Visiting Crested Butte

I've been there a few times over the past couple years.

There is an excellent French restaurant in town, but the name is escaping me. It was near a place to get groceries, and I recall taking the bus to it from where we were staying "up the hill".

Some friends of mine let me know that next time I'm up there to check out a certain Pizza place in town as well. No help on the name of that place either, but I'm sure any of the locals can tell you the names of the places.

 

OK, it came to me: Le Bosquet

 

I go there a lot, the in-laws have a house there and we just got back. Your lucky if you have a few days to ski since they just opened the north face and high lifts so you can access some great runs. For food Le Bosquet is very good. Lil's is a very good sea food and sushi place, Slogar's is great family style fried chicken, the Timberline is great for a variety of fish and game meat dishes. Pick up one of the dinning guides and you will get a good over-view of choices, for a quicky in town try Teocalli Tamale. Slope side we like the Avalanche for sandwiches mid day, the soup is often times good as well. Up on the mountain Paradise warming hut is your only real option, the soup is almost always good and the chili is good but usually a bit hot on the spice side for me but just right for my wife. Hope you have a great time and ski some nasty stuff for us that wish we where there.

 

My parents used to have a winter place there "way back when" and we skied multiple weeks per year. I think our first trip there was in the early 80's. I haven't been in several years, but it certainly used to be a great undiscovered place.

Lift lines were usually non-existent.


Is the Wooden Nickel still open in town? Damn good burgers.

 

The Wooden Nickel is still there. The town has not changed a lot since I started going there in '88 but CBMR is getting a big make-over thanks to the new owners who bought it a few years ago. It has high speed quads in place of the old two seat chairs, I must say I don't miss the old Silver Queen two seat 'bubble' lift. Lines are still pretty small except for big holiday periods.

 

Crested Butte is a lot less popular than the 'true' resort towns, mostly because it's very difficult to get to directly. As such, it doesn't have a lot of the resort-quality shops and restaurants of Aspen, Telluride or Vail. For some people, that's better, and it certainly leads to fewer tourists.

 

I'd take good long underwear. It can be damn cold there but the skiing is great. If you are a strong skier it's really good in a heavy snow year as it dramatically changes the complexion at the top of the mountain.

Try cat skiing for a day at Irwin Lodge if the snow is good and you can swing it.

Have fun.

 

Bring yer long-johns. Tends to be a little nippy in Crusted Butt.

the town still has a small town feel. You will like it.

 

Irwin lodge blew up a few years ago. I don't know if it was rebuilt.

Dave

 

Bummer. It was fun while it lasted. No cats either?

That's a great valley to backpack and camp in as well.

 

Mmmm....Slogars Fried Chicken! Also had many a meal at the Wooden Nickel.

I started skiing in CB in the 70's, when they still had a gondola! Anybody else here remember the gondola? Those were the days. Lace up boots and cable bindings. Damn I feel old.

I haven't been back in 6 or 8 years, mainly because it's so hard to get to. One flight a day in/out of Gunnison. When I lived in CO it was a 4 hour drive so we went a lot.

Go take a few runs down the North Face, still one of my favorite places to ski. It wasn't so fun before the lift was there, you had to hike up! Of course, those were the days of the gondola.

There used to be a store downtown on the North side of the street that had a HUGE stuffed elk mounted on the wall. It had to be near record size, the base of the horns were as big around as your arms.

 

I used to ski the trees on the 'right side' of the mountain (but not the area which used to be called "Banana"). Stupid, young. Yes, that was me.

In good snow, CB is a delight. In bad snow, it sucks a llamas ass.

 

The elk was in the Conoco gas station on Elk Ave.. The old man running the station moved on a few years back and the station is some kind of a museum of sorts now. The elk moved on as well, I think to a museum in Gunnison. The elk is the #1 B&C elk of it's species and is quite impressive - shot in the 1800's. The gondola was the old Silver Queen lift, more like a 'bubble' over a two seat chair, it is now a high speed quad.

 

Nope. Silver Queen enclosed chair replaced the gondola. Gondola was a true 'take your skis off' ride up the mountain. You had to stand in line carrying your skis until you got on. It held 4 people. See? I'm old.