On 10/15/2015 2:08 PM, Toller wrote:
A friend has moved from the beautiful Northeast to Sedona AZ. He wants me to come out to visit him this winter; to drive up to Telluride for a few days. He has never been there, but says it is "only" a 6.5 hour drive.

I am a mediocre skier; I can do any groomed trail, but perhaps slowly. I've only been out west once; a few days in Tahoe. Groomed trails were wonderful; "powder" not so much.

I have never heard of anyone around going to Telluride; perhaps because it is in the middle of nowhere? Is it a reasonable place for me to go; will they have some groomed trails, is the drive from Sedona on decent roads?

Any advice would be appreciated. It seems like a very long drive to go skiing. (I can get to Whiteface in 5 hours, without having to fly 10 hours first...)


I haven't skied Telluide, but I've skied a lot of other places out west,
so maybe I can add some perspective:

Telluride is known as a resort wit a lot of expert terrain - i.e. steep
and ungroomed. But it's a destination resort in Colorado, so there will
be a reasonable amount of trails that are for the "tourists" i.e.
mediocre skiers like you and me.

Powder is an ephemeral concept - some days you get some, most days you
do not. Most destination resorts will squash down the new snow in the
morning on the easier trails anyway (you need a bit more pitch to move
if you sink into the snow) so that shouldn't scare you off.

I'd say you'll be find at Telluride as long as you scope out the trail
map and stick to more moderate terrain. But I'd also say Brian Head in
Utah is an hour closer and more likely to suit your abilities.

Don't know about the drive to Telluride. Brian Head will be fairly easy.


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//Walt