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• Resort Guide

Resort Height:2812m

Crested Butte is an iconic ski resort that combines a great mountain, a modern base village, and an historic original town, full of Old West character, all in one location in the Rocky Mountains of southwest Colorado. In the 1980s and 90s Crested Butte had a reputation as a destination purely for expert skiers or beginners, with no terrain in between, but that was never really true. Whilst the resort still attracts the world’s best skiers to its steep terrain, 57% of its runs are classified intermediate.

The two main options on where to stay are within the modern and growing slopeside base village, or three miles (five kilometres) away in the original town of Crested Butte, one of Colorado’s largest National Historic Districts, originally settled in the 1880s as a mining supply camp. Interestingly, Crested Butte is only 17 miles (27 km) from Aspen, as the crow flies, assuming the crow could fly over some very big mountains. It takes about five hours actually to drive around these mountains between the two resorts in winter.

Beginners

There are good nursery slopes right next to the resort base for maximum convenience, and the latest easy-to-use lifts to get up them. The ski school’s ‘Beginners’ Shortcut Lessons’ aim to make you a confident skier or snowboarder as quickly as possible. The full day lesson guarantees to have you skiing green runs by the end of the day. Discounts are available for two or three day courses. The resort uses Elan short skis for lessons which are available for rental. The skis are especially designed for making stopping, turning, and parallel skiing easier. The skis come in 123cm and 133 cm lengths – about 30 - 40cm shorter than skis you will be using once you’re confident on the slopes. The short skis give new skiers an edge in skills development.

Intermediates

With more than half of terrain suited to intermediates, and a great choice of runs, from fast cruisers to tight trails through the trees, there’s plenty to enjoy on the slopes of Crested Butte. Daily, two-hour mountain initiation tours with a local expert are available, and “Ski or Ride With a Pro" sessions in which you take a run with a member of the Crested Butte Ski and Snowboard School for free is available twice weekly. Together you will head up the Silver Queen or Red Lady Express lifts and take a run down one of the famous slopes.

Advanced

Crested Butte is probably most famous for its steep terrain, and advanced skiers will find plenty here to entertain them. It is worth signing up for a North Face Extreme Limits tour. Guides will show you some of Crested Butte's most challenging, steep terrain, explain the way around the Extremes safely, and see the most extreme in-bounds terrain in North America. Additionally, guides can lead you on a backcountry adventure into the Elk Mountains where you will discover some of the steep and deep terrain Crested Butte is famous for and, conditions permitting, make fresh tracks down the slopes in the pristine wilderness. You can go out on a day trip or sign up for a multi-day excursion, spending the night in an alpine hut.

Snowboarding

The popular Kids' Park, open to all ages despite its name, is located off the Painter Boy lift and open to skiers, snowboarders and snowskaters. The park includes beginner hits and features that include rails, tabletops, rolls and a mini halfpipe. For the more serious rider, the DC Terrain Park, is about 800m (2,600 feet) long and is located under the Paradise Lift. It includes jumps of various shapes, sizes and sequences, and a dozen or so rail features for intermediates to advanced riders. The DC Superpipe is located at the top of Forest Queen. The Sperpipe is 18m (55 feet) wide, six metres (18 feet) high, and slopes at 17 degrees.

Other Activities and Facilities

On mountain there’s a snowshoe loop that’s 3.2 km (2miles) long. Daily, and night time moonlit tours, are available in January, February and March. The Mountain Concierge service in the Adventure Center at Mountaineer Square can book many valley-wide activities and adventures, including sleigh ride dinners, cross country skiing, guided snowmobile tours, winter horse trail rides, horse drawn carriage rides, tennis lessons, dogsled tours and spa services. Facilities in town include a cinema and museum.

The Crested Butte Nordic Center, located down in the original town, provides 35 kilometres of groomed trails for traditional and skate skiing (trail pass required). Other facilities there include an ice rink, snowshoeing (trail pass required) and sledding hill. The Nordic Center also provides rentals, lessons and guided backcountry tours in the Gunnison National Forest.

Après Ski and Dining Out

After the slopes close you have a growing choice of bars and restaurants in the slopeside base village, or take the short shuttle bus ride to the original town (running every 15 minutes) where there’s a wider choice of venues, centred on Elk Avenue. Slopeside venues include the Rustica for Italian whilst the upscale Woodstone Grille located in the Grand Lodge Hotel offers fine dining in a cozy restaurant. If you are looking for a good time, the Talk of the Town offers foosball, pinball, video games, good music, and pool tables any night of the week down in the old town. Teocalli Tamale has superb Mexican food whilst the Wooden Nickel is known for the best steaks in town, specialising in tender Filet Mignon, Prime NY Strip and Rib Eye steaks.

Families

At Kids’ World, located slopeside at the ski base area in the Whetstone Building, children get their own trail map to show them some awesome trails where adult skis won’t even fit. The facility offers non-ski nursery from age six months up, with ski lesson-inclusive packages from age three. The Kids’ Terrain Park and a Jib Park are perfectly suited to getting the youngsters rippin’ in style! An evening program called "Kids’ Night Out" (4 - 9 pm) runs on several nights each week and has, for example, tubing or a torchlight parade and dinner. There’s also Kids’ Night on the Town for ages eight - 15. Chaperones take the children on the free shuttle to town for pizza and a movie and then return on the shuttle back to Kids’ World. A children’s tubing hill is available during the day at the top of Painter Boy and, after the lifts close, at the base of the Red Lady Express. This hill is lit for night time tubing.

Ski/Board Suitability Guide

Suitable for families:	[Yes]
Suitable for beginners:	[4]
Suitable for intermediate skiers:	[3]
Suitable for advanced skiers:	[4]
Suitable for boarders skiers:	[4]

Piste Map for Crested butte

Accommodation in Crested butte

• The Grand Lodge - 4 star, room only

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