ChrisC
Well-known member
I decided to take more photos than usual on this trip to Telluride. I had more time due to skiing with friends and numerous meetups. Generally, I am much more mellow about covered and vertical skied runs.
It was bluebird skies the entire time after recent heavy snows, with temps in the low 20s at night and 40s during the day. Skiing was great over the weekend and up to mid-week. After Wednesday, you needed to be careful of terrain aspect, recent grooming, and exposure.
With almost 40 inches of snow (much-needed) from a multi-day storm the previous week, Telluride finally opened most of its extreme terrain after control efforts. This included Gold Hill Chutes 1, 7, 8, & 9, Black Iron Bowl, and Palmyra Peak.
Maps of Telluride:
Most of Telluride faces primarily west (Lifts 1, 4, 5, and 6) or north (Town side - Lifts 7, 8, 9 and Gondola, Pospect Bowl - Lift 12, Revelation Bowl - Lift 15 and Lift 10). There is significant south-facing terrain: favorite areas include Apex Glade, Chongos, Killer Slide, etc. Minor east-facing areas include Milk Run (soft/groomed) and parts of Revelation Bowl.
The best steep skiing in the country is at Telluride. Specifically, look if the following runs have been groomed on the Town of Telluride Face/Lifts 7 & 9: Lookout (always groomed), Plunge, Bushwacker, Milk Run, and Cimarron. They are all on a 2-3 day grooming cycle and are best skied when the sun hits them from 11-2 pm.
Aerial Maps of Hike To Terrain.
Gold Hill Chutes.
These have the best effort-to-reward ratio of any of the Hike To Terrain. The hike from the top of the Revelation Bowl Lift to Gold Hill summit is about 10-15 minutes. Then, a beautiful/on-top-of-the-world traverse. Note: Bear Creek drops off backside 4k to Telluride.
GH 1: Directly off the Revelation Bowl Lift. Best when the goat path to The Fans is open.
GH 2-to-3: This is only open on big snow years for about 2 weeks at the season's end. It's a gift to the community by Ski patrol. It's a fantastic bowl to fans.
GH 6,7 & 8: Steep, narrow couloirs on par with anything in Europe. One can always find some preserved powder in Palmyra Basin below the chutes.
GH 9 & 10: Take the stairway, adding another 10-15 minutes. GH 9 is the widest couloir.
Black Iron Bowl
You can reach Lakeview/West Lake with a 10-15 minute hike (and reverse) from the top of Lift 12/Prospect Bowl Lift. This area gets the most snow in the Telluride resort proper due to blow-in from winds coming over the ridge - a very high effort-to-reward ratio. Numerous laps on powder days.
Dihedral Chute and Mountain Quail are a bit more effort.
Palmyra Peak
Do you like to ski moguls after a 1-2 hour hike? This can happen on busy days in March on Senior's - the main chute from the peak. Always head skier's right/looker's left to Roy Boy - most skiers miss the hidden entrance and can hold powder due to orientation.
Note: You can also see how narrow Gold Hill Chutes 6-10 are on the left side.
It was bluebird skies the entire time after recent heavy snows, with temps in the low 20s at night and 40s during the day. Skiing was great over the weekend and up to mid-week. After Wednesday, you needed to be careful of terrain aspect, recent grooming, and exposure.
With almost 40 inches of snow (much-needed) from a multi-day storm the previous week, Telluride finally opened most of its extreme terrain after control efforts. This included Gold Hill Chutes 1, 7, 8, & 9, Black Iron Bowl, and Palmyra Peak.
Maps of Telluride:
Most of Telluride faces primarily west (Lifts 1, 4, 5, and 6) or north (Town side - Lifts 7, 8, 9 and Gondola, Pospect Bowl - Lift 12, Revelation Bowl - Lift 15 and Lift 10). There is significant south-facing terrain: favorite areas include Apex Glade, Chongos, Killer Slide, etc. Minor east-facing areas include Milk Run (soft/groomed) and parts of Revelation Bowl.
The best steep skiing in the country is at Telluride. Specifically, look if the following runs have been groomed on the Town of Telluride Face/Lifts 7 & 9: Lookout (always groomed), Plunge, Bushwacker, Milk Run, and Cimarron. They are all on a 2-3 day grooming cycle and are best skied when the sun hits them from 11-2 pm.
Aerial Maps of Hike To Terrain.
Gold Hill Chutes.
These have the best effort-to-reward ratio of any of the Hike To Terrain. The hike from the top of the Revelation Bowl Lift to Gold Hill summit is about 10-15 minutes. Then, a beautiful/on-top-of-the-world traverse. Note: Bear Creek drops off backside 4k to Telluride.
GH 1: Directly off the Revelation Bowl Lift. Best when the goat path to The Fans is open.
GH 2-to-3: This is only open on big snow years for about 2 weeks at the season's end. It's a gift to the community by Ski patrol. It's a fantastic bowl to fans.
GH 6,7 & 8: Steep, narrow couloirs on par with anything in Europe. One can always find some preserved powder in Palmyra Basin below the chutes.
GH 9 & 10: Take the stairway, adding another 10-15 minutes. GH 9 is the widest couloir.
Black Iron Bowl
You can reach Lakeview/West Lake with a 10-15 minute hike (and reverse) from the top of Lift 12/Prospect Bowl Lift. This area gets the most snow in the Telluride resort proper due to blow-in from winds coming over the ridge - a very high effort-to-reward ratio. Numerous laps on powder days.
Dihedral Chute and Mountain Quail are a bit more effort.
Palmyra Peak
Do you like to ski moguls after a 1-2 hour hike? This can happen on busy days in March on Senior's - the main chute from the peak. Always head skier's right/looker's left to Roy Boy - most skiers miss the hidden entrance and can hold powder due to orientation.
Note: You can also see how narrow Gold Hill Chutes 6-10 are on the left side.
