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The Ultimate Crested Butte Trip Report

Far off the I-70 corridor, at least five hours away from Denver, and the closest grocery store down in Gunnison, Crested Butte Mountain Resort delivers a special atmosphere. The town of Crested Butte feels like one of the last true ski towns. Locals live up to work hard, play hard ski bum mantra, and the terrain can be challenging, but is undeniably beautiful and feels like all the things skiing should be. With CB on the Epic Pass (with unlimited days with even the Epic Local Pass), this little ski town has become a hot destination for folks. After getting to visit the Blister folks for their amazing Blister Summit event in Feburary, we wanted to share how to shred the Butte, where to stay, and where to party. Prepare your next ski trip in our Crested Butte trip report.

Crested Butte Trip Report: A Skiers’ Guide

The Mountain

Crested Butte boasts some impressive stats. Here’s the basics:

Skiable Acres: 1,547 (with 561 acres of expert terrain)

Runs: 165

Lifts: 15

Vertical Drop: 3,055 feet (!)

Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s trail map.

A few other fun facts: Crested Butte is home to the steepest tree cut trail on Rambo. Crested Butte also holds the claim as some of the earliest inbounds expert terrain. Steep skiing is built in the bones of this ski area.

Mt Crested Butte is in a stunning position. A tall, over 12,000 foot peak rises out of nowhere in the valley, with flat valley surrounding it. The Elk Range towers above north, leading over to Aspen.

Because of the steep terrain, Crested Butte feels similar to Taos. As Matt describes, “a big pile of rocks”. Even during average snow years, you can find some toothy rocks poking out, particularly in some of the steeper chutes and steeper tree lines. The trails are remarkably maintained, so no worries about rocks on the groomed terrain.

There’s just one base area, with a few cafes spread around the mountain. The resort is not right in the town of Crested Butte, but rather the town of Mount Crested Butte, just up the hill outside of town. Mt. Crested Butte is home to condos and hotels.

Terrain

While CB is known for its steeps and off-trail terrain, there’s plenty to explore for beginners and intermediates. 38% of the terrain on the mountain is a green circle or a blue square. Crested Butte’s long vertical drop leads to long, sweeping groomers that encourage GS turns and spread out the skier traffic. Our favorite groomed trail? International, off the Silver Queen Express.

Matt carving things up on International. | Photo: Alex Stettner

For beginners and families, hop on the Red Lady Express at the base, and spin some laps there or on Teocali lift (unrelated to the expert Teocali terrain). Check out the fast Paradise lift for a range of blue trails from groomed to mellow bumps, and easy access to explore the rest of the mountain.

For expert riders, you’ll want to check out the T-Bars. That will give you access to some other High Lift is accessed off of the Silver Queen from the base, and takes you to some amazing terrain like Teocali Bowl (which requires a quick, 10-minute hike out but offers great powder stashes in exchange). One of our favorites to hit was the open Headwall face, or Big Chute, which holds great snow and is high-quality steep skiing.

After skiing Headwall or if you have lapped Paradise, you can head over to the North Face Lift (or NFL, as a convenient acronym). NFL will take you to some special terrain, like the steep Spellbound Bowl. Take quick sidestep-hike to access the top of the zone. Remember about those rocks? For freeriders, there are plenty of various-sized rocks and cliffs to explore in this terrain. We won’t spoil too much, but there’s plenty to explore back there.

Topping out on the summit of Mt Crested Butte, with the valley in the background. | Photo: Matt McDonald

The Aprés + Where to Eat

Fortunately, Crested Butte has a plethora of aprés options. On mountain, you can enjoy a patio bevvie or snacks at Paradise Cafe at the bottom of the Paradise Lift.

Most of the aprés you can find in the base area. Butte 66 offers a wide range of beers and some snacks that will fill you up after a full ski day. If margaritas are more your vibe, check out Jose’s, which offers a sweet happy hour deal for beers and some primetime queso. On certain afternoons, you’ll even find a DJ out on the patio. If pizza and wings is more your thing, check out Iron Horse Tap. Good old-fashioned aprés snacks.

If you head down to town, there will be plenty of options too. Secret Stash is a pizza spot down on Elk Street with endless pizza options and slushie margaritas (are you catching on the margarita trend?). Catch a high end cocktail at the Dogwood, and Teocali Tamale is a great spot for big “bang for the buck” meal for lunch or dinner.

Matt enjoys a frozen margarita, and Justin enjoys his normal one.

Stocking your lodging for an extended trip? Clark’s Market in town will have all the necessities (and then some). If you’re staying up on Mt Crested Butte, the explicit The Store provides snacks and beverages and is a short walk away from the slopes.

For breakfast? The iconic Butte Bagels, a favorite for locals and tourists alike year round.

Where to Stay

While the town of Crested Butte is relatively small, the transportation options allow you plenty of lodging options throughout the Gunnison Valley. The Gunnison Valley RTA offers rapid transit from Gunnison and back, along with stops along the valley. Even if you’re staying in CB South area, you can catch a ride. During peak times, you’ll get a bus every 20 minutes. Staying Gunnison gives you some additional lodging options, along with the conveniences of a more major town (although, it’s still Gunnison, so you’re not really in a city).

Another sensible option is staying in Mt Crested Butte. Your restaurant options are more limited, but the two municipalities run a free shuttle that you can catch every 15 minutes between the base area and right downtown. So staying up late in town and getting up to Mt Crested Butte isn’t a problem (especially for the brave willing to walk back up). Staying in Mt Crested Butte will give you closer access to the ski hill in the morning.

Of course, staying in town will give you the greatest chance to soak up what Crested Butte has to offer. Getting up to the slopes is easy with a car up to paid or free parking, or better yet, take the free bus!

It takes a minute to get there, but the good things always take a little work to get to, right? Crested Butte holds a special place in our hearts for how special it is for skiers. T-bars, steep skiing, patio hangs, and small ski town vibes all keep Crested Butte summing up what skiing is all about.

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