Telluride PhotosPhotos of Telluride Ski Area, Snowboarding, Hiking

According to a story which ran in the Telluride Daily Planet today:

“… the Telluride Regional Airport Authority has voted to set airport operating hours from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. year round, effective immediately.”

The final vote of the TRAA was seven in favor and zero opposed to the extension of operating hours. Previously, the hours of operation were 30 min. before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset … so this essentially really only affects the winter operating hours given the sun sets late in the evening during the summer months.

In any case, I will not be on an inbound airplane to Telluride which is landing in the dark. In my opinion, it’s simply a risky proposition and there are safer and cheaper alternatives; namely, Montrose, Durango, or Grand Junction Colorado.

I also believe it was poor judgment & a slap in the face to the residents of the county to circumvent the provision regarding night flights contained within the original SUP issued by San Miguel County to permit the airport in the first place. If the issue were presented to the residents of SMC or formerly to the Board of County Commissioners (who would be vested official authority to engage in such a decision), then it wouldn’t be an issue. However, TRAA has unilaterally moved forward on this front; apparently under the operating assumption that federal law stipulates that “local zoning” does not have any jurisdiction on operations of an FAA sactioned aiport (to paraphrase).

Regardless, I stand by my original claim that the Telluride airport is not my first choice … due to price, diversion rates, and now what might be a very real safety factor. Remember, Telluride is at about 9,000k, receives tremendous amounts of snow and adverse weather … and if that isn’t enough, it’s essentially a “stationary aircraft carrier” in so far as having threes sides of the runway exposed to extreme drop-offs of several hundred feet.

Today was day ten and third riding regular. Basically mopping up powder in spots and going fast in the open. I took the Gold Hill lift for the first time this season, but opted out of taking a run down after hearing confirmation from the person next to me on the lift that it was very rocky … at least on the inbounds & chokes. Little Rose was closed.

Yesterday was a much better day, was in the exact right spot at the right time yesterday when patrol dropped the rope to North Chute off of Telluride Trail. It was a top notch run which had me racing up lift 7 yelling to downloaders that they didn’t have to download anymore (although it’s probably not a bad idea for some … since the Ttrail is a bit sketchy with man made snow). Got a first track on the western headwall to Coonskin, probably the best 6 turns of the season for me right there! Raced up for a 2nd on Coonskin, but by then it was fairly well chopped up so I headed over to 9 and got a great run in my favorite Mammoth Finger. The photo below was taken from the top before I dumped in.

If you click on the photo above (and then click on the “Full Size” icon), you can view the full version in the gallery where you can really see the way the clouds are lower than the mountain peaks way off in the distance. It kind of blurs a bit, so it’s harder to tell on the smaller version.

Otherwise, I had a slice of cheese pizza at the Crazy Elk today. The regular price is $6. Yep, that’s SIX DOLLARS for a slice of pizza! Plus tax probably brings it to like $6.50. I paid just shy of six dollars out the door after my “discount” from having a season pass. Pepperoni and Veggie slices were $7 +tax. It was actually a decent piece of pizza, but lets face it … they’re ballpark/airport prices! I believe the Crazy Elk is run by the ski company, but I could be wrong. If this is the case, then the support by Dave Riley (CEO of the ski company) to rid the Telluride Mountain Village of vending carts would seem to me to be a means of insurance to be able to continue to charge what are already relatively inflated prices for quick food items such as burgers and pizza. I’ve stopped eating pizza routinely, but I can’t wait until Baked in Telluride is back up and running.

It was day 8 of the season and day 2 of 8 riding on a regular stance. The snow was actually very good in the open on the runs under lift 9 & lift 6 … three inches of new thick, but not over-the-top heavy, snow blanked the area – combined with the three inches the night before left 6 inches of fresh to be found in untouched pockets.

Having said that, I found the snow coverage in the trees in Satisfaction to be teetering … on one hand the powder was deep and plentiful in spot, yet was sparse and bony in other areas ripe with tree branches & stumps to slam you into the ground (or worse yet into a tree). One run was enough to understand the state of affairs regarding tree skiing at this point in time. Be VERY careful! Even my favorite Mammoth finger — which was otherwise well covered — had a few obstacles to worry about.

