Crested Butte

Crested Butte is a fantastic little town. We rolled in around 4pm on Thursday which was a full hour and a half before our scheduled date. I have been suffering painful and cold snowboard boots for far too long, so with our new found wealth we decide that I have earned new boots. We visited Colorado Border at the base of Crested Butte and had what I would call a perfect buying experience.

A few days before we had tried to buy boots in Aspen and had what I would call a “Pretty Woman” shopping experience. We were flat out ignored by the sales people, I am guessing because of how we looked, we entered their store in Carharts and t-shirts. The couple who entered after us in their Diesel Jeans and Prada shoes were immediately greeted and assisted. Now a $300 purchase in Aspen may be just a drop in the bucket to the local retail economy, but in my world (even with our amended budget) this amounts to six days on the road. This is a major purchase, and I refuse to make it at an establishment that will not acknowledge me.



Back to Crested Butte, after my fully satisfying retail therapy experience we ventured down to The Eldo, to meet our friend Eddy. You may remember Eddy from our time in Sayulita. From there we went next door to Baccanale for our first really schmancy meal out in seven months. Eddy had a yet unused gift certificate and we took full advantage. Then we settled in for a long winter’s nap before an even longer day of riding.


We powered up at Camp Four Coffee before heading up to the mountain.


There is a free bus system in C.B. so you never need to drive.

Prior to this trip I had never been to Crested Butte before. The mountain is legendary for steeps and craggy shoots. The past few years have been rough on the mountain though and less and less snow was falling here. This year however, while we were skiing 44” at Wolf Creek and 18+ at Telluride, Crested Butte was receiving eight feet of snow. This made for a fantastic day, as did the company. Eddy, his brother Elliot, Dan and myself all boarded the entire mountain. We even got to ride in the Teocalli bowl which had just opened for the first time in eleven years and the first time ever to the general public. The coverage was great, the mountain challenging and the views are stunningly beautiful.


Remenents of the 8' dump.

For some silly reason I chose not to take my camera to the Mountain. While it was nice to not have a pack on while riding, I kicked myself all day because the scenery was so stunning. From the main lift you can see the town laid out on the valley floor and yesterday there were clouds inverted framing the town, with Mt. Gothic just peaking out behind. It was a truly great day.

We rode until 3:30 absolutely unable to coax our legs into cooperating for another run. Eddy and Elliot were fabulous hosts and mountain guides. Everyone we met here was charming and down to earth. This is a truly great mountain town.


Everyone in town rides bikes even in the winter.


One of the more eclectic buildings here.

From here we are returning to Aspen for a few days. Then we have some decisions to make...


Deer that joined us for lunch along the drive from Aspen to C.B.