Post on 17-Mar-2016
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52PAGE FEBRUARY 2013 snowboard-colorado.com
CRESTED BUTTE WAS THE FIRST PLACE I EVER STRAPPED INTO
A SNOWBOARD. ACTUALLY, I CLICKED INTO MY SNOWBOARD.
THIS WAS 1999, WHEN CLICKERS WERE PRETTY RADICAL, OR
AT LEAST THEY WERE FOR ME, ACCOUNTING FOR THE FACT
THAT I RENTED A BOARD AND BOOTS FOR THE FIRST THREE
YEARS I SPENT ON A SNOWBOARD. I WAS ONLY EIGHT YEARS
INTO THIS VOYAGE CALLED LIFE AND I CAN REMEMBER THAT
DAY LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY.
Now, it took me a while to get the nuts and bolts up in my old
noggin turning, but while I was waiting for that to happen, I
decided I didn't want to write something about Crested Butte
that would give away all the secret places that I've been shown.
And I sure as hell didn't want to piss off all the local ski and
board bums that call Crested Butte home, which is the majority
of the town during the snowy months. During the winter in
Crested Butte, if you don't own a pair of skis or a snowboard
and don't plan on investing in one, well then, you better get
yourself some nice, sharp hockey skates or snow shoes because
that pretty much sums up the outdoor activities for the winter
months. Or you could just turn into a raging alcoholic because
we do have a bunch of good bars, but I don't think your wallet
and liver would appreciate that too much.
So if you're reading this hoping I'l l give you a play-by-play on
what to do if it just so happens to snow three feet the first night
you visit Crested Butte, I'm sorry, amigo, but that's just not going
to happen. What I will let you know is that it doesn't take much
brain power to have a good time at the Butte, if mother nature
decides to work in your favor.
CRESTED BUTTE ONE OF THE LAST GREAT MOUNTAIN TOWNS
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THERE'S ONE FULLY-MAINTAINED ROAD THAT WILL
BRING YOU TO THIS LITTLE CHUNK OF PARADISE
AND THE SAME ONE WILL GET YOU OUT
CRESTED BUTTE
ISSUE 3.6 53 PAGE
GUNNISONNATIONAL FOREST
GUNNISONNATIONAL FOREST
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ESTABLISHED: 1961
SUMMIT ELEVATION:12,162'
BASE ELEVATION: 9,375'
VERTICAL DROP: 2,775'
TRAILS: 121
LIFTS: 15
ACRES: 1,547
SNOWMAKING COVERAGE: 297 ACRES
LONGEST TRAIL: 2.6 MILES
TERRAIN PARKS: 2
HALFPIPE: YES
ANNUAL AVERAGE SNOWFALL: 300 INCHES
NIGHT RIDING: NO
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12,16
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54PAGE FEBRUARY 2013 snowboard-colorado.com
C re s t e d B u t t e i s a re a l s m a l l t ow n t u c ke d i n t o t h e E l k
Mounta in Range . There ' s one fu l l y -ma in ta ined road that
wi l l br ing you to th is l i t t le chunk of paradise and the same
one w i l l get you out . The town surv ives o f f o f the resor t
in the winter. Without the resort br ing ing in second-home
owners and vacat ioners dur ing the ho l idays and weekend
road tr ippers searching for powder, a good major i ty of the
business in town and on the mountain just wouldn't be able
to hold out . So you can ' t hate the kooks that make the l i f t
l ines long and f i l l up sect ions of the resort for a few weeks
out of the winter. In my eyes , you have to thank them just
a l i t t le b i t for keeping the l i f ts runn ing . And yes , Crested
But te has second-home owners and peop le coming in by
the busload dur ing the hol idays , but only a f ract ion of what
you see at resorts l ike Breckenr idge, Vai l and Beaver Creek.
That i s one th ing that I love about Crested Butte and hope
cont inues to remain the same.
