I HAVE BEEN WANTING to write up a feature on Telluride for a long time now, and this year the timing seemed perfect, thanks to the opening of Palmyra Peak.

What I didn’t really expect was how much I had to say on the subject. My apologies for what blossomed into a rather long article.

Originally, I was just going to focus on Palmyra (which is stunning!), but then I started drifting into the whole history and magic of the place, and it was a lost cause at that point. For all my babbling, I do think that Telluride’s Palmyra Peak, which is now open as part of the resort’s controlled terrain, offers an experience unlike anything else any North American resorts have to offer.

High praise, I know. Time will tell as to how Telluride and Palmyra come to be viewed by the ski industry—and whether or not Telluride is even successful at keeping this radical terrain open. For now, if you can’t get there in person, you’ll just have to read about it.

I’ve been skiing Colorado resorts for some time now, and I often find it hard to explain objectively why I like Telluride so much.

Telluride certainly doesn’t have Vail’s snow or massive acreage.

By mega-resort standards, it is a small mountain, hard to get to, and at best quirky when it comes to lift placement.

And yet…standing atop Milk run this bright sunny morning, looking down at velvetty groomed perfection leading all the way to town 1785 vertical feet below, I can’t say there’s any other mountain I’d rather ski.

Telluride is one of those elusive ‘wa’ sort of places. Winding along its ridgetops, maching out through the compression at the bottom of Coonskin, stopping always to be dazzled by the views, you just can’t easily express what happens inside you here. But oh, what a feeling!

I kept hitting Milk Run over and over, fresh tracks of the groomed sort until my legs started to protest. Then it was off to the Plunge—also groomed—for another round of effortlessly smooth high-g curves.

And no crowds! You know, it’s as if some crazy bastard built this whole damn place just for your own personal enjoyment. Like going to a movie and finding yourself the only one inside.

Perfection. Sheer perfection is what today offered. But wait—what’s this? I see on the patrol board that Palmyra Peak has just opened. Well now…there’s really no choice to be made, is there? I think I’ll zip over to the Prospect Lift and start hiking. Check back tomorrow and I’ll let you know how it goes.

We knew a few things before we got here in Telluride.

We knew they were having a near-record year for snowfall.

I can verify that: today I overheard a ski patrol talking. He said he was going to have to retire—because there was no way things would ever be this good in his lifetime again.

We also knew that Telluride had opened up some new hike-to terrain in the Palmyra Peak area.

Skiers have been coming to Telluride and dreaming of skiing Palmyra Peak and Black Iron Bowl below since this place first existed.

That dream is now a reality, and it’s unbelievable.

Telluride has elevated its game so much with this new terrain.

I don’t believe I’ve seen any other resort in Colorado offer anything that compares to the new Black Iron Bowl skiing.

Factor in skiing from the summit of Palmyra Peak, and arguably there’s nothing in the country that compares.

Really, to understand the kind of terrain that is now being avy controlled and opened up at Telluride, think of the Alps. It’s like that, only without the jet lag.

We skied Black Iron Bowl today (we hope Palmyra Peak will open up later this week) with 2 feet of fresh snow. I just can’t find the words to explain what a special experience this is for frontcountry skiers. Half an hour to an hour’s hike gets you into an absolute wonderland of terrain.

God bless Telluride and their patrol staff. This redefines North American resort skiing — and I don’t believe in the least that that’s an overstatement.

Judging by the massive crowds heading up Mount Baldy Road yesterday, I suppose it’s no secret when it snows that Southern California’s best skiing happens at a quirky little ‘resort’ called the Mount Baldy Ski Area.

With little to no snowmaking, vintage lifts (translation: ancient and unreliable), and at best variable conditions, Mount Baldy is not for the faint of heart.

Put four feet of snow on the mountain, however, and things improve markedly.

Covered in snow, Mount Baldy’s terrain is steep and varied enough to satisfy most anyone. Add in the excellent sidecountry options, and Baldy Ski rises to an inarguable gem, made all the sweeter by its preposterous proximity (60 miles?) to downtown Los Angeles. I was up and skiing yesterday. As usual, the hoped-for light powder had already congealed into a chunky windpack, but there were still sweet turns to be had—especially once Baldy’s south bowl opened up.

I did take a peek at several sidecountry spots, including the Butch Wash chutes (will post more later). Conditions appear to be rapidly stabilizing, but many of these locations are either wind-scoured and bare, or bulletproof.

It’s not exactly cutting-edge Gonzo filmmaking, but this helmet-cam video (edited by the Telluride Daily Planet) is certainly a poignant reminder that sometimes those annoying “cliff” signs really do mean…Cliff.

Earlier this season two young skiers from Texas decided to duck under the rope at the extreme west end of Telluride’s Gold Hill, tempted by the sight of untracked powder. Being members of the tech generation, they naturally decided to video themselves, which was no doubt of great value to the sheriff’s department. Both were subsequently charged with Reckless Endangerment.

The video does run on the long side, at eight-plus minutes, but the moment when they break through the trees to discover their line is completely cliffed-out is priceless. Soon after that, they trigger an avalanche that knocks one of them over the cliff (this part of the mountain is closed, after all, not only because of the cliffs but also the extremely high avalanche danger).

Incredibly, neither kid was seriously injured, though their effort remains a potent entry for this year’s Darwin Awards.

It’s 8:00 a.m. here at the SierraDescents command center. Normally about now I’d be driving up to the Mount Baldy Ski Area parking lot, getting ready for a preposterously big SoCal ski day courtesy of the weekend’s WonderStorm.

Instead, it’s full-time fathering duties on the agenda today: chasing the little one around the house all day, with interspaced attempts to grab some rest in between diaper changes and meals.

Mount Baldy reports three feet of new snow on their site—enough to open the runs down to the parking lot—and just across the way, Mountain High says they got two feet, with East and West and all runs open. –sigh– Get up there if you can. It should be a great day of skiing and riding.

Home Again, Home Again…after many happy memories in Telluride (and 35 inches of new snow in seven days), we’re back once again in sunny, snowless SoCal.

Conditions here in the local mountains remain pretty bleak, with the storm track remaining well to the north, so I’ve been adding a few more shots to the Photo Gallery to fight off the culture shock.

For those who don’t know the area, Telluride, Colorado, sits in the San Juan Mountains, perhaps the most spectacular part of the Colorado Rockies.

I find the San Juan Mountains, with their dramatic cliffs, spires, chutes, and flutings reminiscent of parts of the Sierra (especially Mount Williamson’s west face). The backcountry options in the Telluride area are extremely enticing, though avalanche danger is a constant and serious threat.

Interestingly, skiers in Colorado can now purchase Search and Rescue Cards, which offer S&R insurance at a reasonable rate. To the best of my knowledge, no similar program exists for Sierra Skiers at this time.

As for the in-bounds skiing, I can only say that Telluride is a special place, remote, beautiful, and blessed with a unique blend of Southwest sunshine, Colorado powder, and dramatic terrain.