# Telluride vs Winter Park



## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

I'm heading West this winter and have been looking at prices for pretty much everything in Colorado. Originally was thinking Snowmass, but that might have to wait another year. Anyways, Winter Park is going to be a much cheaper route, since I'll be flying into Denver from Ohio and taking a shuttle there, but I don't know much about it (looks smaller?). Telluride is more $1500 or so with lodging 4 days and lifts for 3 days, but looks amazing. If I did Telluride I'd be flying into Montrose, if that makes any difference.

I'm not looking to ride much if any park, I do enough of that back home on the "hills". I just want to cruise, long runs, steeps and explore. Don't care about nightlife, this will be my first time at that kind of altitude so I'm not looking to drink much if any due to the dehydration factor.

So what would the plus/minus be between the two besides the obvious price difference? 

Thanks in advance! :thumbsup:


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Teluride is what your describing on tour list of wants. Its one of the steeper places out here. Cool town too and isolated from the brobrah/dudelbrah scene that's closer to Denver


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

WP is almost twice the acreage of Tell and cheaper. Comin' from Ohio....it should be big and steep enough to satisfy! Maybe a little more crowded on wknds and holidays.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Winterpark is the larger resort by far. 1,000 more acres. Snowfall between the two areas is similar with Winterpark just getting a bit more. Relief at Telluride is much steeper and longer. It is the San Juans after all. You can find pockets of steeps at Winterpark. Vasquez Ridge, when open is plenty steep, plus pillow lines, cliff drops, and such are back there. The problem is it's a 30 minute hike out there. The Runaway area, Awe chute, Jeff's chute and others on Mary Jane are steep too, but that stuff gets ski'd off fast. So unless you can nail it right after a storm not so hot. There are some pillow areas inbounds at Mary Jane too that are a ton of fun. Tree riding is some of the best expert trees in the state. Obviously I know the ski area. Finding a lot of the really fun stuff is tough to find though and can be frustrating. The layout is a little weird at times and you can end up walking or pushing if you don't carry your speed in spots. Kind of like everywhere I guess. 

All that said, Winterpark is a complete shit show on weekends. Fairly busy during the week too, it's close to Denver. All of the area close to Denver suffer from this. Telluride is just going to not have nearly as many people. The San Juans are much more scenic too. I would definitely go to T-Ride over Winterpark. The only drawback is that there are no price breaks there. You get full pop on just about everything. This is just how it is at the "destination" resorts versus the day trip spots.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

$1500 is a lot, but if you can swing it, I'd definitely go to T-ride. A Winter Park trip is just easier to put together if you want to do it in the future. T-ride is gonna be more expensive and a bit more of a pain in the ass since it isn't convenient to the Front Range.

I still haven't ridden at T-ride, but it's a stunningly beautiful area. One of my favorite parts of Colorado.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

1500 more for Telluride? Screw that......save some cash or make two trips!


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

Yeah the roundtrip flight to Denver would be around $300, if I fly into Montrose for Telluride is about $670, that's whats killing the price. I'll be going on weekdays. for either.

What month would be best for either? Here, March is usually slush, but I'm guessing its not the same out there? The original plan was mid-feb, but that can be adjusted.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

March is always the safest bet for good snow. It doesn't always work out, but it's the best bet. Usually keeps you out of the brutal cold too.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Thats why I like Jan-Feb. March brings spring breakers.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Not much concern for being inundated by spring breakers in T-ride. Just stay away from Summit/Eagle and you'll miss the majority of the spring break madness. Even at Loveland, I can hardly tell when it's spring break.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

March is by far the best month for snow fall and not so cold temps as linville said. Plus at that time of year everything should be open at the resorts. Given a normal season and all. Spring Breakers would definitely be a presence at Winterpark. During the week though, traffic is much less. 

April can be really good too. Crowds are much less and storms still roll in. When the storms aren't there it's generally sunny and things soften up to nice corn riding. The only draw back is that is the time of year that you get those windy overcast days that just leave frozen crud for a snow sliding surface. This is the only time I don't care to be out riding anywhere. It just sucks.


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## 2hipp4u (Dec 24, 2010)

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Telluride

:thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown: Winterpark


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

linvillegorge said:


> Not much concern for being inundated by spring breakers in T-ride. Just stay away from Summit/Eagle and you'll miss the majority of the spring break madness. Even at Loveland, I can hardly tell when it's spring break.


Thanks, actually just got an offical job offer with my companies office in Westminster, so after this winter trip, and a summer trip to check out the Denver area. Loveland might be a home resort if I decide to make the move.



killclimbz said:


> March is by far the best month for snow fall and not so cold temps as linville said. Plus at that time of year everything should be open at the resorts. Given a normal season and all. Spring Breakers would definitely be a presence at Winterpark. During the week though, traffic is much less.
> 
> April can be really good too. Crowds are much less and storms still roll in. When the storms aren't there it's generally sunny and things soften up to nice corn riding. The only draw back is that is the time of year that you get those windy overcast days that just leave frozen crud for a snow sliding surface. This is the only time I don't care to be out riding anywhere. It just sucks.


