Being a 5 year resident of the Gunnison valley and past two here in Crested Butte, I have skied and boarded at every resort in Colorado, Several in Utah, and every resort in California. There are several reasons I choose to live in Southwest Colorado: Telluride, Crested Butte, Silverton Mountain, Monarch, Wolf Creek, Purgatory (Durango).

This is the Mecca of lift accessible extreme terrain in the US. If you are an advanced rider or skier, anything you could ever desire is within a five hour drive. The best part: no lift lines. Leave the tourists, beginners, Texans and Posers in Summit county where they belong. Southwest Colorado is for people who are not afraid to huck that 30 footer, or bomb it through trees, or straight line it down rocky chutes.

Telluride is the epitome of Southwest Colorado: Big Dumps, Lots of Powder, and with the new opening of Palmyra: gnarly extreme terrain. Why sit at home and watch movies about pros riding big mountains in Alaska when you got the goods just outside your window? And trust me, the goods are worth gettin

I am from Vancouver so I ski Whistler Blackcomb all the time. I had always heard about Telluride from my friends from Colorado so this past year I decided to check it out. I was blown away. The convenience, the balance in scale of the resort, the gondola, the history, the snow, the uncrowded slopes. I wouldn't care if Telluride cost twice as much as it does, it's truly a once in a lifetime place, and fortunately I can go more than once. If you ski, board, or love nature's beauty, Telluride is the paradigm of mountain perfection.

I live about a hour and a half from Telluride. My girlfriend and I bought season passes for like $130 and it has been well worth it. We go up on weekends and can be certain that the snow will be great. Pretty much 50% of the youth in Montrose have season passes and go every weekend. I <3 T-Ride

Telluride is the most amazing mountain, with unbelievable terrain. Clearly, Anna from Texas is a horrible skier. She must also be a snob that cannot appreciate the real outdoors. We have just returned from a President's Day (holiday) weekend there, where we did not wait in line for longer than one minute. We also found fresh tracks each of our three days there because the ski patrol has done such an impeccable job of keeping the mountain fresh and without hazard. We hiked up to Baldy and past Genevieve into the Black Iron Bowl several times during the three days with white gold awaiting our arrival. The lower groomers provided a much needed reprieve from our more rugged adventures. Of course the resort costs money, they all do. The prices for our hotel, food, and lift tickets were no more than any other major resort in the west or east. If Anna and her family would like to bad mouth this mountain, perhaps it is better for her to bring her family to the crowded, and uppity, resorts of Whistler and Aspen. I will stay in the most beautiful, and challenging, terrain hidden in the San Juans.