July | August 2006 Volume 80 Issue 4 |
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Mini Tour Unwinding in Crested Butte No opulent mansions mark the edge of Crested Butte. Its downtown business district features not one Gucci store, Prada boutique, Gap shop or Polo Ralph Lauren emporium. Locals commute on bikes, celebrities wander paparazzi-free, and the only furs commonly seen are still attached to the critters that grew them. Unassuming, unpretentious and unextravagant, Crested Butte could be seen as Colorado's unAspen. The two former mining towns lie 24 Learjet miles apart on opposite sides of the Elk Range in west-central Colorado. Born of silver, Aspen blossomed into one of America's richest ski resorts. Across the peaks, coal-sired Crested Butte once gave away free lift tickets just to attract visitors. Today, this National Historic District community sports the colorful motif of a Victorian-era village, complete with false-front stores and street-corner flower boxes. Clapboard homes, many flanked by flowery gardens and picket fences, line residential streets. Kids play, neighbors chat and drivers wave. “It still seems like a real, little Colorado community nestled in the mountains,” observes Sue Smith, a frequent visitor from Fort Smith, Arkansas. “It's an old mining town that hasn't gotten too glitzy.” Crested Butte and its ski-slope neighbor, Mt. Crested Butte, lie north of Gunnison, a 230-mile drive southwest from Denver. The final half-hour approach follows a mountain-hemmed valley patched with ranches and veined with trout streams. A favorite venue for fly-casting anglers is the Gunnison River. “We've got rainbows, browns, brook, greenback cutthroats and fine-spotted cutthroats,” notes Chris Meyer, a guide for Crested Butte's Troutfitter. “Big would be anything from 20-25 inches. Sometimes they get even larger than that.” While the Gunnison remains famous for fishing, its Taylor River tributary has become the favorite for rafters and kayakers. An upstream dam controls the flow, offering predictable runs all summer long through rapids boasting names such as Initiation, Goal Posts, the Slot and Toilet Bowl. “It's our exciting whitewater trip,” explains Mark Schumacher, owner of Three Rivers Resort. “It's a low volume, technical river, so there are a lot of drops, pools and rocks.” The main highway follows the East River, the Gunnison's other tributary, toward Crested Butte. The valley narrows and a wall of granitic grandeur appears ahead. Near town, sandwiched between Whetstone Mountain and the community's namesake butte, lie the links of the Club at Crested Butte. At this Robert Trent Jones, par-72 course, duffers find that not only can mountain courses be jaw-dropping scenic, but drives go farther in the rarified air. “One of our tee boxes is at 9,004 feet,” says general manager Mike Byrd. “I'll bet there's probably a club-and-a-half-length difference in the flight of the ball here at this altitude.” Titanium is not just found in golf clubs around Crested Butte, it's also found in mountain bike frames. From here, knobby-tired riders can pump their pedals up a variety of graded roads, four-wheel-drive trails and single-track mountain paths. The ski resort even offers chairlift-served descents that include a teen-enticing jump park. “It's a terrain park for bikes,” Eric Baumm of Crested Butte Mountain Resort explains. “It's just exactly like what they do with snow, but we do it with dirt.” Locals boast that mountain biking began in Crested Butte. While the claim may be disputable, the town does serve as home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. The hall, complete with artifacts of the sport, occupies a corner of the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum. Located in the town's former Conoco station, the back part of the building displays community history while the front section presents a tribute to Tony Mihelich, the station's 56-year owner. The aroma emanating from its wooden floor evokes memories of the time when gas was sold at service stations, not convenience stores. “Tony took used motor oil and coated the floor with it,” says executive director Glo Cunningham. A 30-year Crested Butte resident, Cunningham claims that even though the town has grown, it remains a spirited community where residents still pitch in on projects. Nearly 165 volunteers recently helped build the Lower Loop Trail, a pathway for hikers, bikers, runners, horseback riders and parents pushing baby joggers. It even includes a handicap-accessible section. “We have a counselor at the preschool who's in a wheelchair. The first week the Lower Loop was open, he was out there with his four- and five-year-olds,” beams Cunningham. “It made my heart go yes! This is why we made it happen.” Outdoor enthusiasts have other options around Crested Butte. Chairlift riders can stroll to the top of Mt. Crested Butte. Backcountry hikers can follow trails into the forest. Backpackers can camp by wilderness hot springs. Climbers can scale nearby summits that include six of Colorado's famed 14,000-foot peaks. Those preferring piston power will find graded, sedan-friendly roads penetrating the nearby mountains while off-roaders can follow a handful of four-wheel-drive trails to some of Colorado's most photographed ghost towns. One does not need a Jeep, however, to find a Kodak moment around Crested Butte. Summer blossoms paint the surrounding hillsides with an exploding palette of color, and the town becomes the “wildflower capital of Colorado.” “You can wade into a field of flowers and it's like Julie Andrews spinning around in the Sound of Music,” exclaims photo guide Gary Wolf. For those who prefer blazing saddles, Crested Butte offers the opportunity to hoof the hillsides. Half- and full-day rides venture past meadows, wade across streams, mosey by waterfalls and wander through aspen glades. A few go even farther. “My feature ride is over to Aspen,” declares Chuck Saunders of Fantasy Ranch. “We start at the old mining town of Gothic, climb an 11,800-foot pass, then follow Maroon Creek to town where we get picked up by a limo. We stay at Hotel Durant, soak in the hot tub, and then head out for dinner. We ride back the next day.” While the cross-mountain journey offers an opportunity to feast on fare from the far flanks of the Elk Range, those staying in Crested Butte will find the cuisine holds its own against its more famous neighbor. “I think our food is just as good, but it's not so pompous,” says Michael Marchitelli, owner of Marchitelli's Gourmet Noodle. The area offers two dozen restaurants ranging from gyro joints to four-fork eateries, and they offer a taste-tempting smorgasbord of cuisines. Absent are the golden arches. Crested Butte sports no fast-food franchises. The town also lacks the usual lodging chains. The area's only full-ser-vice hotel, the Grand Lodge, sits next to the ski hill in Mt. Crested Butte. Beyond that, overnight guests choose from an eclectic collection of condos, cabins, lodges, motels and bed-and-breakfast inns, some of which occupy historic structures in the heart of town. “This building was built in 1886,” explains Connie Wolf, co-owner of the nine-room Crested Butte Club Boutique Inn & Spa. “It was a Croatian meeting hall. They did funerals, weddings and dances here, and it was a bit of a brothel.” For years, Crested Butte remained a forgotten enclave, but that is changing. Wolf says she and her husband bought their business just before the ski area recently changed hands, and since then, real estate prices have nearly doubled. Even small homes in town have gotten expensive, forcing many new workers to seek housing down the valley. The same thing happened on the other side of the mountains. “People say we're the next Aspen, but I don't think we'll ever be what Aspen is. We just have a different climate of people here,” states Wolf. Dan Leeth, a freelance writer/photographer from Aurora, has been a frequent visitor to Crested Butte and Aspen for a quarter century and loves them both. Back to Top |
