Telluride Ski Resort is a ski resort located in Mountain Village , southwest Colorado , United States .
30-655: The resort is located in the northwestern San Juan Mountains , part of the Rocky Mountains , and is home to the highest concentration of 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks in North America. Telluride Ski Resort has over 2,000 skiable acres and spans between the historic town of Telluride, Colorado , and the modern alpine community of Mountain Village, Colorado . Known for its advanced terrain, Telluride also has over 50% beginner and intermediate runs. Joe Zoline ,
60-578: A businessman, bought two ranches – Adam's Ranch and Gorrono Ranch – located on the mountain in 1968. Zoline hired Emile Allais, a French Olympic skier , to help consult on the design and layout of the mountain, and environmental planners. The Ski Area started in 1970–71. Five lifts were constructed, and the Telluride Ski School was founded in conjunction with the mountain's opening. The Telluride Ski Resort officially opened on December 22, 1972. Two Colorado Natives, Ron Allred and Jim Wells of
90-575: A long-distance hiking trail follows the crest of the San Juan Mountains. The Weminuche Wilderness , Colorado's largest wilderness area, with an area of 499,771 acres (202,250 ha) is in the San Juans. The San Juan Mountains are also distinctive for their high altitude plateaus and peaks. As a result, facilities in the towns and cities of the region are among the highest in the nation. Telluride Airport , at an elevation of 9,070 feet,
120-557: A real estate investor from Newport Beach, California , who remains the current owner today. The 2004/2005 winter saw the opening of Mountain Quail with a snowboarding program. The high-altitude private home, Tempter House, was purchased by the resort in 2006. Tempter House is currently a rental. In winter 2007–2008, they opened the Black Iron Bowl. Eight new runs and 1,100 feet of vertical were opened for public access adjacent to
150-522: Is a small ski area 26 miles north of Durango. There is also skiing on Wolf Creek Pass at the Wolf Creek ski area . Recently Silverton Mountain ski area has begun operation near Silverton. The range is also a popular destination for endurance sports like trail running and mountain biking; Silverton is home to the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run one of the most difficult and technical ultra-marathons in
180-474: Is at work while the mountains are being uplifted until the mountains are reduced to low hills and plains. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example. As the uplift was occurring some 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of mostly Mesozoic sedimentary strata were removed by erosion over the core of the mountain range and spread as sand and clays across the Great Plains to
210-503: Is host to multiple events and live music in addition to conferences. Allred's, the resort's flagship restaurant, opened its doors in 2000. By March 2001, Morita had acquired 100 percent of the Telluride Ski and Golf Company (TSG). The resort added 733 acres of beginner, intermediate, and expert terrain with the opening of Prospect Bowl between 2000 and 2002. In February 2004, the resort transferred its ownership to Chuck Horning,
240-516: Is popular on the old trails which linked the historic mining camps, including the notorious Black Bear Road . Visiting old ghost towns is popular, as is wilderness trekking and mountain climbing . Many of the old mining camps are popular sites of summer homes . Though the San Juans are extremely steep and receive much snow, so far only Telluride has made the transition to a major ski resort . Purgatory Resort , once known as Durango Mountain Resort,
270-553: Is the highest in the United States with regularly scheduled commercial service. Human history at the eastern edge of the San Juan Mountains dates back thousands of years. Smithsonian archaeologists have identified paleo-Indian sites that are about 5,000 years old, located near Great Sand Dunes National Park and at the northern edge of the San Luis Valley, close to Poncha Pass. This suggests that early human presence in
300-865: The Alpide belt . The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera , the Aleutian Range , on through Kamchatka Peninsula , Japan , Taiwan , the Philippines , Papua New Guinea , to New Zealand . The Andes is 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi) long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia , from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to
330-551: The Annamite Range . If the definition of a mountain range is stretched to include underwater mountains, then the Ocean Ridge forms the longest continuous mountain system on Earth, with a length of 65,000 kilometres (40,400 mi). The position of mountain ranges influences climate, such as rain or snow. When air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools, producing orographic precipitation (rain or snow). As
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#1732791666068360-804: The Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Alborz , Caucasus , and the Alps . The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest , which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high. Mountain ranges outside these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera , Appalachians , Great Dividing Range , East Siberians , Altais , Scandinavians , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhyas , Byrrangas , and
390-666: The Idarado Mine on Red Mountain Pass , which closed in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird and Smuggler Union mines , both located between Telluride and Ouray. The Summitville mine was the scene of a major environmental disaster in the 1990s when the liner of a cyanide -laced tailing pond began leaking heavily. Summitville is in the Summitville caldera , one of many extinct volcanoes making up
420-532: The San Juan volcanic field . One, La Garita Caldera , is 35 miles (56 km) in diameter. Large beds of lava , some extending under the floor of the San Luis Valley , are characteristic of the eastern slope of the San Juans. Tourism is a major part of the regional economy, with the narrow gauge railway between Durango and Silverton being an attraction mostly in the summer and fall. Off-roading
450-468: The gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps , include Creede , Lake City , Silverton , Ouray , and Telluride . Large scale mining has ended in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large-scale mines were the Sunnyside Mine near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century, and
