteed untracked powder. Although you can ski without a guide in the early and late season, from mid-January until April you will need to make a reservation and ski with a guide. Guided skiing is a little bit more expensive, but worth every penny because (a) it is safer, and (b) your guide will know where to find the best snow.
What to Know Before You Go
Silverton is more of a backcountry experience than a ski resort. If you don’t feel comfortable on expert terrain, or if you only like groomed runs, you will not enjoy it. If you love steep slopes, deep powder, tight trees, gnarly chutes, and out-of-bounds skiing, then Silverton is the place for you. The mountain’s terrain was ranked first for its steeps and powder by Skiing Magazine. Silverton has captured a niche market, offering unparalleled skiing to unpretentious ski bums. Absent the amenities of typical ski resorts, like lessons, lodges, grooming and lots of lifts, the cost of skiing or boarding in Silverton has remained affordable. The number of skiers is restricted, so the slopes are uncrowded and there’s plenty of powder for everyone.
Off the Mountain
Legs need a break? There are lots of other activities besides skiing or boarding to keep you busy. You can rent cross-country skis and check out the Nordic skiing in Town Park, Mountain Village and at Trout Lake, or grab a pair of skates and go ice skating. There is tubing at night on the ski resort, and lots of visitors opt for a snowmobile tour or a sleigh ride to round out their vacation.
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