Steve's Blog

While Telluride spring breakers are nearing the end of a two-week hiatus from school and work, winter in the valley doesn’t seem to want to end. And that was warmly welcomed last weekend when the Telluride Ski Area got a healthy dose—nearly two feet—of snow for the official closing weekend.

Telluride’s spring break and off season have a bit of a different feel. Tumbleweed is not floating down main street, the Telluride Ski Resort is still running the north side lifts, and hefty construction is underway digging up the town’s waterlines.  But still there are many Telluridians escaping the fickle spring weather for the beach, anywhere from the Mediterranean to Mexico, Panama to California. 

It’s April first, the Telluride Ski Resort is closing most of its lifts on Sunday, and closing its doors officially next week, so what now? Time to look forward to Telluride’s other famed season, the summer festival season. Readying ourselves for the next busy, busy season is no joke.

Let the countdown begin on another Telluride ski season and let the off-season plans loose. Whether it’s Mexico or Montrose, another April is upon us, which usually involves some type of travel away from what can be a snowy, rainy, muddy, dreary Telluride.

To begin with, Telluride Ski Resort extended hours of lift service, keeping the bullwheel turning until nearly the dinner hour following an early daylight savings time change. Now, Telski is extending ski season days.

It’s not often, and it’s actually quite rare, for Telski to tack on an extra week to the lift-served ski season. But this spring, Lifts 7 and 9, the north-facing, town-accessed lifts also called Coonskin (7) and Plunge (9), will run until Sunday, April 12.

Seems a bit early for the twang of the mandolin and the pluck of the banjo, or does it? Telluride Bluegrass Festival is just three months away and while we may still be ski boot-clad, it’s time to think about flip-flops and this year’s Bluegrass lineup.

If it isn’t going to snow, it might as well shine. Spring is here — albeit prematurely — and the winds are blowing, the clouds are unpredictable, and ski area conditions, on warm days, are slushy. With the resurgence into the warmer outdoors comes, aptly, a free concert series outdoors in Mountain Village.

Telluride’s weather of late is more reminiscent of late spring than late February. Just yesterday shorts were spotted on main street and lately short-sleeves have not been an uncommon attire. With spring slush conditions already appearing on the ski area, it’s hard not to think of summer recreation to come once the snow melts.

Marked each year by early sell-out performances, the Telluride AIDS Benefit fashion shows are no doubt a super highlight of Telluride’s winter and a force of community volunteerism that lends help to an important cause — battling HIV and AIDS on the regional, national and global level. The fashion shows are so popular in fact, the last six tickets to the Gala are now up for bid on eBay…

We all love sunshine, but too much of anything is simply too much, especially when it's sunshine in mid-winter. So when the skies clouded up and the flakes began to fall early this week, after a few weeks of spring-like conditions, Telluride again was grateful for winter's return. The Telluride Ski Resort reported a healthy one and a half feet of snow that fell in just two days, and skiers returned to the ski area all grins. Presidents' Day weekend is typically a booked one in Telluride and with the new snowfall it will also be a happy one.