Opinion: Amidst Telluride Strike Over Value of Ski Patrol Experience, Mammoth Reminds Us What Patrollers Risk Last week, Cole Murphy, an experienced Mammoth Ski Patroller, tragically lost his life as a result of injuries sustained in an in-bounds avalanche at Mammoth Mountain. At the time of the accident, Murphy and other ski patrollers were working to mitigate the risks of in-bounds avalanches, acutely heightened by the more than 60 inches of snow that had fallen in […] Zach Armstrong | January 4, 2026 1 Comment
Telluride Ski Resort, CO, Will Open Limited Terrain Monday With Workers Crossing Picket Line Telluride Ski Resort has announced it plans to open Lift 1 on Monday, the first terrain it has opened since the ski patrol strike began on December 27. The Telluride Times reported that internal communications from Telski stated “contingency EMS and patrol staff” will be used to staff the opening. Unless an agreement is reached on Saturday or Sunday, these […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | January 3, 2026 3 Comments
Monarch Mountain, CO, Offers Free Lift Tickets to Telluride Passholders, Workers, and Dependents Amid Ski Patroller Strike-Induced Resort Closure As the ski patrol strike at Telluride Ski Resort continues with no clear end date, the impact is rippling through Colorado’s ski community. With Telluride closed since December 27 following stalled contract negotiations, both local workers and visiting skiers have been left scrambling during one of the busiest times of the season. In response, Monarch Mountain has stepped in with […] Industry News Brent Glogau | January 2, 2026 0 Comments
Telluride Ski Resort, CO, Will be Closed This Weekend Due to Ski Patrol Strike Telluride Ski Resort has announced it will be closed on December 27 due to a ski patrol strike. The Telluride Professional Ski Patrol authorized the strike last night with a 99% vote after rejecting the resort’s final contract offer. Related: Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Votes to Strike Starting December 27 “As a result of the Ski Patrol’s decision to strike, […] Industry News SnowBrains | December 24, 2025 0 Comments
Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Votes to Strike Starting December 27 Telluride Professional Ski Patrol members have authorized a strike starting December 27, driven by unresolved disputes over wages that threaten to erode staffing levels and compromise mountain operations, according to an Instagram post shared last night. Negotiators leave the door open for last-minute progress, yet resort officials hold firm on an offer the union has dismissed. Negotiations have dragged on […] Industry News SnowBrains | December 24, 2025 0 Comments
Telluride, CO, Ski Patrollers Signal Likely Strike as Contract Talks Stall Telluride’s ski patrol is preparing for the possibility of a strike as contract negotiations with Telluride Ski & Golf Resort reach an impasse, according to new reporting from KPCW. Graham Hoffman, president of the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association, told KPCW on December 13 that patrollers “still hold out a glimmer of hope,” but added it is “becoming more and […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | December 16, 2025 0 Comments
Top 5 Most Challenging and Rewarding Groomed Runs in the U.S. Do you love carving on fresh corduroy first thing in the morning? Do you live for sustained, top-to-bottom runs—the kind where you can push the speed, hop back on the lift, and do it again? If you answered yes to these questions, you may love groomers. To be clear and definite about what this ranking system entails, here are the […] Brains Greg Wedow | December 9, 2025 3 Comments
SnowBrains Forecast: 2 Storms Will Dump Up to 15” of Snow on Colorado Resorts on Thanksgiving Weekend Source: maps.weatherbell.com The Rocky Mountains have received well below-normal snowfall so far this season, and Colorado is no exception. The snowpack across the Northern half of the state is currently at about 25% of normal, while the Southern half of the state is performing only slightly better, at about 65% of normal. The snowpack has suffered as a result of both […] Weather WeatherBrains | November 27, 2025 0 Comments
Voters in Telluride, CO, Approve Lift Ticket Tax to Pay for Gondola—Could Utah Do The Same? Earlier this month, voters in the town of Mountain Village, Colorado, overwhelmingly approved a 5% tax on lift tickets sold at Telluride Ski Resort to help pay for a replacement for the gondola that connects the town of Mountain Village to the town of Telluride, Colorado. A similar ballot measure failed in neighboring Telluride by less than 20 votes. The […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | November 24, 2025 0 Comments
The 5 Best Colorado Ski Towns For Fall Foliage Nestled within the rugged embrace of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado’s ski towns are renowned for their winter wonderlands. However, as the temperatures cool and the aspen leaves transition from verdant green to a harmonious symphony of golds and oranges, these alpine havens transform into something truly magical. A landscape ablaze with the fiery hues of autumn, where the crisp mountain […] Kenneth Condon | September 1, 2025 0 Comments