The rule of thumb for those who like to venture into the trees is 50 inches being the minimum base … although the more cautious of the lot will wait until there’s even more coverage to venture into the trees. I’d say it’s a decent marker, but depends on your ability level & equipment. Snowboarders typically have an easier time vs. skiers skipping over tree parts and such given that there’s a single plank. Gear that allow for quick turns also provides an advantage for tree skiing / snowboarding. I ride a Burton Fish which naturally floats, bounces over crap, and can turn on a dime … but still, there are hardly any guarantees.

Apparently, the Gold Hill lift is running, but I believe there isn’t any terrain open underneath. Not sure of the purpose of this other than to deliver guests to a high point on the mountain and/or to allow them to access Alpino Vino (restaurant/bar). I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to advertise that 16/18 lifts open! … even though it might be considered a bit misleading.

The ski area is currently reporting a 43″ base and a 7 day storm total of 22″ … while it’s hard to complain about nearly two feet of snow, it’s definitely the relative “short end of the stick” compared to other Colorado ski resort totals (and the rain fall totals which southern California had received). From the Denver Post, here’s a sampling of other resort’s reported base depths:

Aspen Mountain – 40″
Aspen Highlands – 71″ (now that’s interesting!)
Crested Butte – 68″
Eldora – 38″
Monarch – 64″
Powderhorn – 10″
Silverton – 130″ (now that’s VERY interesting!!!)
Wolf Creek – 79″

All in all, the mountain is doing OK … I’ve seen it worse at this time of year, but it’s a far cry from being epic … Crested Butte or Aspen Highlands would be my choice if I were “watching closely” and hadn’t decided where to go just yet. Both of those mountains rock!

I took a look at the Telski website today to check the snow report (which happens to be 3″ in 24 hours and 6″ over 48 hours” — which by the way is DEFINITELY the short end of the stick relative to the Colorado region), and saw some very interesting photos … one of which was a sort of close up of a large commercial jet which I believe was at the airport in Montrose (MTJ). It couldn’t be at the Telluride Airport (TEX), unless there was some special permit issued or such … given there’s not commercial jet service to the Telluride Aiport.

What struck me about the photo is:

- it was very good
- all other photos in the rotation where excellent as well
- it was easy to allow one’s mind to create the illusion it was a “big airport”

Reasons for that last point:

- the way the MTJ terminal is pictured in the background offers the possibility that it’s one section of a much larger terminal
- same as above, there’s an airplane pictured in the background which is far off in the distance (photo’d???) with a take-off trajectory (as if there’s lots of jet activity at MTJ)
- there are light poles and a service vehicle in the background …as if there’s a large “complex” in the background
- the text blurb super imposed on the photo mentions “Telluride”, but not “Montrose”

NOW, anyone who’s ever flew into Telluride knows they haven’t flown in on a jet of that size. Similarly, anyone who’s ever flown into Montrose knows that it’s a tiny little airport. It’s just one building, one counter, one conveyor belt (luggage), and almost exclusively serves smaller aircraft such as the regional jet and turbo props. The larger jet service is much less frequent and typically seasonal to select cities.

From a PR point of view, I give this photo a 10 out of 10.

From a buyer beware point of view: this is an extremely misleading photo if you’re considering air travel to Telluride or Montrose … as it’s not a “typical reflection”. It’s akin to that “front page best face” photo you’ll find in a real estate listing of a property, only to find yourself saying “ohhhhhh, so THAT’S the photo” once you get to the property in person.

This is not to say either the Telluride or Montrose airports are not viable choices for air travel to the region (as well as Durango, Grand Junction, Cortez, and even Aspen for direct jet service), it’s just that I believe that photos is an overstatement of the facts (at least the facts based on a statistical average).

The opening of lift nine is always the mark of the “start of the season” as far as I’m concerned. It was day seven of the season for me, but it’s really the first day I had some serious fun. That magical place I call “home” (lift 9) is now accessible, although one must ride chairs 4, 5, & 6 to get there … as it’s currently “orphaned” without the Telluride Trail open to enter or Cats’ paw or Easy Out to exit. Still, there’s great coverage up high … took two runs down Mammoth Fingers, Spiral Stairs is open, Log Pile is excellent at the top (but west drain is a bit sketchy).

So, rode regular today … couldn’t resist, it’s part of the plan anyhow. Probably ride regular again tomorrow … or as long as the new snow keeps coming. Apparently, southern California is getting hammered with rain at the moment. While this is a precarious situation for them (especially where the wild fires scorched the vegetation — leaving it susceptible to mud slides), it normally bodes well for us … since storms typically track east / north east from that point.