480-648: The Benchmark Corporation in Avon , Colorado, purchased the ski area from Joe Zoline in 1978. That year, Annie Savath was named Director of The Telluride Ski School. Allred and Wells later created the Gondola and Chondola (public transportation systems) and the Prospect Bowl. In the 1981–82 ski season, Telluride created the first snowmaking system. Growth in the region between 1984 and 1986 included
510-671: The Prospect Bowl. Palmyra Peak and the Gold Hill Chutes 1 & 6–10 opened to the public for the first time in January 2008. The following winter, Telluride Ski and Golf continued their terrain expansion with the opening of Revelation Bowl, located on a northeastern aspect that naturally gathers huge amounts of snow and is directly off the back side of Gold Hill. In winter 2009, Telluride Ski Resort announced Gold Hill Chutes 2–5 would open for full public access to Gold Hill Chutes 1–10. Alpino Vino opened this season. This eatery sits on
540-591: The See Forever Run at 11,966 feet. In the spring of 2013, Telluride Ski & Golf purchased the luxury boutique hotel The Inn at Lost Creek. In July 2015, Telluride Ski and Golf purchased all of the retail space (73,000+ square feet) within the Peaks Resort and Spa and assumed the management of hotel operations and the HOA. The Peaks Resort and Spa is a ski-in/ski-out, full-service hotel located adjacent to
570-527: The Telluride Ski & Golf Club. The mountain itself covers the face facing the town of Telluride as well as goes over onto the other side (Revelation Bowl). Telluride has a total of 120 runs and 2,000+ acres (810+ hectares) of skiable terrain. 23% of Telluride's runs are ranked at Beginner, 36% Intermediate and 41% Advanced / Expert. Telluride on average receives over 300 inches (789 cm) of snow each winter season. Telluride Ski has increased its skiing area. These have been: The Prospect Bowl almost doubled
600-498: The Telluride Ski Area into the Telluride Ski & Golf Company. In 1994, the resort built new corporate offices, various facilities for mountain operations, golf, and skiers services, and Big Billie's, a restaurant and 150-unit employee housing complex at the base of Chondola Lift 1. The free pedestrian gondola opened on December 20, 1996. The Telluride Conference Center is under the management of Telluride Ski and Golf and
630-627: The air descends on the leeward side, it warms again (following the adiabatic lapse rate ) and is drier, having been stripped of much of its moisture. Often, a rain shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. As a consequence, large mountain ranges, such as the Andes, compartmentalize continents into distinct climate regions . Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to erosional forces which work to tear them down. The basins adjacent to an eroding mountain range are then filled with sediments that are buried and turned into sedimentary rock . Erosion
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#1732791666068660-521: The area of skiable terrain and opened in 2002. For the 2007–08 ski season, the resort opened the Black Iron Bowl. The Telluride ski resort in the summer of 2008 installed a fixed grip quad. San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico . The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt ) and figured in
690-485: The east. This mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift. The removal of such a mass from the core of the range most likely caused further uplift as the region adjusted isostatically in response to the removed weight. Rivers are traditionally believed to be the principal cause of mountain range erosion, by cutting into bedrock and transporting sediment. Computer simulation has shown that as mountain belts change from tectonically active to inactive,
720-585: The opening of the Telluride Regional Airport (TEX) and the start of construction on the Mountain Village. The ski run "The Plunge" was officially created along with "Kant-Mak-M" and "Mammoth", on the front face. "Pick-N-Gad" and "O'Reilly's" were cut. Mountain Village, Colorado , was founded in 1987 and incorporated in 1995 as a home rule municipality. The addition of an 18-hole golf course in Mountain Village in 1992 transformed
750-551: The power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel , Ouray , and San Juan counties. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike. Mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arisen from
780-627: The rate of erosion drops because there are fewer abrasive particles in the water and fewer landslides. Mountains on other planets and natural satellites of the Solar System, including the Moon , are often isolated and formed mainly by processes such as impacts, though there are examples of mountain ranges (or "Montes") somewhat similar to those on Earth. Saturn 's moon Titan and Pluto , in particular, exhibit large mountain ranges in chains composed mainly of ices rather than rock. Examples include
810-674: The region dates back to ancient times, long before the establishment of modern landmarks. Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day , which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters . The new association consolidated
840-502: The same cause, usually an orogeny . Mountain ranges are formed by a variety of geological processes, but most of the significant ones on Earth are the result of plate tectonics . Mountain ranges are also found on many planetary mass objects in the Solar System and are likely a feature of most terrestrial planets . Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys . Individual mountains within
870-531: The same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology . They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes , for example thrust sheets , uplifted blocks , fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types . Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or
900-462: The world. The Rio Grande drains the east side of the range. The other side of the San Juans, the western slope of the continental divide , is drained by tributaries of the San Juan , Dolores and Gunnison rivers, which all flow into the Colorado River . The San Juan and Uncompahgre National Forests cover a large portion of the San Juan Mountains. The Continental Divide Trail ,
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