Crested Butte
Often called the last great Colorado ski town, Crested Butte is home to the yogis, freaks, dropouts, intellectuals, athletes, diehards, and free spirits who used to inhabit most of the state's mountain communities-it has a pride, resourcefulness, and funk that comes across as soon as you roll down Elk Avenue or click into your skis to traverse to the Extreme Limits. The whole town is a National Historic District, though some of the charmingly dilapidated buildings now house pottery studios and art galleries rather than saloons and houses of ill repute. Tucked in the midst of four drop-dead-gorgeous wilderness areas- the Raggeds, Maroon Bells, West Elks, and Collegiate Peaks-Crested Butte is also one of the most scenic towns in Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory has identified more than 600 species of wildflower that call this area home. At times, the wide valley feels like the end of the world. But show up during a pagan festival, a costume-required telemark ski race, or a mushroom festival and you'll get just how warm the isolation can feel.
The first whites to explore the valley were beaver trappers. Surveyors were right on their heels, followed by miners in search of gold and silver, and English, Irish, Scottish, German, Greek, Hispanic, and Croatian laborers who toiled for mine bosses. The miners found some precious metal-but what really sustained Crested Butte, until the 19503, was coal. Colorado Fuel and Iron, owned by John D. Rockefeller, discovered black gold in 1879; the town was incorporated in 1880? Howard F. Smith, a partner at a smelting company in Leadville, became the first mayor shortly thereafter. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad arrived in 1881. That's when the population peaked at 1,500 (which is about what it is today), with a dozen saloons, five hotels, and a phone line to Gunnison, 3o miles away. At one point, it had a larger Slavic population than Denver.
When the demand for coal gradually decreased, so did the size of CB-and its bust was sealed when the Big Mine, the third largest in Colorado, closed down. The railroad tracks were removed. The high school closed. The population fizzled to 200.
It's hard to say whether it was the hippies or the ski area that rejuvenated Crested Butte - but it avoided the fate of dozens of ghost towns in the area (see page 116), thanks to the rowdy, ttteep, technical skiing at Mount Crested Butte (the official name of the ski hill, with its iiccompanying condo complexes and conference centers, 3 miles up the road) and the some-times freaky, often hardy, always liberal, totally inclusive personality of the town. There are still locals who remember riding horses to school and watching the policemen take LSD (and while neither of these things probably happen anymore, the afterglow of both remain). CB isn't a particularly affluent place, but it's slowly evolving like every other mountain town: new ownership, a refurbished base village, huge second homes, yuppies, slick night spots, and big hotels. Mount Crested Butte is growing steadily-and casting a spit-shined shadow over the valley below, thanks to the beginnings of a five-year, $200-million facelift. That said, the whole area still lacks the flash of Aspen and Telluride, the crowds of Vail and Breckenridge, and the cow-town character of Steamboat. Does that make it the last great Colorado ski town? The jury is out-but it is, without doubt, the most genuine.
The first whites to explore the valley were beaver trappers. Surveyors were right on their heels, followed by miners in search of gold and silver, and English, Irish, Scottish, German, Greek, Hispanic, and Croatian laborers who toiled for mine bosses. The miners found some precious metal-but what really sustained Crested Butte, until the 19503, was coal. Colorado Fuel and Iron, owned by John D. Rockefeller, discovered black gold in 1879; the town was incorporated in 1880? Howard F. Smith, a partner at a smelting company in Leadville, became the first mayor shortly thereafter. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad arrived in 1881. That's when the population peaked at 1,500 (which is about what it is today), with a dozen saloons, five hotels, and a phone line to Gunnison, 3o miles away. At one point, it had a larger Slavic population than Denver.
When the demand for coal gradually decreased, so did the size of CB-and its bust was sealed when the Big Mine, the third largest in Colorado, closed down. The railroad tracks were removed. The high school closed. The population fizzled to 200.
It's hard to say whether it was the hippies or the ski area that rejuvenated Crested Butte - but it avoided the fate of dozens of ghost towns in the area (see page 116), thanks to the rowdy, ttteep, technical skiing at Mount Crested Butte (the official name of the ski hill, with its iiccompanying condo complexes and conference centers, 3 miles up the road) and the some-times freaky, often hardy, always liberal, totally inclusive personality of the town. There are still locals who remember riding horses to school and watching the policemen take LSD (and while neither of these things probably happen anymore, the afterglow of both remain). CB isn't a particularly affluent place, but it's slowly evolving like every other mountain town: new ownership, a refurbished base village, huge second homes, yuppies, slick night spots, and big hotels. Mount Crested Butte is growing steadily-and casting a spit-shined shadow over the valley below, thanks to the beginnings of a five-year, $200-million facelift. That said, the whole area still lacks the flash of Aspen and Telluride, the crowds of Vail and Breckenridge, and the cow-town character of Steamboat. Does that make it the last great Colorado ski town? The jury is out-but it is, without doubt, the most genuine.
Ski Areas
