Telluride Mountain Opens for Donation-Day Skiing Today; Official Opening Thursday

The much anticipated 2004-05 ski season kicks off today at the Telluride Ski Resort with its annual Donation Day (all skiers, whether they are season passholders or not, ante up $24), and more snow on the slopes for opening day than most locals can remember in recent years.

And thanks to last weekend's unrelenting snowstorms that dropped over 17 inches of snow on the slopes, it opens today with a whopping 39-inch mid-mountain base.

But while this year marks an increase in early-season snow totals, up from the last few years, Telski officials continue to be cautious about opening terrain until it has been determined to be fit for skiing.

Terrain off of Chair 4 will open today, says Telski Vice President of Operations and Environmental Affairs Jeff Proteau. More terrain in the Chair 5 and 6 areas is slated to open in the next few days, weather and conditions dependent.

"The recent weekend storms shaped up the mountain for opening day," Proteau said Tuesday, "and we're working hard to get to get the mountain ready. Lift Four will be open for Donation Day and we are anticipating more terrain opening by the weekend."

All proceeds from the $24 Donation Day lift tickets are donated to the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club (season ski passes, discounts, complimentary tickets and any other or special offers do not apply today). TSSC skiers express their thanks, serving up free donuts, hot chocolate and coffee all day at the gondola station.

Early season lift ticket prices are $56, and take effect tomorrow; ski passes will be valid tomorrow as well.

Over the course of the next few weeks, as the rest of the mountain begins to open (assuming that Mother Nature will continue to shower us with snow), regular snowriders on Telluride mountain will undoubtedly notice some transformations.

"We want our mountain to be fresh and exciting every season we open," said Telski Chief Executive Officer Ray Jacobi of this year's improvements. To that end, there is everything from a new Superpipe to new extreme terrain, a better-than-ever Beach at Goronno Ranch Concert Series lineup and new changes in on-mountain food and beverage service.

The Air Garden Terrain Park's New Superpipe

The most noticeable addition to the ski area will stand 18 feet high, 150 feet wide and be more than 400 feet long, and it will call the lower Butterfly trail adjacent to the Air Garden Terrain Park home. The new Superpipe is nearly twice as large as the average halfpipe, and will inevitably amplify Telluride's reputation as a freestyle skier and snowboarder's fantasy mountain. In the freestyle skiing and snowboarding world, superpipes have taken over as the only halfpipe features worth exploring; they are, after all, where the country's top halfpipe athletes compete at X-game and U.S. Open events.

The 2004-05 season Air Garden Terrain Park also boasts much of the same gravity-defying features that skiers and snowboarders have come to love in the past. This year's terrain park incorporates three redesigned jumps, located near the upper section of the park on the Lower See Forever trail. The three large jumps become progressively bigger from top to bottom, with smaller jumps interspersed between the big hits. Three distinct lines enable riders of differing abilities to hit the park simultaneously.

Below the yurt will again be home to the Terrain Park's rail section, where riders can choose from a number of different rail features of varying shapes and sizes.

Beginner skiers and riders can hone their skills in the "pocket park" full of hits and rollers off the Ute Park lift.

This year's Air Garden Terrain Park will very likely open earlier than last season, thanks in part to more early season snow as well as the Telluride Ski Resort's recent purchase of a few new snowcats to make terrain park construction faster and more efficient.

Weather and temperature permitting, riders can catch air in the new Air Garden Terrain Park by Dec. 24. Telluride's goal is to have the Superpipe open by Jan. 6 of next year, but if snow continues to accumulate, the pipe could be ready to open as early as late December.

Mountain Quail: Telluride's Newest Extreme Experience

A new dimension in Telluride's hike-to skiing has taken shape this for ski season, with the Mountain Quail bringing on 1,100 feet of pure vertical bliss to Telluride's already extreme expert ski experience.

The Mountain Quail ski trail sits against the dramatic backdrop of Palmyra Peak, and offers guided hike-to terrain within the ski area boundary for the first time ever. Tellski officials anticipate that Mountain Quail will be open by January, weather and conditions permitting.

Mountain Quail is the highest point on Prospect Ridge. After a 30-minute hike from the top of lift 12, this northwest-facing chute rewards skiers and boarders with plenty of face shots and turns in untracked powder.

"It's all about the powder experience," explains Telski's Proteau. To ensure skier safety — as well as great snow! — group sizes will be limited and Ski Patrol will open the terrain only when conditions are appropriate.

Guided ski tours of Mountain Quail will be led by experts in instruction and safety, from Telluride Ski School and Ski Patrol. A 10-15 minute safety orientation will be presented by a patroller prior to the hike.

Mountain Quail skiers will be required to wear avalanche beacons and carry shovels, provided by the resort. To hike and ski the new terrain, you must be an expert skier, and have signed up with the Telluride Ski/Snowboard School 24 hours in advance. (Locals' deals are in the works!)

Telluride's new guided program is an excellent addition to the existing inbounds hike-to areas of Bald Mountain and Prospect Ridge, where advanced skiers and boarders can enjoy fresh tracks virtually all season. Weather and conditions permitting, the Mountain Quail guided hike-to terrain will open for the first public tracks ever as early as mid-January.

Some Mind-Boggling On-Mountain Music

It may seem too good to be true, but this winter's on-mountain concert schedule is shaping up to be the best ever. Special events coordinators at Telski are still working out the details, but the tentatively plan is to bring such prominent big-name bands as the North Mississippi Allstars, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Little Feat and the Campbell Brothers to the ski resort for this winter's Bands on the Beach concert series at Gorrono Ranch. Other big acts such as The Zen Tricksters, Global Funk, Vince Herman, JJ Usher, Alison Block, Travis Kidd, and Flambo will rock the Beach as well this winter, joined by local acts like the Rico Blues Project, Chris Thomas, The 747s, Bruce Hayes, Mark Parsons and Dave Anderson, to ensure more merrymaking than ever this winter on the mountain.

