SNOW - Life | Lifts | Luxury

Telluride sits in the southwest corner of Colorado, where the geology gods did some of their best work. Fourteen-thousand-foot peaks melt into red-rock mesas as countless stands of pine and aspen watch in awestruck silence. Though Telluride has gone from booming mining village to virtual ghost town to bustling ski resort, the 13 city blocks of brick hotels and clapboard storefronts look much like they did in the 1880s. It’s a National Historic District, so all construction must adhere to the Victorian town’s “Wild West” image and code.

Most ski mountains consist of runs that fall off a single giant massif; not Telluride's. Slopes group in separate drainages dropping from the long ridge that meanders from Gold Hill to the Mountain Village base. There are also two bases in town: Coonskin on the west side, and the bottom of Oak Street, where Chair 8 and the free gondola originate. While most runs here cut through timber, there is open alpine-style skiing in Prospect Bowl and from the hike-to pinnacle of 13,320-foot Palmyra Peak.

Popular meteorological mythology would have you believe that the snow in Telluride is lighter because it dries out as it travels over the vast expanses of Southwestern desert. Whether it’s that or just divine providence, the snow here — 309 inches annually, on average — is some of the lightest you’ll find on the planet.

Getting In
With the possible exception of Christmas-New Year’s week, Telluride never gets so jammed that crowds will mar your social life, or restaurant reservations become impossible. Maître d’s here tend to be helpful youngsters, not entrenched social gatekeepers, and there are usually seats to be had with only short waits — even for walk-in diners.

Going Out