Living in Crested Butte puts a lot of things in perspective at
a young age that a lot of people out there wouldn't have a
single clue about. People from Crested Butte thrive on being
in the outdoors . You learn to apprec iate and respect the
mountains and enjoy the simpleness and slow pace of a small
mountain town. You can walk down the street on any given
day and, chances are, you wil l know everyone you pass and
you definitely say hello to them, even if you don't know them.
Crested Butte is home to me, so obviously I 'm going to talk
highly about it . But as far as small resort towns go, it is one of
the most genuine and friendly places I know of.
As far as the resort goes, the Butte has some of the steepest and
rockiest terrain that Colorado has to offer. Only a few hours away
from Telluride, Durango and Silverton, the resort definitely holds
that southwest-Rocky Mountain feeling. The peak of Mt. Crested
Butte looks like something out of the movie How the Grinch Stole
Christmas. It's tall, pointy, jagged and has an almost crooked look
to it when you're heading up the Silver Queen lift. Because Crested
Butte is so rocky, it takes a good amount of snow to get a lot of the
good, steep stuff open. And when I say good stuff, I'm referring to
taking a ride up either the High Lift T-bar or the North Face T-bar.
THE PEAK OF MT. CRESTED BUTTE LOOKS LIKE
SOMETHING OUT OF THE MOVIE "HOW THE GRINCH
STOLE CHRISTMAS"
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56PAGE FEBRUARY 2013 snowboard-colorado.com
If you hop on either of these T-bars, you will be dropped off at the
top of some of the steepest inbound terrain around. If you get off
at the halfway point on the High Lift, you can drop in right down
the gut of the run, which is called Big Chute. The name says it all.
If you take the High Lift all the way to the end of the line, you will
have a bunch of different options, but the big, wide-open bowl
that everyone knows up there is called the Headwall. It's nice and
steep, rocky and has cliffs and chutes all over it. This is the spot on
the mountain where a lot of big mountain competitions take place.
Now, taking up the North Face T-bar will allow you to access a
pretty big portion of the mountain. There are plenty of really good
runs you can take right off the lift, but if you're willing to put in
a little effort and hike from where the lift stops, you can get into
some really fun and technical stuff. This lift grants you access to
the entire backside of the mountain and is also where some past
Northface Masters events have been held.
Throughout all these years and early seasons spent waiting patiently
for the steeps to open up, I've had a good amount of time to explore
the mountain and find all sorts of different ways to snowboard down
it. Just because the High Lift or North Face hasn't opened yet doesn't
mean you're not going to get your kicks. The majority of the mountain
is on the steeper side of the spectrum - plenty of places to haul taters
and fly off rollers. One of the better places on the hill to get into a
nice tuck and generate some speed is called International. The run is
pretty steep in the first place, and with some blind corners and rollers,
it always makes for a perfect run to get the blood pumping.
The amount of side hits , mini-banked slaloms and cat-track
gaps at the Butte is enough to keep any snowboarder happy
for a lifetime. There's a fun run off the Red Lady chairlift called
Bubba's Way, which is one of my favorite l ittle gull ies on the
mountain. This is where I like to gather a bunch of buds and let
loose. It's a really fun single-track-type run with doubles, step-
ups, step-downs and tight turns. Gotta carry enough speed on
the way out though, you don't want to be wasting time scooching
back to the lift.
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ONE OF THE BETTER PLACES ON THE HILL TO GET
INTO A NICE TUCK AND GENERATE SOME SPEED IS
CALLED INTERNATIONAL
ISSUE 3.6 57 PAGE
I could only see someone getting tired of riding Crested Butte if
they weren't looking at the resort in the right way. Snowboarding
at Crested Butte has taught me how to truly and completely go
snowboarding. If you like riding the entire mountain, finding mogul
gaps, going fast and having a damn good time, then you gotta
trust me - you're going to enjoy your time spent at the Butte.
