[PHOTOS] The T-Bars Are Spinning and the Extremes Open at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO

crested butte mountain resort, colorado, the extremes, t-bar — T-Bar opening day. Taylor Ahearn/Crested Butte Mountain Resort

The day we’ve been waiting for all season has arrived at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO―the T-Bars are spinning, and the extremes are open.

Related: The Top 9 Ski Runs at Crested Butte, CO

The North Face and High Lift T-Bars opened to guests at 9 am today (Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023), offering access to much of the double-black diamond terrain that Crested Butte is famous for. With the opening of the T-Bars, the mountain operations team was also able to drop the rope on 255 acres of terrain today, bringing the resort to 1,163 acres of skiing and riding available to guests. This means all 15 chairlifts are now running. This all comes on the heels of the biggest storm system this season, with a whopping 45 inches of fresh powder in just over a week.

“We are thrilled to open our extreme terrain off of the North Face and High Lift T-Bars! The more than three feet of snow from this last storm system gave us a solid snowpack in the extremes, and our Patrol team has been working hard to survey and clear those areas so that we can open it to our guests. I’m so proud of the incredible work of this team and can’t wait for our expert skiers and riders to enjoy some fresh T-Bar turns!”

– Tara Schoedinger, Vice President and General Manager of Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Newly opened double-black diamond zones include Schofield Road, Avery, Belleview, Rachels, The North Face, The Glades, Pinball, Powder Rock Glades, Eflin’s Way, Headwall, The Last Steep, Hawk’s Next, Hard Slab, Old Pro, Big Chute, and Paradise Cliffs.

Fun facts about the extremes at Crested Butte:

Crested Butte offers 561 acres of in-bounds, double-black diamond terrain. As of Jan. 5, nearly half of that is open.
The extremes account for more than a third (36.6%) of the resort’s overall acreage.
Black diamond trails account for nearly another third (24.8%), making most of the terrain at Crested Butte catered to advanced and expert skiers and riders.
Once it opens for the season, true daredevils can hike to the peak of Mt. Crested Butte (12,162 ft.) from the High Lift, then ski 2.6 miles down, weaving through the extremes to the bottom of East River Express.