Top 11 U.S. Big Mountain Ski Resorts: Opinion From a Freestyle Skier Lists are inherently wrong, no matter how you look at them. There will almost always be something to argue about. So why make them at all? Well… I love a good debate. There are no set factors that I decided to rate each resort on. The majority of this list are resorts that I have had experience skiing, and I […] Ryan Flynn | June 14, 2025 30 Comments
What are the Best Ski Resorts to Visit by Month? Everyone dreams of chasing the best powder and conditions throughout the season. Unfortunately, jobs, kids, and life can get in the way of making that a reality. However, we all try and make that one big ski trip each season to be where the best snow will be at that specific time. Sometimes, Mother Nature cooperates with the models and […] Industry News Gregg Frantz | June 4, 2025 0 Comments
March Madness Ski Resort Edition: Vote on Who Will Be Crowned Champion as Best Ski Resort in North America While March may be the most exciting time of year for basketball fans, the month typically sees skiing wind down to a close—until now. To honor the most intense sports tournament on the continent, SnowBrains decided to host a March Madness of its own to find out which ski resort its following would crown champion as the Best Ski Resort […] SnowBrains | March 25, 2025 0 Comments
Luxury Four Seasons $1 Billion Development Set to Transform Telluride, CO, Mountain Village Telluride, Colorado, is set to welcome its first new luxury residential development in 15 years as Florida-based real estate firms Fort Partners and Merrimac Ventures launch sales for the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Telluride. Related: First Residential Project at Deer Valley’s New East Village Sells Out The nearly $1 billion project in the prime Mountain Village ski area […] Industry News SnowBrains | August 2, 2024 0 Comments
21-Year-Old Climber Falls 800 Feet to Death Near Telluride, CO Search and rescue teams recovered the body of a 21-year-old hiker from Arizona after he fell 800 feet to his death while navigating a technical traverse near Telluride, Colorado, the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office reported Thursday. This incident marks the second fatality in Colorado’s high-altitude wilderness this week. Related: Eyewitness Account of Terrifying Moment Woman Slipped to Her Death […] Climbing CragBrains | July 26, 2024 0 Comments
17,000-Square-Foot Mansion Sells for $20 Million in Telluride, CO A 17,000-square-foot mansion just sold near Telluride, Colorado. The log-cabin-style house not only offers multiple luxurious amenities but is also located next to a ski slope. According to Mansion Global, its amenities include 11 fireplaces, a bowling alley, as well as a home cinema and multiple wellness and spa features. In addition to the main mansion the property also includes […] Industry News Leander Walchshöfer | June 5, 2024 0 Comments
Telluride Ski Resort, CO, Will Open Saturday, December 2 Telluride Ski Resort, Colorado, just announced their opening day for the 2023/2024 season through an announcement on their Facebook page: “With Mother Nature providing cold temps, some natural snowfall, and our snowmaking team taking advantage of every opportunity to make snow…. we will be opening this Saturday, December 2nd! Lift 4 and the Chondola will be spinning on opening day, […] Industry News Alfred Arnaud | November 29, 2023 0 Comments
Telluride Ski Resort, CO, Pushes Back Opening Day to December Due to Warm Weather Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado has announced a delay in its opening day, originally slated for late November. Now targeting December 2nd or 8th, the resort cited recent and expected warm weather conditions as the reason for this postponement. “Our top notch team and sophisticated snowmaking system have taken advantage of every snowmaking opportunity, which is why this was a […] Industry News SnowBrains | November 16, 2023 1 Comment
The 9 Most Expensive Ski Towns in the United States It’s no secret that a large number of ski towns across the United States are exorbitantly expensive. Many of these towns have become increasingly costly as time has gone on and cost more than a pretty penny to travel to in 2023. For better or worse, it does not appear that this trend isn’t going to go away anytime soon. We […] Matt Scribner | August 30, 2023 16 Comments
Vail Resorts to Close Colorado Retail Locations in Aspen and Telluride Vail Resorts has made the decision to close 19 equipment rental and retail locations in Aspen, Snowmass Village, and Telluride. The move effectively eliminates 69 retail jobs in these mountain communities. The move comes as a surprise to many. Laura Bonfiglio, a spokesperson for Vail Resorts, addressed the situation publically. She states: “Vail Resorts Retail has made the decision to […] Industry News Matt Scribner | March 8, 2023 0 Comments
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