Along with what seems like endless natural terrain, Crested Butte
has been creating a bigger and better park every year. The first
terrain park I can recall in the Butte consisted of a halfpipe with
10-foot-tall walls, a double-barrel rail shaped like the silhouette
of a cartoon whale, two triangle-shaped kickers and a massive
metal wallride at the end of it all. This existed before I even dared
to step foot in the terrain park. Over the past few seasons, the
terrain park has improved greatly. A lot of the man hours put into
making a better park come from a guy named Christian Robertson.
Christian is about as good a dude as they come. Along with being
one of my coaches a bunch of years back, he is the owner of some
gold duct tape that he brought back to Colorado from the Banked
Slalom up at Mt. Baker. He is one hell of a snowboarder and thanks
need to be given to him for kicking ass every year and making the
terrain park better and more enjoyable. Over the past handful of
seasons, he has been looking at the perfectly-made parks around
Colorado and applying his firsthand experience in those parks
to build and shape Crested Butte's terrain parks in his own way.
If you do end up making the trek to Crested Butte at some point in
your life, chances are you're not going to want to go hungry while
you're here. You're also going to want to sit down after a good day
of boarding and have yourself an ice-cold beer. Well that's what I
like to do after a bunch of hours on the hill, so I'll give you a little
info on some of the places at the base area and in town you are
not going to want to skip.
If you're getting up to the mountain early and want to get a quick
breaky burrito or sandwich, the Brown Labrador Pub will be your best
bet. They normally have quick breakfast stuff hot and ready so you
can hop on the lift and enjoy your breakfast on the go. You can pop
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IF YOU'RE GETTING UP TO THE MOUNTAIN EARLY
AND WANT TO GET A QUICK BREAKY BURRITO OR
SANDWICH, THE BROWN LABRADOR PUB WILL BE
YOUR BEST BET
58PAGE FEBRUARY 2013 snowboard-colorado.com
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A COUPLE GOOD-TIMIN' PLACES TO POP INTO ARE EITHER
THE TALK OF THE TOWN OR KOCHIEVERS. CLASSIC BARS
WITH POOL TABLES, DARTS AND A JUKEBOX
back into this spot for lunch, as well, because the Brown Labrador
Pub is also a bakery and the staff is always whipping up fresh
croissants, cookies, calzones and tasty soups.
When the l i f t s turn of f for the day, I l i ke to head over to
The Avalanche. This place is constantly packed to the brim
with good people having a good t ime. The menu is massive,
but some highl ights are the burgers and r ibs . And to wash
it a l l down, they have dr inks with names l ike The Painki l ler
and Avalanche Warning, which always seem to do the trick in
taking the sore bones, aches and pains off your mind. The good
people and warm atmosphere make it a tough place to beat
when looking for a spot to dry out after boarding.
Now if you only had a few beers at the "Avy," hop on the free
local shuttle bus, which is only about 100 footsteps from the
exit of The Avalanche, and head down to town for some more
good t imes. One place that a lways does the tr ick when I 'm
hungry is Teocall i Tomale. It 's a small l itt le burrito/taco shop
located on Elk Avenue. It 's set up l ike most burrito spots, but
because it 's what I grew up on, it 's always going to beat out
the rest.
When the sun tucks itself away for the day, a couple good-timin' places
to pop into are The Talk of the Town and Kochievers. Classic bars with
pool tables, darts and a jukebox. What more do you really need?
No matter what time of year you show up in Crested Butte, you
will have an awesome time. The summer is packed with swimming
holes, cliff jumps, mountain climbs, bike rides, skateboarding and
tons more, and the winter, hopefully, consumed entirely by never-
ending powder. This town that I was extremely lucky to grow up in
has a real sense of heart still, and I honestly couldn't be happier to
be from Crested Butte. It's where my parents and brother and a few
good friends still call home 12 months of the year, and no matter
what, I will always continue to come back.
If you feel like traveling and want to spend some time in a truly classic
Colorado ski town, I'm pretty sure you know exactly where to go.