Colorado Post-Telluride Trip (Suggestions wanted!)

[TonyPlush]

Hey folks,

I could use some help with my early April 2024 itinerary. Here's what I have so far:

22-Mar​	Friday	Fly to SLC
23-Mar​	Saturday	Ski Park City
24-Mar​	Sunday	Ski Park City
25-Mar​	Monday	Ski Park City in the AM, fly home in the PM
26-Mar​	Tuesday	Fly home to Montrose in the AM
27-Mar​	Wednesday	Ski Telluride
28-Mar​	Thursday	Ski Telluride
29-Mar​	Friday	Ski Telluride
30-Mar​	Saturday	From from Montrose to Home

Now, since I'm on sabbatical from work for the next few months, I think I should extend the trip longer. Plus, I realized that with Southwest airlines's free change policies, I could save $300+ if switched my return flight from Montrose to Denver. So, I'm considering the below itinerary instead:

22-Mar​	Friday	Fly to SLC
23-Mar​	Saturday	Ski Park City
24-Mar​	Sunday	Ski Park City
25-Mar​	Monday	Ski AM Park City, Fly Home at 4:00 PM
26-Mar​	Tuesday	Fly to MTJ at 7:20 AM
27-Mar​	Wednesday	Ski Telluride
28-Mar​	Thursday	Ski Telluride
29-Mar​	Friday	Ski Telluride
30-Mar​	Saturday	Shuttle to MTJ. Pick up rental car at 11:00 AM. Drive 5 hours to Taos, New Mexico
31-Mar​	Sunday	Ski Taos
1-Apr​	Monday	Ski Taos
2-Apr​	Tuesday	Ski Taos, Drive 5 hours to Denver. Stay near airport
3-Apr​	Wednesday	Fly DEN to home in the AM

Thoughts on this?

Other options I considered instead of Taos:

• Crested Butte: This has the added benefit of 1 free day on my pass, but that's a trap, since hotels are $800+ for the days in Crested Butte vs. $400 in Taos.
• Wolf Creek: Somewhere I've always wanted to go that's otherwise tough to get to. Stopping here on the way to Taos would add just 1 hour of total drive time, but would add more shuffling-around to the itinerary.
• Monarch Mountain: I enjoy smaller, overlooked places, but don't think I've ever been anywhere quite this small. Would be a good detour on the way back from Crested Butte to Denver airport.
• Sunlight: Same as above. Higher priority to visit than Monarch, but this would probably mean axe'ing Crested Butte and Taos.
• Araphaoe Basin and/or Loveland: I was shocked how expensive these lift tickets are, particularly at Loveland ($140+ per day vs. $100 per day at Taos). Not super excited about these since I used to live in Denver, somehow making these locations feel less exotic.

Getting an extra day by flying home Thursday, April 4th is also an option. To be honest though, I'm not sure my flatlander legs can take that many ski days! (Good problem to have!)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jerez]

You could ski Purgatory and fly out of Durango. 2.5 hour drive from T-Ride down the spectacular Delores River Valley. Durango airport very close. If flights from Durango are an issue just fly back out of Montrose.

I don’t believe Goggle maps that Taos is only 5 hours from Telluride. But if you are going to ski Taos, fly out of Albuquerque. Less than 3 hours instead of 6 plus.

Or pass Purgatory and drive to Pagosa Springs an additional hour and change and ski Wolf Creek. Continue over the pass to stay the night in South Fork and fly from Colorado Springs 3.5 hours or go back to Pagosa and fly out of ABQ. About the same distance.

 

[fatbob]

Where's home and why are you wasting time flying there for a very flying visit?( accept there might be some vital family reason) SLC to Montrose is not much more than a half day's drive.

Stay in Gunnison and save lots over Crested Butte.

 

[TonyPlush]

Where's home and why are you wasting time flying there for a very flying visit?( accept there might be some vital family reason) SLC to Montrose is not much more than a half day's drive.

Stay in Gunnison and save lots over Crested Butte.

Home is MSP.