Thanks for all the detailed info. Right now I'm thinking Telluride. Was watching some top to bottom vids on youtube an the view is epic, especially looking towards the Revelation bowl Been trying to find a cheaper flight out there, that's what's driving me crazy is the $641.00 price tag. Found a good deal on a room at the base of the mountain though.

Ok one last question: Altitude. For someone that's never been above 4,000 that is (other than with flights and cabin pressure). I know many of you have lived out there long enough it's a non-issue. Other than drinking lots of water and staying in shape before I go, is there anything else a person can do to better prepare themselves for it? I'm planning on bringing a box of Clif Bars or something to snack on while on the mountain, and due to flight times I'll be at the hotel for that evening until getting on the mountain the next day. This trip is to celebrate 20 years of standing sideways, so just want to make it as enjoyable as possible.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Honestly, there's just no way to tell. Some people are more sensitive to altitude than others. The only thing you can really do is arrive in good shape and stay hydrated. The rest is up to nature. It never really bothered me, but some of my buddies who were in better shape than me struggled. Only one way to find out...


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Stay hydrated, don't skip meals, snack through out the day. Also, take notice if you start to feel signs of altitude sickness. For most, it'll probably be higher up on the mountain. Easy treatment, get lower down on the mountain. It'll probably only be an issue for the first day or two if at all.


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

Thanks everyone, really appreciate all the info! Basically decided on T-Ride now, looks like it's going to be around the first week of March :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## unfmoose (Jun 23, 2009)

Keep checking airline prices. Maybe it's the fact you are flying in from Ohio, but I have never paid more the $450 for a plane ticket to anywhere I have gone in the U.S. our of Montrose. Although, my sister and her family have been looking at coming out after Christmas, and tickets are much higher than normal for then too. Winter is usually cheaper because we have more carriers. I think they are supposed to announce another one here in the next couple of weeks.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

To help with altitude, start taking a baby aspirin about 6 days before you come. It will thin your blood a bit, altitude makes it thicker. Try to eat more garlic the week or two before and put lemon inyour water, both are natural blood pressure droppers. Thick blood and higher blood pressure at altitude is really what makes you miserable. Blood can't absorb enough o2 and combine that with less o2.... Blood pressure naturally raises for the first 2-4 weeks at altitude because of the decreased pressure on your vessels as well as increased fluid in them from expansion..

Another think to do is avoid excess carbonated drinks and excessive carbs cause they expand twice as much and can give you intestinal and stomach cramps from gas!


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## jpb3 (Nov 29, 2009)

Deviant said:


> Been trying to find a cheaper flight out there, that's what's driving me crazy is the $641.00 price tag.


Have you looked into flying into Durango? Its only another hour in the car (1.5 Vs. 2.5) and believe me, if you've never been through that part of the country before you won't mind another hour of scenery, at all.

Airfare is all over the place, but in my experience Durango is usually cheaper to get into than Montrose. At least on United.

Bonus is if you are planning a long stay you could also split your time up and head over to Wolf Creek, which I highly recommend. Durango is pretty much in the middle of the two.

I use to go to Summit Co. quite a bit while working out of our Denver office, but anymore I just always end up at Loveland when in that area as there seems to be such a better vibe there compared to the mega resorts like Breck/Copper/Winterpark etc.. If planning a destination type trip I would pretty much go anywhere but Summit Co. Too many day trippers from Denver and the weekends are pretty much always a shitshow, IMO.

You go to SW CO your going to have a blast.


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

My bad I didn't see these replies until today.

First regarding the altitude, recently talked to a friend of mine who said it didn't really bother him there, and granted he's from OH as well. I've also read that Ginko Beloba (although not proven) possibly helps.

Regarding the flights. Durango is cheaper by almost 100 bucks. The only problem with that is the shuttle (Telluride Express) that runs to Telluride has a 4 adult minimum, so as it stands with my buddy and myself it wouldn't really save any cash.

The price to fly into Montrose vs Telluride airport is about the same (on weekdays about $550 from cheapoair), but I've heard that the Telluride airport is more prone to delays and cancellations due to storms. The 2 hotels I've been looking at in Telluride both say that there's no one at the check-in office after 5 or 6, so a delay could really screw things up.


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

Just wanted to update this and say thanks to everyone that answered my "tourist questions". My buddy and I booked a week in Telluride from March 2nd to 8th and I can't tell you how stoked I am to go. Decided to fly into Montrose and just enjoy the scenery on the drive to Telluride with a shuttle.

We won't be riding the first day we get in, so that should help a little with not going any higher on the mountain, but we'll have 5 days of riding time during the weekdays  I'm not sure I'll even need it, but planning on seeing a doc and possibly get Diamox to help with the altitude.

Thanks again!


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Breckenridge wrecked most of our crew. Felt bad the first day. Not too bad the second day. My wife couldn't even eat while up there and thought she had food poisoning (thought it was bad chili from Loveland lol!).

So yes, bring it just in case. Better to have, and not need, than vice versa.


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