Telluride Ski Resort

Infobox ski area
name= Telluride Ski Resort
picture = Downtown-telluride-colorado.jpg

caption= Downtown Telluride
location= Colorado, USA
nearest_city= Telluride, Colorado
lat_degrees= 37
lat_minutes= 56
lat_seconds= 11
lat_direction= N
long_degrees= 107
long_minutes= 49
long_seconds= 13
long_direction= W
top_elevation= 12,570 ft (3,676 m)
base_elevation= 8,750 ft (2,625 m)
skiable_area= 1,700 acres (6.88 km²)
number_trails= 92
24% beginner
38% intermediate
38% advanced/expert
longest_run= "Galloping Goose" - 4.6 miles (7.4 km)
liftsystem= 18 lifts (2 gondolas, 8 quad express lifts, 2 triple chairs, 2 double chairs, 4 other)
terrainparks= 3
snowfall= 309 in/year (789 cm/year)
snowmaking=yes
nightskiing=no
external_link= http://tellurideskiresort.com|

Telluride Ski Resort is a ski resort located in Telluride and Mountain Village, Colorado.

The resort was founded by Joe Zoline who hoped to build a "world class resort" from scratch. Telluride's remoteness, Zoline acknowledged, is also what makes the resort special. Weekend warrior skiiers from the big cities don't get there by car. This makes Telluride a more out of the way, full-service ski resort with exceedingly short lift lines. The small number of commercial flights directly into Telluride town airport (9000 ft high) limit direct access by air. Access by air is greatly via nearby Montrose Colorado, with its lower elevation and long runways that accommodate regional jets from all over the US. Montrose is a 1 1/2 hour drive to Telluride.

Telluride Ski Resort (TelSki) was purchased in 1999 by Joe Morita. [ [http://www.skiinghistory.org/telluride.html Source "skiinghistory.org"] ] Telluride was then purchased by a private investment group in 2003.

Prospect Bowl (2002)

Effectively doubling the amount of skiable terrain, Prospect Bowl was opened in 2002. Prospect Bowl is a veritable Disneyland of ski runs in and around islands of trees, with interesting ups and downs and its own lift #12. It includes High Camp, a new Warming Hut/Food Stop. With the opening of Prospect Bowl, two new high-speed lifts were added, Lift #12 (mentioned above) and Lift #14, to access Gold Hill.

Gold Hill encompasses the highest portion of the ski area, previously only accessible by a hike of 30 minutes to an hour. A short hike still remains for those who wish to add an additional 200 ft from the top of Gold Hill's Lift #14 to the highest ski run of the resort at 12,255ft. Although most of the runs descending from the top of Lift #14 are double black, there is an easy descent from this lift, coming down the See Forever ski run on top of the ridge with among the best alpine vistas in the world.

Black Iron Bowl (2007)

For the '07 - '08 ski season, the resort has opened the Black Iron Bowl, the steep smooth 1000 ft faces of Palmyra Peak overlooking Prospect Bowl. Some skiing was permitted in these "Gate Access" areas with guides in the past. For several years, the snowpack conditions were monitored and avalanche risks evaluated in Black Iron. Now, the terrain will open, as conditions permit, to skiers who can get there from the top of Prospect Bowl Lift #12. A hike of approximately 1/2 hour takes you to these dramatic, lightly trafficked ski runs. This continues a tradition of amazing "Hike-To" terrain at the resort, adding to its variety of terrain, and further securing Telluride's reputation as a world-class ski resort. [ [http://www.ultimate-ski.com/uk/Ski_Resorts/United_States/Telluride,_CO/index.html Source "ultimate-ski.com"] ] .

Revelation Bowl (2008)

Long a dangerous temptation to gapers because of harrowing cliffs below approximately 1000 vertical feet of above the tree line bowl skiing, the Telluride ski resort is currently installing a fixed grip quad so skiers may enjoy the beautiful terrain without dealing with the cliffs below.

ee also

*Telluride, Colorado
*Mountain Village, Colorado

External links

* [http://tellurideskiresort.com/ Telluride Ski Resort]
* [http://www.coloradoskihistory.com/areahistory/telluride.html ColoradoSkiHistory.com - Telluride Ski Area]
* [http://telluhome.com/ Private Collection of Telluride Webcams and info]
* [http://www.weatherunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=81435 Telluride Weather Forecast - WeatherUnderground.com]
* [http://www.3dskimaps.com/index.php?path=telluride 3dSkiMap of Telluride Ski Resort]

References