Been to Telluride? No?โฆwell get out here!
Dates: February 16th โ 22nd, 2019
When this ski family descended upon Telluride Ski Resort during the middle of February 2019, we were greeted by an above-normal snowpack, daily fresh snow and ridiculously fun conditions. Almost everyday throughout the week, we received at least a few inches of new snow and combined with cold temperatures it yielded some stellar conditions. The snow continued throughout the season and was one of the best snow years in recent memory!
On this trip we decided to stay down in Town instead of Mountain Village. As the kids get older, and yes โ we have three of them, it gets even easier to get them to the lifts. From town during the mid-winter months, you usually can ski over to Chairs 7, 8 and the Gondola. If you have a kiddo doing ski school for the day, its just one Gondola ride over to Mountain Village. At the end of the day, we just skied right to the back door of our accommodations.
On most days, the plan of attack was simpleโฆhead straight to Chair 9 or Chair 6 and slay some powder turns while refreshing the lift status updates to time an opening of Gold Hill or Revelation Bowl. On one of those days, we were able to time the perfectly time the opening of Revelation Bowl to join the powder-hounds skiing untracked in glorious sunshine.
The rest of the week had a similar routine but adding some hikes up to Mountain Quail, Dihedral Chutes and into Black Iron Bowl. Highlights include great laps down Dihedral Face, Little Rose, Rock Garden, Sullyโs Gully and Powerline to name a few. From hot chocolate breaks at Giuseppeโs to magnificent late-lunch adult beverages and food at Bon Vivant, we sure felt spoiled skiing around the mountain.
As far as terrain openings, due to all the new snow, Palmyra Peak and the Gold Hill chutes did not open during our visit. However, they did open the week following our trip. All in all, our family had a blast running around the mountain. One of the best aspects of Telluride is that almost every chairlift has an easy way down, therefore allowing the entire family to ski what they want off a single chairlift.
The kids did some ski school (mainly so dad could get rowdy) but they mostly skied with us, their parents, with some divide and conquering. Most notably, after getting our 2 year old out on a afternoons on Chair 1, we loathed in the success of managing another week of family skiing in the San Juans. Well, minus dad losing his iPhone on Gold Hill (as usual) but nothing a trip to Montrose canโt fix.
Did I miss a part of the mountain, certain run or area not included in this report? No problem. Check out my reports from 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 & 2014.
Day one began with some signature Chair 9 lapsโฆ
My oldest is hellbent to knocking off every run on the mountain, so Powerline was next!
Just Dad trying his best to catch up to his sonโฆ
As a good old triple chair, The Plunge (Chair 9) was perfect for acclimatizationโฆ
With the kids on the main run, Dad played on the trailโs edgesโฆ
After a long day on the slopes, it was time to head downtown for some grubโฆ
On this trip, we stayed downtown, making walking to bars & restaurants an effortless ventureโฆ
The next day, after some perfect planning on my part, we made it to Revelation Bowl right at openingโฆ
This IS where you want to be an a sunny powder morningโฆ
Go fast and follow the contours on an untouched slopeโฆ
Do we come for the skiing or the views? Hmmmmโฆ
Powder laps with a view of Bear Creek? Weโll take it!โฆ
Its really tough not to love this placeโฆ
With a rumor of Black Iron Bowl opening soon, I headed over to the Prospect Chairโฆ
Hiking up toward Mountain Quail, youโll encounter great views of Silver Mountainโฆ
A favorite of mine is the Dihedral Zone, where youโll find classic chutes and steep technical descents to keep the heart healthyโฆ
That moment when the sun pops through the gap in the cloudsโฆ
Remember, it gets a bit technical as you descend, so make sure you commit to either skiers left or right at the bottom cliffsโฆ
The view of the zone and all its line optionsโฆ
As you descend into Black Iron Bowl, you can get a better view of Mountain Quail (center) to Dihedral zone (lookerโs right)โฆ
Donโt forget to stay skierโs right on the way back down to Prospect Lift (12) so you can jump off some featuresโฆ
And another day is done by skiing back to the yurtโฆ
Time for a morning knocking off runs from the trail mapโฆ
Sullyโs Gully held some of the best turns of the tripโฆ
We then linked up with my daughterโฆhow many kids do I have?
The temps remained rather cool during our stay, so hot chocolate breaks at Gorrono Ranch were mandatoryโฆ
Remember, Chair 8 (Oak Street lift) closes early for access to Chair 9, so plan accordinglyโฆ
The kids went in to warm up, so I went out to hike up to the Dihedral Zoneโฆ
But better yet, I ran into Joe Eppler (mountain man extraordinaire) and we took a few laps in Black Iron Bowl and runs off Gold Hillโฆ
After some route finding, I encountered a fun little section off Gold Hillโฆ
Ski with your kids they sayโฆhowever, Iโm not sure who would actually say that.
It was time to spend the rest of the day with one of the most demanding skiersโฆ
Iโm more of a non-leash, figure out gravity, then Iโll grab you kind of ski coachโฆ
That is, until he was tired, so I threw in a few laps in Rockslide at the end of the dayโฆ
Another morning and this time, the sun actually paid us a visit!
Hey kid, where do YOU want to go?โฆ
Yes, I made them make turns for this blogโฆ
However, his sister is a bit harder to manage on photoshootsโฆ
Bon Vivant is an incredible spot for some French Onion soup and a beerโฆtoo bad the views are horrendous.
If you save some energy, thereโs more than enough to keep you busy when you make a left off Chair 12โฆ
Gold Hill Chutes finally say hello from Prospect Liftโฆ
My 10 year old had to check off Dihedral Chute, so up we wentโฆ
When Palmyra is open, you just keep going up, up and then more upโฆ
The terrain above Alta Lakes just beyond the boundariesโฆ
You canโt have a Telluride report without a photo of Mt. Wilson and Wilson Peak..
Silver Mountain shows us its โchuteyโ sideโฆ
Dihedral Chute just as my cameraโs battery died. Did I mention is was cold? Well, it was chilly indeedโฆ
Forgot to zip a pocket, so thereโs an iPhone in here somewhereโฆ
Some more snow overnight, some breaks in the clouds, so its time to Family Shredโฆ
Hey guys, you know you can wait for dad right?
With the sun out, we decided to play around the โtown sideโ of the mountainโฆ
Consistent pitch down to town is the name of the gameโฆ
My wife has been coming to Telluride for over 20 years, so she knows how to navigate the hillโฆ
Still checking off the boxes with Cat Paw, Jaws, Bail Out and Mine Shaft on the lower mountainโฆ
In Telluride, you can ski right into your favorite local restaurantโฆ
The last day started out pretty decentโฆthat is, if you like snow.
On days like these, its best to session Chair 9โฆ
Bushwacker is a tough one to beat with its consistently steep pitchโฆ
It also has some fun tree skiing off skierโs rightโฆ
This is where Dad yells to โbe carefulโ near the treesโฆ
Of course, we HAD to ski down East Drainโฆ
Yup, some hot drinks are in orderโฆ
We headed over to the Apex Lift (Chair 6) via Sullyโs and it did not disappointโฆ
We lapped all the runs off Chair 6 and admired the sceneryโฆ
โWhere do you want to go next?โโฆ
Iโm sorry, but Iโm kind of forcing my kids to enjoy powder skiingโฆ
It was time to pack up the gear so we headed back down the Plunge toward townโฆ
โOne more run, please, Iโll be good, I PROMISE!โ
Until next Winter Telluride! You have a pretty fun mountain as wellโฆ
See you in July Telluride, and yes, Iโm bringing skisโฆ