According to the press release on the Telluride Ski Resort website, the competition begins on 12/15 and concludes Sunday 12/18.

It’s definitely a great thing to see some of the top athletes in their discipline compete at such a high level … especially in a sport which I happen to love, snowboarding!

What kind of gets at me though is the way the ski resort has set the pricing of a single day lift ticket in Telluride during the “early season” at $73 for an adult through December 17 (then it goes up to regular rate of $98), even though only a limited number of runs are open …. most of which are not exactly within the most challenging terrain to ski or snowboard either.

It’s also easy to see a big chunck of terrain closed off to the public (with a lot of energy being invested to shape it no less). I’m not really sure of the exact percentage of overall open terrain, but I would venture a guess it’s about 10% of all currently open terrain give or take … which is a fair amount even in light of snowmaking/patrol’s best efforts to deploy the rest of the mountain (which to their credit have recently opened up peek-a-boo, ophir loop, and most notable Woosley’s Way [in that it will allow people to do limited-laps on 6]).

Again, I don’t begrudge the competition at all & am all for it’s mutual use co-existence with public use of the ski area; however, what I am opposed to is what I believe to be a disproportionate early season fee of $73 for a single day lift ticket given that:

1.) There is a relatively small amount of terrain open to being with
2.) Complete public accessis curtailed due to the competition is using at least a statistically significant portion of skiable acreage

Again, it’s not the competition, it’s the pricing I don’t like.

If I had the time (maybe I’ll re-visit this later), I’d compare a calculation of the percentage of terrain open vs. the early bird rate as a percentage of the regular rate. My suspicion is there would be an enormous disparity in so far as the early bird rate being a much higher in “cost per open acre (or runs/lifts)” … even if a seasonal average were utilized vs. a best possible total acres open.

I don’t know, maybe the high rate could be intentional as a means of delivering “negative advertising” to dissuade larger numbers of skier visits due to safety/capacity issues?

I realize the competition will be over within a week, so it’s not a permanent issue and I’m not looking harp on competitors for doing what they love to do … especially since we share a similar “love of the game”. It’s really about how the ski area is “rolling with this” in so far as keeping the lift tickets at $73 which bothers me.

I suppose it might be considered arbitrary for me to say $50 is fine, but $73 is not … although I’m willing to bet a lot of business owners would agree that lower ticket rates during times of relatively lean snow would have a positive influence on the local economy … especially when visitors are more keen on following weather and snowfall trends online and deciding where to go more at a moment’s notice. I realize the ski company needs to cover it’s costs and so forth, but I wonder if they’ve considered building in a “reserve fund” to make flexible downward adjustments as needed? I’ve seen lots of capital improvements recently, almost too many to mention … so it’s difficult to say. Having the full rate pushing $100 might also be a part of the equation … maybe from their current starting point, a $73 ticket represents a sufficient discount. Not looking to minimize the number of factors at play in pricing considerations, but just saying that it’s kind of getting out of hand from my perspective. Who knows really, but I just know I’m not exactly a fan of the pricing.

Regardless of all my ramblings, I do wish all of the competitors the best of luck and to enjoy the moment (& your stay)!

Yesterday I went up for my fifth day on the mountain and riding goofy, which is a consecutive day after my fourth day on the ski mountain in Telluride. I’m definitely feeling a bit more confident and have developed a decent rhythm on most advanced beginner runs, but am a bit hesitant on ski runs with a steeper pitch or variable snow conditions.

Nonetheless, I still believe that incremental progress will yield new breakthroughs & realize I just need to be patient … I’m just THAT good riding regular to expect an instant transformation! I’ve found that engaging specifically in “drills” which require a focus on a particular skill helps. For instance, trying to a quick sequence of 10 jump turns in a row on steeper turns helps to simply get in to a groove by linking together turns … even if they’re not picture perfect yet.

Otherwise, the big controversy in Telluride today is the closing of the access gate to Upper Bear Creek. The official line is that the regional administrator made a decision to try and stem the trespassing on private land by those who exit the access gates directly from the Telluride Ski Area. I’m not exactly sure what to believe at this point, given the apparent expansion ambitions of the current CEO of the ski area Dave Riley? It seems possible the ski area might be jockeying for position to only allow access to upper Bear Creek under the auspices of an official expansion … which could involve a larger “deal” with the current private landholders in Upper Bear Creek who are apparently seeking to enforce “no tresspassing” on their property.

