So why did I end up taking a Snoworks course last season, our first course in America, to Telluride?
‘The Blizzard of Aahhhs’ is the first reason. I grew up watching and idolising ‘Glen Plake’ & his merry men skiing the bowls and ripping the bumps of this old mining town with resident town council man, ‘Rasta Stevie’.
So we went about putting the course together, contacting the required people for accommodation & guiding assistance and then put it out on the worldwide web. The course filled quickly and the dream became a reality.
Telluride is stashed amongst the greatest amount of 14,000ft peaks in North America, in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado.
Telluride has 18 lifts, 125 ‘trails’ (pistes!) with the longest run over 7k, lined by stunning gigantic evergreens. Although Telluride is targeted and better suited to intermediate, advanced and expert skiers, there’s a fantastic spectrum of skiable terrain to be savoured by all levels. It also boasts fantastic elevation with a base station at 2,600m (Tignes is 2,100, Courchevel 1850m) and a top station of 3,800m with hike-to-terrain of over 4,000m above this!
The infamous hike-able terrain means you can ski from the dizzy height of over 4,000 from the summit of Palmyra peak. Whilst this is not for the faint hearted, with a 1.5 to 2 hour hike followed by a 38+ degree couloir decent, there are other options with ‘Bald Mountain’ (20 mins), ‘Gold Hill Chutes’ (15 -30 mins depending on chute) and ‘Black Iron Bowl’ (5-30 mins depending on chute).
The ‘trail’ names are entertaining and typically American with names like ‘Galloping Goose’, ‘Cake Walk’ and ‘Lower Happy Thought’. All are groomed to perfection for a carver’s dream. There are the fabulous off-piste & powder chutes mentioned above and don’t forget you also have probably the world’s longest, most magnificent, mogul fields. Telluride’s moguls have something different that I find hard to put into words but perfect would probably cover it. They are on skiable angled slopes, have an awesome shape, go on forever and you have a choice of little or mahoosive ones. No weirdy shaped un-skiable ones like you find in the traverse fields of European resorts.
The Town of Telluride is in San Miguel. A former silver mine where the ever present remains of this old historic village add to Telluride’s appeal. With saloon style swing door bars, every other shop selling Stetsons and leather boots and the original bank that Butch Cassidy held up in 1889, it feels a world away from any other ski resort you can think of. The separation of this cultural, relaxed and historic town partnered with the modern, trendy and stunning ski village give Telluride tonnes of appeal.
We travelled in March 2012 and although we didn’t get the powder we all longed for we skied some magnificent bumps, great variable snow chutes, hiked the 4,000m Palmyra peak and enjoyed some fabulous meals of ribs and pizza and had a great social night life including playing pool and poker.
In 2013 we have decided to move the course to February in order to make the most of the amazing powder that is synonymous with Colorado.
This is certainly the place to go if you want magnificent photographic scenery, powder lined tree chutes and world class moguls. Get it booked, you won’t regret it.
Telluride 2013 Details
Date: Feb 10th-21st 2013
Spaces: 14
Cost: Click Here
Snoworks All-Terrain Ski Course
The Snoworks Course has been specifically adapted to make the most of this fantastic ski resort and includes 9 full days of skiing. We’ll be working in conjunction with the Telluride Ski School who have agreed to provide one of their top instructors to work in tandem with our own Snoworks instructor. This means you’ll have a combination of the unique Snoworks approach to developing all-mountain skiing plus local knowledge to find the best terrain and snow Telluride has to offer.
Reserve your place know by calling our office on 0844 543 0503. Or reserve a space online in 5 minutes with only a £50 deposit and our office will contact you to confirm details. Click the link below.
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