I agree the back and forth flying is silly, but it saves us over $500. Long story: my wife and I got a last minute invite to ski with friends in Park City. Flight prices were insane, but we had a companion pass about to expire, so adding me was free. The alternative would have been me booking a one way flight from MSP to SLC ($400) plus a rental car/gas from SLC to MTJ ($100+).

 

[TonyPlush]

You could ski Purgatory and fly out of Durango. 2.5 hour drive from T-Ride down the spectacular Delores River Valley. Durango airport very close. If flights from Durango are an issue just fly back out of Montrose.

I don’t believe Goggle maps that Taos is only 5 hours from Telluride. But if you are going to ski Taos, fly out of Albuquerque. Less than 3 hours instead of 6 plus.

Or pass Purgatory and drive to Pagosa Springs an additional hour and change and ski Wolf Creek. Continue over the pass to stay the night in South Fork and fly from Colorado Springs 3.5 hours or go back to Pagosa and fly out of ABQ. About the same distance.

The issue I’m running into is that DEN to MSP is a direct 2 hour flight and currently ~$80. Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Durango, etc. all involve connections for 4-6 hours of travel time and a couple hundred more bucks. At that rate, driving and watching the Colorado scenery sounds nicer.

 

[SlideWright]

Your itinerary is exhausting. How much flexibility and ’game time‘ decision making do you have?

If you haven’t yet, download the OpenSnow app and consider off days on the way to and in Telluride and beyond. The scenery is outstanding, low key vibe and no crowds. I was there yesterday With basically ski onto the lift non-stoppers. Here’s a shot my nephew took at the top of Milk Run. The corn was sweet:


There are side trip options and the Dolores valley drive was awesome with the fresh snow.



The Million Dollar highway from Ouray, Silverton, Purgatory and to Durango is even better. There’s hot springs in Ridgway & Ouray.

Taos has the same base and similar terrain to Telluride, cool town and vibe. Sant Fe might be worth a visit as well. The next storm 3/24-27 could bring 2‘ to both. Same for Monarch and Wolfie. The San Juan’s and Sangre de Cristo’s are really special in the spring with fresh snow…..and year round.

 

[Jerez]

^^^^
That is Photo of the Day worthy.

 

[Jwrags]

Have you checked the price of a one way rental? That can sometimes negate all flight savings.

 

[TonyPlush]

Your itinerary is exhausting. How much flexibility and ’game time‘ decision making do you have?

If you haven’t yet, download the OpenSnow app and consider off days on the way to and in Telluride and beyond. The scenery is outstanding, low key vibe and no crowds. I was there yesterday With basically ski onto the lift non-stoppers. Here’s a shot my nephew took at the top of Milk Run. The corn was sweet:


There are side trip options and the Dolores valley drive was awesome with the fresh snow.

View attachment 230317

The Million Dollar highway from Ouray, Silverton, Purgatory and to Durango is even better. There’s hot springs in Ridgway & Ouray.

Taos has the same base and similar terrain to Telluride, cool town and vibe. Sant Fe might be worth a visit as well. The next storm 3/24-27 could bring 2‘ to both. Same for Monarch and Wolfie. The San Juan’s and Sangre de Cristo’s are really special in the spring with fresh snow…..and year round.

The itinerary through March 30 is not flexible because of pre-arranged schedules of friends.

It sounds like you’re suggesting I slow travel from Telluride to Taos after 3/30, with possible stops at Purgatory and Wolf Creek, weather pending.

This is certainly possible, although separately, I was considering a mid-April trip to the Alps. So not sure exactly how late I should stay in S.W. Colorado.

Have you checked the price of a one way rental? That can sometimes negate all flight savings.

Yes, I was shocked that a one way rental from MTJ to DEN was slightly cheaper than returning to MTJ, which is what kicked off this whole last minute change of plans.

 

[pipestem]

I found airbnb in Crested Butte on mountain to be very reasonable and highly encourage that stop.

 

[Jerez]

I would eliminate Taos.. April is a dice roll.. they close April 7th.

Since the departure from DIA is mandatory, the world is your oyster. Many areas will be about the same amount of driving.

A-Basin from T-Ride 5 plus hours then a quicker drive to DIA.

Silverton, Wolf Creek, Monarch all sort of on the way. Summit County as well Cooper, Copper, Keystone, Breckenridge, Loveland, ABasin.