… more on this later

Made it up for my third day this past Saturday & stuck with the Goofy stance. I definitely made a little more progress & actually found a bit of a rhythm in so far as linking turns. I did notice the following:

- I switched from my Burton Fish to the Burton Malolo, which made it a lot easier to hold an edge turning from toe-side to heel-side … didn’t want to wash out as much. I’ve realize the Fish is a very technically challenging board to ride correctly. While embraced as a design offering by Burton (and to some extent other manufactures), the pintail with aggressive side-cut design is still nonetheless a very small niche. It seems most manufactures have sought out the lowest common denominator in so far as making it easy to learn how to ride as quickly as possible, even though there’s a tradeoff in so far as not being conducive to the best possible posture.

- Was able to ride a neutral edge (where the board is flat on the snow) with more confidence.

- Was able to get off the lift a little easier

- Didn’t ride switch as much, only in high traffic narrow areas and where it was steeper.

- Found steep flat & icy spots to be difficult. It would probably help to learn the jump turn a little better and to incorporate just being able to stick an edge into the snow … and leave the perfect carve for later (but always try for it if possible). The jump turn or even a simple wash out turn which is under control will allow me to access more terrain & gain more confidence. The perfect carve will come in time.

I made it out on opening day for a few runs on Thanksgiving Day. As expected due to the lack of sufficient natural snow at lower elevations, there was limited terrain open … with the typical opening day with man made snow off of lift 4 allowing part of Misty Maiden and Village Bypass to be the primary routes. The snow was actually not bad. Although it was very cold (below zero overnight), many folks were up on their skis and snowboards … apparently more than yesterday for the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club donation day / pre-opening day.

So I was able to ride exclusively goofy, although readily switched to ride regular through high traffic areas … definitely not the best day to start this, but I’m taking it seriously & figured I might as well give it a go. I learned a few things:

- A pain on the side of my upper right leg seems to show it’s face a bit due to the manuevering of the goofy stance. Might have to stretch a bit more.

- I was a bit thrown back on my first run and everything felt awkward, but noticed being a bit more comfort after having the first run under my belt. I realized I’ll have an advantage (over complete beginners) in that I’ll know that to look for as far as “when things work”, but I need to always push myself to make sure it’s the best it can be. I’ve found the heel to toe side turn to be a lot easier than the toeside to heelside … which I haven’t been able to routinely carve & more often than not my back end washes out.

- Being able to switch out to a “regular” stance (left foot forward) and be an “expert” for a moment or two comes in handy & probably accelerate my learning curve … although being on a Phish & having my stance all the way back doesn’t exactly give me “equal time” in the regular direction. Might have to see how things work out on a more symmetrical board.

Otherwise, I had a hard time digesting the whole pay for parking situation in the Telluride Mountain Village Gondola parking structure. I’ve decided to avoid driving to the TMV (which entails shopping there), unless its necessary. More on this later.

All in all, it was a nice day to be up on the mountain, with much to be thankful for.

So today is the unofficial opening day, otherwise known as “donation day” … which happens to be the first time in three years it has occurred. Traditionally, the official opening day of the Telluride Ski Resort is on the Thursday of Thanksgiving. In previous years, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was known as “donation day” & everyone was required to ante up a reduced fee for a single day lift ticket … with all of the proceeds to be donated to the Telluride Ski & Snowboard Club.

If the weather were better or the amount of terrain open were greater, I’d probably fork over the $25 and join in on the fun, but I can wait one more day (so too can my back).

The Telluride Ski Resort is reporting a 32″ base with 2″ new in the past 24 hours and 12″ over the past week. Not bad for Thanksgiving.

I had recently spoken with an Ophir neighbor who had just come down from an excursion in the backcountry on monday evening in waterfall canyon and said the snow as pretty good up high … confirming that there is close to 3 feet up top. Of course there is probably nowhere near 3 feet of snow at the base area; however, it is still good news to hear there’s a decent amount higher up. This situation normally entails that a good storm or two should bridge the gap and allow for much of the mountain to be opened up.

I will give a first hand account tomorrow & more on my switch to being “goofy”!