Adam L. Reiner - Splitboarding, mountaineering, and lifestyle in the Colorado Rockies

We’ve now been here for two days and it has been a great trip.  The scenery around town is just amazing!  The town sits in a box canyon with sheer cliff walls on three sides, and the ski mountain rises right up from the creek on the edge of town.  From the top of the mountain, we have an epic view of the surrounding mountains.  Although I’ve travelled in the San Juans before, I’m always blown away at how rugged and remote the mountains are.  They look very different from the mountains of northern and central Colorado.  Telluride even has a a jagged, couloir laced 13er, Palmrya Peak, within the boundaries of the ski area!  I haven’t attempted the hike up there, but saw a few figures taking on the challenge out on the windy ridge.

Here I am in Revelation Bowl.  Off in the distance, splitting the face of the mountain is the famous San Joaquin couloir, a popular descent for local ski mountaineers.  I’ve seen a lot of pictures, and now I’ve seen it from afar.  I someday plan to see it up close (like inside it)

What I really like about this place is the size of the mountain relative to the amount of people in town.  With such a large area of terrain, and virtually uncrowded slopes, this leaves an endless array of fresh powder.  Even a few days after the last storm, Vanessa and I were still finding fresh tracks all over the mountain.  Some of the tree runs here rival the classics at Steamboat and Vail, even surpassing them in our eyes.

Vanessa and I had lunch on top of the mountain under a bright blue sky.  Far in the background is a part of the San Juan range.  Wilson Peak is the prominent 14er just over my shoulder.

As in most small towns, the locals are very friendly.  I think here, however, the mountain staff takes the extra step.  Every lift operator asked how we were doing, and told us to enjoy ourselves every time we boarded the lift, and the operators at the top always waved or gave a “peace sign” when we got off the lift.

The view of town from the mountain.  Before coming here, I’ve heard a lot of people compare it to Aspen.  How wrong could they possibly be!  Telluride is much more rustic, and the Victorian architecture is more prominent.  I would say of all the towns in the Front Range to compare it to, it looks alot like Georgetown (If Georgetown had an epic ski area above it!)

For Valentines day, we are going to enjoy our last night here by going to the annual Telluride Comedy Festival.  On a side note: some people in the hot tub told us they ran into Jerry Seinfeld on the slopes!  He has been a part-time local for years, but perhaps he will be attending the festival tonight (or giving a surprise performance?)

Tags: architecture, palmyra peak, san joaquin, san juans, ski town, snowboarding, Telluride, Victorian

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 14th, 2009 at 5:37 pm and is filed under Backcountry Snowboarding, Locale, Personal Blog, Telluride. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.