Crested Butte: Real town, real tough

Spring Break brings ideal ski conditions.

By Pamela LeBlanc
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, January 18, 2009

When spring comes - and that'll be any day now here in Central Texas - you'll need one last blast of cold before the furnacelike heat sets in.

That means a spring break jaunt to the mountains, a pine-powered, snow-filled reboot to get you through the school year and prep you for the season of never-ending scorchdom.

Early spring brings some of the biggest snows to the Rocky Mountains, and some of the warmest days. That's not a bad combination. You'll need a parka and a pair of skis for this trip (don't worry, you can rent), but sunglasses and a swimsuit for the hot tub will come in handy, too.

Now that you're persuaded, consider this: Crested Butte, Colo., is the Best Ski Town in America.

OK, OK, I know. I fall in love with every ski town I visit, from Lake Louise to Steamboat Springs to Alta to Jackson Hole and a dozen others. But if we're talking just about towns here, I still take Crested Butte. The mountain offers some of the most extreme lift-served terrain in the country, but it's the old mining town that stole my heart the first time I visited.

I'm still not sure whether it was the best fried chicken in America, which I ate at Slogar's Restaurant, or the yellow and purple and blue Victorian shops and houses on every street. Though other ski towns shimmer with excess, Crested Butte slaps you on the shoulder like your best cousin, comfortable and casual and solid as a mountain underneath.

It's also the people. I met Ben Somrak, a freeride skiing coach, during my most recent visit to The Butte. At 25, he's a veteran extreme skier, usually placing in the top 10 at the U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Competition held at Crested Butte each year. (He uncharacteristically wiped out in the first round last year, but it was a fluke.) The Somrak family came to Crested Butte in 1860 from the Balkans, and the county is dotted with Ben's relatives.

I also met April Prout, who used to work for the resort and raves about the two-day women's clinic she attended there. "It pushed us to do stuff we probably wouldn't do on our own," she told me of the clinic. "It helped me enjoy it and ski it - rather than survive it."

I need to sign up for one of those clinics.

Crested Butte is in southwest Colorado, within the Gunnison National Forest and the Elk Mountain Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The resort lies in the town of Mount Crested Butte, three miles from the town of Crested Butte, originally settled in the 1880s as a mining supply camp.

So far this year, they're getting pummeled with snow. They hit the 100-inch snow mark before Christmas, and things are shaping up nicely.

"We are in the crosshairs of a great storm cycle," says Ken Stone, Crested Butte Mountain Resort's chief operating officer. "Last year was a record snow year, and Crested Butte's conditions are tracking pretty closely."

The first time I visited, about five years ago, I remember riding up the Silver Queen lift on the mountain's front side, gawking at hair-raising ski runs with names like Banana Funnel, Peel and Hot Rocks. That was definitely terrain I wasn't going to inspect up close, with its extreme slope and jagged cliffs. I stuck to more moderate runs and gobbled up some long cruisers and not-too-intimidating mogul (bump) runs in the process.

Pure, sifted confectioners' sugar joy, I'm telling you.

The summit stands at 12,162 feet, nearly 2,800 feet above the base area. The resort has 1,167 acres to explore and 16 lifts to get you there. The terrain is a mixed bag, with 23 percent beginner, 57 percent intermediate and 20 percent advanced.

I liked it so much I returned in 2008.

Families will find plenty to explore off the Express lift. But beware, the Prospect lift is what I call a "real estate" lift; it serves pretty boring and flat terrain, interesting mainly to folks looking to build a high-dollar house there. (I was thinking of doing that, but then the market crashed, and well, you know ... )

Elsewhere on the mountain are terrain parks with all kinds of rail features and snowy jumps, a massive superpipe and even a kids' park with beginner obstacles like a tabletop and mini-half-pipe. A tubing hill opens after the ski lifts shut down for the day, allowing Energizer Bunny-types to burn off a few more calories before they head home.

For those who would rather skip the skiing altogether, a two-mile snowshoe loop makes for a peaceful afternoon. A trail pass is required. Or try the ice rink and sledding hill.

Back in town you can test the groomed trails at the Crested Butte Nordic Center.

There's also the Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte, which provides year-round outdoor recreation activities for people of all disabilities. Winter programs include alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and snowboarding lessons.

Ah, snow. And crisp weather. And fleece tops and flannel-lined pants.

You're not really ready for summer yet, are you?