To accommodate all the rockin' music acts that will heat up even the coldest days on the mountain this year, Telski has purchased a mobile stage that will be hauled by snowcat up to its location on the Beach at Gorrono for each of the season's concerts. The stage, which Telski purchased for $70,000 from the Mobile Austin Staging Company earlier this fall, arrived in Telluride last week, and makes its inaugural appearance at this weekend's Jeep Kind of the Mountain Opening Ceremonies in the Mountain Village plaza on Saturday afternoon (see 8 Days a Week for that three-day extravaganza's schedule).

And with an emphasis on the fact that some contracts are still in the process of final confirmation, to date, Telski expects a show from Kenny Wayne Shepard on Feb. 27; the North Mississippi Allstars on March 8; and from Little Feat March 17. The Campbell Brothers are signed on to play Easter Sunday.

For more special events information, call 728-7432 or check out the web site at www.tellurideskiresort.com to find a complete list of concert dates.

Food and Beverage 'Taste-Lift'

"We're really focusing on the little things to create an overall great guest experience, and I think that locals will see some improvements up there this year," Jacobi says of this season's on-mountain changes. A major part of the improvements are in the department of on-mountain food and beverage service, which has undergone a "taste-lift" this season.

Construction crews finished renovations at the mid-mountain Gorrono Ranch restaurant just days ago, so skiers and snowboarders heading to this favorite mountain restaurant today will notice a redesigned scramble area in the front that offers more room and better overall flow.

The menu has also received a makeover , and will highlight daily lunch specials as well as what Jacobi promises will be "the best hamburger you can get at a mountain resort."

That Pizza Place has also received some renovation attention, and now offers an expanded seating area that spills out into the old X-box Arcade area, almost doubling the seating space. Pizza Place buffs will appreciate the revised, simplified menu, which now includes soups as well as daily drink specials and 3@3 daily pizza specials.

At High Camp (at the top of Lift 12) skiers and snowboarders will now be able to warm up with daily soup and chili specials. Telski has furthermore heeded the wishes of many a local skier and boarder for faster on-mountain food service, and is introducing its "Flying Hotdog Cart" at different on-mountain locations. The snowmobile-pulled cart will offer fast hotdogs and drinks, making appearances at high-flow areas on the mountain, such as outside Gorrono and at the top of Lift 5.

For the first time ever, Allred's restaurant at the top of the gondola (San Sophia Station) will be open to the public for elegant lunchtime dining, starting in mid-December. Allred's staff welcomed new general manager Sebastien Silvestri this year, and will be offering deals like the Small Plate Menu (which started this summer) as well as nightly live entertainment.

On Allred's December 16 opening day, diners will also notice the dressed up entrance area and will be able to enjoy local specials for the first few opening days.

New Gear Box for Lift 9, New Snowcats, Equipment Upgrades

Locals and visitors alike who were perturbed last year by the sight of Lift 9 struggling at half capacity for much of the season can put those nettlesome worries to rest. Proteau reports that the gearbox of the geriatric lift, damaged last year, was completely replaced this fall. The lift is slated to open around December 15, or as conditions allow, and will again run at full capacity.

"The lift will run better than ever," affirms Jacobi, although, he adds, Telski is planning to replace lifts 9 and 7 over the next few years.

On the equipment front, the company has also purchased four new snowcats for this year – two mainline cats, one winchcat and one park bully, forking over almost $1 million-worth in cat upgrades and more than $3 million in total snowcat expenditures.

Ten new snowmobiles were purchased for on-mountain departments, and the Ski Patrol will also enjoy a brand new transport van. To bolster early season snowmaking efforts, the company also added four new air compressors to help with snowmaking, especially in such lower-elevation egress areas as the Telluride Trail.

"The Hornings have really committed to capital expenditures for this resort," says Proteau, of the new owners' hefty investment in new equipment.

Gold Hill Gets New Signage

Skiers and snowboarders hitting their favorite Gold Hill runs after that area's proposed Dec. 15 opening may notice that some trail signs are boasting a new design. The new signs designating Electra, Dynamo, Millions, Andy's Gold and Buzz's Glade are not a push by Telski's design team to put a flashier new look on these signs, but rather a nod at the new ability-level requirement just mandated by the Colorado State House of Representatives.

A recently passed amendment to the Skier Safety Act requires that Colorado ski resorts now designate "extreme" terrain with a sign that shows two black diamonds containing the letters "E" in one and "X" in the other, and displaying the words "Extreme Terrain." According to the amendment, "extreme terrain" is defined as any place within the ski area boundary that contains cliffs with a minimum twenty-foot rise over a fifteen-foot run, and slopes with a minimum fifty-degree average pitch over a one hundred-foot run. Little Rose is the only run on Gold Hill that does not qualify as "extreme;" the hike-to terrain in Prospect Bowl will remain black and double-black diamond runs as well.

The new act also requires freestyle terrain to be designated with an orange oval, a measure the Telluride Ski Resort already put in place last season.

Telski's Proteau explains that the new act, which is ultimately seen as a victory for ski area operators because it strengthens the Skier Safety Act's contention that risks are inherent in the sport of skiing, regardless of any and all reasonable safety measures that can be employed.

"We look at it as being a precautionary thing for people skiing on Gold Hill," he explains. "Hopefully, with these new signs, people will be more aware that some of the terrain up there has cliffs, drop-offs, and very steep sections. The intent is that people will take notice that these runs aren't just another black diamond run."