Telluride?

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...)

No one goes to Telluride any more. It's too crowded.

(In memory of Yogi Berra)

On Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 7:52:27 PM UTC-6, Richard Henry wrote:
No one goes to Telluride any more. It's too crowded.

(In memory of Yogi Berra)

Good one Richard. How's it going? Anything new? Not much here except golf which is probably about to come to an abrupt end soon. Going to the Cayman Islands in March for an early dose of heat. RIP Yogi. That's it.

I didn't ski the last two seasons due to poor snow, poor health, and poor finances. I found to my dismay that if I skied the runs I liked I fell and hurt myself (as in concussions, etc) and that I was bored skiing the trails where I was safe.

In retrospect, the period from November 2009 to May of 2013 were the best of my life - good snow (mostly), plenty of time (retired and all that), reasons to travel (2 kids at UC Davis, one of them playing soccer) past Mammoth and Tahoe (OK, so it was a bit of a detour) and adequate money (with the early-purchase senior season passes I could was able to ski 4 mountains in California, and many other areas have deals for seniors and other-area pass holders).

Now I walk with a cane most days and travel mostly by bus.

On 10/18/15 8:24 AM, Richard Henry wrote:
Now I walk with a cane most days and travel mostly by bus.

At this point "I'm still alive" is the major hurdle. All else is details.

On 10/18/2015 08:24 AM, Richard Henry wrote:

Now I walk with a cane most days and travel mostly by bus.

That sucks. You didn't miss much last year, though. Snow sucked and
they apparently decided to cheap out on grooming and just chew up the
top one inch, leaving the holes pristine and frozen. Brian Head was
lovely, though. It may NEVER be disappointing.


--
Cheers, Bev
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
Why is it so hot and what am I doing in this handbasket?

On Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 9:24:54 AM UTC-6, Richard Henry wrote:
I didn't ski the last two seasons due to poor snow, poor health, and poor finances. I found to my dismay that if I skied the runs I liked I fell and hurt myself (as in concussions, etc) and that I was bored skiing the trails where I was safe.

In retrospect, the period from November 2009 to May of 2013 were the best of my life - good snow (mostly), plenty of time (retired and all that), reasons to travel (2 kids at UC Davis, one of them playing soccer) past Mammoth and Tahoe (OK, so it was a bit of a detour) and adequate money (with the early-purchase senior season passes I could was able to ski 4 mountains in California, and many other areas have deals for seniors and other-area pass holders).

Now I walk with a cane most days and travel mostly by bus.

Well, the skiing ran it's course with me awhile back. Many fond memories. But I now consider the skiing I would be relegated to wouldn't measure up to what I used to do, and I've found other interests. Life goes on (the still alive thing!).

On 10/15/2015 11:08 AM, 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...)

The group isn't al that active any more, so until somebody who actually
knows what (s)he's talking about shows up, here's my opinion...

Never been there (local SoCal + Brian Head only) but I seem to remember
people saying it's pretty advanced/expert. The website might be of some
help...

http://www.tellurideskiresort.com/the-mountain/terrain/

I'd like to suggest Brian Head. Closer if Highway 89 is open, same time
if you have to go to I-15 -- which road is always open and easy. Small
place, excellent snow, not crowded, not super difficult, not expensive.
Motels in Parowan or even Cedar City. Beautiful country. Side trips
to Bryce and Zion.

Think about it.

--
Cheers, Bev
==================================
Lawyering: the only profession that if you
didn't have it you wouldn't need it.

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.


--
//Walt

On 10/16/15 11:36 AM, comadrejo wrote:

If people want hardcore skiing, buy a beacon, an avy shovel and go to
Silverton, or better yet, ski mountaineer in the Tetons or the Canadian
Rockies..

Bad advice. A beacon without significant on-slope practice merely makes
one over-confident and leading the skier into excessively dangerous
conditions. It also makes one into a liability to his group rather than
an asset, in event of a slide.

I don't know about other areas but Alpine has long run a practice slope
with dummy + beacon burials in various scenarios and attended by patrol
experts to provide training. Presumably anywhere with significant steep
provides similar?