Apparently all you need in Colorado is a horse, a cowboy hat, and an elk skin coat with beaver pelt collar that, just like its owner, gets better with age.
The owner is Ray, an eighty year old at the helm of a beat up old truck heading towards a snow covered ranch 45 minutes from Steamboat Colorado and he’s taking me with him to ride some wild horses. Ok, they’re not that wild, more sedan than F1 but they’re the epitomy of Wild West ranch life and I’m taking it.
The ranch life is etched on Ray’s weather beaten face that’s seen so many best-days-ever he’s no doubt lost count. And, like everyone else in Colorado, he has ties to the ski world that go back generations. His brother was an original Steamboat ski patroller and qualified for the 1956 Cortina Olympics.
Colorado ski towns are filled with folks like Ray, all with a story that’s helped build the unique mountain culture found in these Rocky Mountains. From the service men of the 10th Mountain Division who inspired the local whiskey distillery in Vail to Matt who heads up the remote backcountry lodge Alta Observatory in the woods near Telluride. You’ll know them all by first name before you leave.
Where else than Colorado can you ski with mountain legends (think Chris Davenport, Wendy Fisher and Gus Kenworthy), witness grown assed men in chaps on skis towed by stallions down the Main Street (hello Silverton and Steamboat), dine on Michelin fare, snow mobile to ghost towns and sit at bars frequented by Hunter S. Thompson and friends.
Here’s six Colorado ski towns we love (and then some).
Aspen
The creme-de-la-creme of original ski towns, Aspen is known for glamour but there is so much more to this original historic mining town turned arts and adventure Mecca. From the best consignment stores in the land (all the fancy folk sell off their worn once Gucci gear) to high end shopping intermingled with unique local goods (Kemo Sabe for cowboy boots and hats) and the architecturally magnificent Aspen Art Museum (lose yourself in here for days).
Add the annual Aspen Ideas Festival and Aspen Centre for Environmental Services in downtown Hallam Lake and you know this town delivers more than just the glitz. With four mountain ski resorts and home to both X Games and FIS World Cup events, one week will hardly touch the sides.
Steamboat
Who doesn’t love a town that has Champagne Powder™️ and Ray the ranchman? But Steamboat Springs is more than “just” a skiing cowboy town (though you will find cool vintage cowboy boots here if you’re looking), it’s filled with history. Take a tour of the Tread of Pioneers Museum to discover the Winter Olympic history of which the town is so proud. Did we mention Howelsen Hill, a 40 acre ski resort owned and operated by the town? We should have because it’s produced 89 Olympians.
When your legs are shot from skiing and riding Steamboat Mountain’s 3700 acres you can soak your muscles in nearby Strawberry Park natural hot springs or if you visit in February take part in the Winter Carnival theme parties.
Crested Butte
The mountain may be known for big freeride terrain or “the untamed destination at the end of the road” but it’s the community that has so many skiers and boarders returning. This small town is big on laid back vibes, friendly smiles and open arms, like Byron Bay in its hay day. The Main St and side streets are all dotted with multi coloured facades to bring joy to the beholder. The kind of town where creative outdoor entrepreneurs thrive – there’s a female founded rum distillery, a boutique cat skiing operation and the First Ascent Coffee local grind brand.
You won’t find designer stores here but you will find a town committed to keeping it free from franchises and chainstores, some just call that “keeping it real.”
Vail
The big Kahuna of skiing, Vail sits a mere two hours from Denver and boasts 5300 acres of skiable terrain serviced by a cute as a button purpose built pedestrian only village with two outdoor ice rinks for skating at dusk with rink side hot chocolate. Expect the likes of the Four Seasons, The Hythe and Grand Hyatt and a thriving dining scene both on and off the mountain. Try wine tasting at Root & Flower and whiskey tasting at 10th Mountain or spend your hours taking on the Minturn Mile (an off piste route from Vail to Minturn).
You’ll find the swanky ski village of Beaver Creek 20 minutes down the road for uber grooming, hot complimentary cookies and heated escalators to take you to the slopes. Oh, and a ski in Bloody Mary bar at the Ritz Carlton.
Telluride
There’s one road into Telluride, and the same road out where you’ll be captivated by the box canyon that houses snow covered skyward peaks that go forever. If the old west style Main St filled with old school saloons and an historical theatre doesn’t lure you, then the Mountain Village linked to downtown by a free gondola will.
This is the kind of town where people come for a season and stay for years. There’s a “free box” where locals leave their “pay it forward” goods, a library that lends out all sorts of joy from GoPros to karaoke machines, a bio-fuel driven bus and a thriving year round festival program that can keep you entertained across four seasons. Oh, and the ski “hill” is the kind that will bring you to your knees, in a good way, with steeps and deeps and hike-to stairways to access formidable terrain.
Breckenridge
Breckenridge’s Five Peaks set the backdrop scene for the “town of Breck”, the sweetest Victorian town housing multi coloured facades that open into distilleries, bars, restaurants, cafes and shops that line the Main Street. There’s over 200 shops and services to keep you entertained when you’re done schussing the slopes. This 150 year old town started as a mining enclave during the Gold Rush in the 1800s and you can take a ghost town tour or mining tour still today.
If you’re in town in December then enjoy the Ullr Festival filled with Viking headwater, street parades and the longest World Record shot ski or make a sacrifice to Isak, the permanent artwork in the shape of a fifteen foot Troll from scrap wood by Danish artist Thomas Rambo.
*article feature image – Breckenridge, photo supplied