So don't decide now. Look at weather and conditions when you are in Telluride and then decide from there.

Considering time of year and altitude, Breck or ABasin may have the best chance at winter snow.

 

[SlideWright]

There's also Powderhorn on the Grand Mesa for the small area option. Plus Aspen direction over McClure from Delta, north of Montrose. Then I-70 to Beaver Creek, Vail, Copper, etc.

 

[TonyPlush]

I would eliminate Taos.. April is a dice roll.. they close April 7th.

Interesting. I always heard Taos' 9,000 ft.+ base and nearly 100% north facing terrain was one of the surest best for April skiing?

 

[Nathanvg]

Interesting. I always heard Taos' 9,000 ft.+ base and nearly 100% north facing terrain was one of the surest best for April skiing?

I've skied Taos in late March, and it's a good time to visit. 9k base is helpful but it's a ways south so slushy conditions down low are likely but it still skis well.

As far as other places, just about any major ski area should still be doing well. Aspen is great that time of year but pricey. I know you mentioned lodging costs in Crested Butte but you should be able to find something more reasonable with more searching. Crested Butte would be closer and is a great mountain for expert skiers. I'd pass on Wolf Creek late season (wet unconsolidated snow on low angles isn't great) Monarch is a fun smaller area and at a high elevation. Not much expert stuff but a good amount of everything else.

 

[dbostedo]

Interesting. I always heard Taos' 9,000 ft.+ base and nearly 100% north facing terrain was one of the surest best for April skiing?

Not sure where you heard that, as they usually close the second Sunday in April, which some years is pretty early. They are one of those places that closes because of schedule/interest, not snow, as I understand it. But there's not much of April to ski it.

 

[KingGrump]

Taos is closing on 4/7/24.

Taos is skiing really well today. No rocks in the troughs of bump runs. It's full on winter up at the Peak. None of the bump runs are close to slushy. Lower groomers are solid. Some of the cat track are soft. Not a bad thing.

This is Opensnow forecast for this week & next. I think you'll be OK.

 

[TonyPlush]

Thanks for the info everyone. Prices started creeping up, so I just booked my rental car and return flight.

I decided to skip the AM Wednesday flight and go with a late 9:00 PM flight instead. This gives me some flexibility to ski Wednesday morning, if my legs aren't completely fried yet.

Here's the updated itinerary:

22-Mar	Friday	Fly to SLC
23-Mar	Saturday	Ski Park City
24-Mar	Sunday	Ski Park City
25-Mar	Monday	Ski AM Park City, Fly Home at 4:00 PM
26-Mar	Tuesday	Fly to MTJ at 7:20 AM
27-Mar	Wednesday	Ski Telluride
28-Mar	Thursday	Ski Telluride
29-Mar	Friday	Ski Telluride
30-Mar	Saturday	Shuttle to MTJ. *Update* Rental car pickup confirmed at 10 AM
31-Mar	Sunday	*UPDATE* Ski TBD
1-Apr	Monday	*UPDATE* Ski TBD and/or rest day
2-Apr	Tuesday	*UPDATE* Ski TBD and/or rest day
3-Apr	Wednesday	*UPDATE* Leisurely drive day OR full ski day. DEN to MSP confirmed at 9:00 PM

Current plan is to watch the weather forecasts and ski wherever looks best. The goal is flexibility, but I do have some tempting options:

• The drive to Taos looks very doable considering I know have ~5 days to work with. I'm interested in what I've heard are unique vibes at a place that's otherwise difficult to reach from Minnesota.
• I'll also have one day left on my Epic Pass, if I wanted to hit Crested Butte. (I was able to find more affordable logging using the tips in this thread, namely Airbnb in C.B. and/or staying out in Gunnison, if needed.)
• I-70 route back is always an option, but I don't have a huge desire for the usual Vail/BC/Copper/Breck/Keystone. I'd like to make it back to A-Basin, but I'd rank it lower priority than the other choices. Could be a good way to kill Wednesday morning if my legs are up for it though.

Definitely not the most relaxing vacation, but I'm on sabbatical from work, so some chaos seems worth maximizing the experience.