Conditions Report
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
So here we are…another year, another ‘ski week’ in Telluride. With six days of skiing on the docket, the big difference this year is that the kids can actually ski with us! Hell, my 7 year old decided to pick off ‘double blacks’ all over the mountain. Call this dad impressed…
Telluride is our staple ski destination outside of California for many reasons. One, and most importantly, there’s great hike-to steep terrain like the Gold Hill Chutes, Mountain Quail and Palmyra. Secondly, they have some amazing beginning and intermediate terrain for the little rippers in your family. Finally, it was a town before a ski resort and that character shines through as you walk down main street. I guess you argue that the views are pretty spectacular, restaurants are amazing, and the sunsets are to die for, but I only have some much time to editorialize.
With over 240 inches of snowfall before our visit and spring time temps throughout the week, we couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather to ski bell to bell everyday. Groomers such as Henry’s, Milk Run, Bushwacker and The Plunge had that ‘every so perfect’ Rocky Mountain chalky consistency. Coverage in the steeps was better than years past, and outdoor lunching at Bon Vivant or Giuseppe’s could not have been more sublime.
My only dilemma was trying to fit in some dad time lapping Dihedral face and at least one hike up to Palmyra Peak. I managed to bag those lines and a few others but had just as much fun cruising the mountain with the 4 and 7 year old groms. To be honest, it is pretty rewarding to see your kids having a blast on the hill but its even more rewarding when they crash to bed earlier than usual after a big day.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The trip begins with dad booking a windowless back seat, so I’m stuck with the problem child…
The first day was engulfed in low clouds and flat-light, so it was a great day to acclimatize and hit some piste…
After that, the weather was rather springlike for February…
Black Iron Bowl was skiing well…
From Propsect lift, an easy 15-20 min hike can get you up to Dihedral and Mountain Quail…
One of my favorite areas is Dihedral Face because its steep and has lots of options…
You can choose to air it out and play it safe…
Dihedral Face has a great north eastern aspect that keeps the snow at high quality …
Hard to beat the views on Lookout run…
Closest thing to a European lunch experience in Southern Colorado…
I think I’ll grab an umbrella, a Face Down Brown Ale, and unbuckle my boots for a bit…
Palmyra Peak and Dihedral Zone with Mountain Quail being the saddle chute in the middle…
Dynamo is accessed from lookers left of the Gold Hill lift. It has a great pitch and leads into a rocky area near the bottom…
View from ‘in’ the rocky area on the bottom of Dynamo…
Revelation Bowl is the resort’s newest terrain and holds some impressive vistas of Bear Creek as well as steep groomers, gullies and cornices…
The wife makes her way down aptly titled Majestic run…
Late afternoon almost apres ski at Gorrono Ranch is the place to be…
The iconic Main Street twinkles bright before sundown …
The next day I warmed up with lap on the steep face just before Mountain Quail…
And look at this…some steep untracked? Thank you!
The view from below shows that you need to know your line beforehand…
It was time to make the 1hr 15min hike up to Palmyra Peak…
Some great views of the edge of The Gold Hill Chutes…
And then 1500 vertical feet later, you stand atop the peak at 13,320 ft…
You said you wanted some nice views…AM I RIGHT?
The backcountry views behind the Peak…
In order to get to my favorite zone up here, you have to take a tiny exposed walk…
And here it is…Upper Roy Boy!
Pretty fun line that leads right into Roy Boy below…
After hitting Palmyra, I skied into Review in Black Iron Bowl…
All that hiking leads to an aggressive appetite, so it’s time for some pulled pork at Giuseppe’s…
The San Joaquin Couloir in the distance…
Did I mention the sunsets? Well, in any case, here’s a good one from Mountain Village…
The trip rolls on and so does the morning struggle…
At least the 4 year old is using her edges…
Taking conservative runs with the wife is not really a chore when you can rail carves down See Forever…
Ice skating is not this kid’s strong suit…
Thankfully, he’s a much better skier…
But to dad’s demise, he chooses steep bump runs for the first run of the day…
Telluride is great for exploring with the family because there are easy routes off almost every chairlift…
Off of Chair 10, the Enchanted Forest is pretty damn cool for the little groms…
My daughter was in awe of all the ‘wishing trees’…
Yes, my son made me ski a frozen Mineshaft for the first run on the last day…
Then my daughter and I hit some roller laps on Chair 1…
The wind came out of nowhere and starting howling…then it began to snow.
With Dihedral closed due to wind, I ran a few laps on Genevieve..
What you can’t see in this photo are the windows shaking due to the gale force wind…but my beer still went down nicely
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
2 thoughts on “Thrashing with the Tribe…a week in Telluride!”