I got to Telluride just as the lifts were opening. And you can park right up next to the lift here so it’s just a short walk. What else could you ask for?
The first day was really solid. Just hopped around the whole mountain and tried to get myself situated. The views from the top are really like nothing else. The valley is so tight. It feels like the surrounding mountains are on top of you.
The trails were pretty bare here like they were at Crested Butte. They were in desperate need of some snow but I still had fun the first day. The forecast showed that it was going to snow six-plus inches in the afternoon that day. So I decided to rent some wider skis so I could enjoy the powder properly.
But by the time I made it to the hostel in the late afternoon, it still hadn’t snowed. By dinner time nothing. And only when I was about to head to bed did it start flurrying a little bit.
I was talking to a few guys in the ski shop and they weren’t confident that the storm was going to come good. One of the mountains close to the resort had a knack of getting dumped on and leaving the valley with nothing. The mountain is called “Storm Catcher” in the native tongue because it does just that. So that made me a bit worried that we weren’t going to get the snow.
The hostel itself was actually really nice. Very clean and you could tell that it was recently renovated. They had a few hot tubs out back which was a blessing. I met some cool people while I was there.
One of the guys I met works for a crypto non-profit and we had a long conversation about the industry and where we see things going in the future. I also meet a few people from Switzerland who were traveling around the US for a few weeks.
I found out that even the most difficult runs in Europe are groomed. There’s a different rating system out there so the most difficult runs are not exactly a double black. But you’ll never find a cut run with bumps or moguls in Switzerland. If you want to find bumps you have to go off-trail.
The snow out there has more moisture than it does in Colorado. So a day or two after it snows the powder isn’t powder anymore. Going off-trail is really only feasible just after it snows. Or else you’re skiing on ice basically.
Anyway, I woke up in the morning and I saw it had snowed a bit. Maybe an inch or two at the hostel. But at the mountain, it had snowed more than that. And it was still coming down when I got on the lift.
It snowed throughout the day and it made the whole resort into an amusement park. It was cold as hell though because the sun was trapped behind the clouds. I had to take a break every hour or so and warm up in the huts.
I found that the front side of the mountain was getting the best of it and the moguls were just so powdery. It was beautiful.
It’s amazing how a bit of snow just changes the game. You can really go at these runs more aggressively because the extra snow slows you up a bit when you’re trying to make turns. I hit some of the harder double blacks and even some of the extreme terrain. Fell a few times but who cares. I was having a blast.
The night consisted of a hot tub soak and the next day was basically the same thing. Woke up early and hit the mountain for a full day. The day after the snow is always the best. Clear skies and sunny. I was happy to experience the mountain the way that you can when you get some fresh snow.
I was considering staying another day but I felt it was best to head back home. My body was tired at this point and I needed a proper rest before starting work. I will make it back. Probably not this year but next year for sure.
This mountain has to be one of the best that I have ever visited. It’s sneaky big and it’s just so damn steep. I want to come back and do more of the terrain you have to hike to. But again, it’s a bit difficult to tackle those kinds of things when you are by yourself. I’ll have to make some new friends.