Crested Butte Mountain Resort Winter 2023/24 Tip Sheet
At Crested Butte Mountain Resort, we invite you to Be Wild. Defy the voice that says you can't and journey to the end of the road to find something that can only be found here. Ditch the less daring. Break free from the ordinary and dive into untouched powder, towering peaks, heart-pounding terrain, and a vibrant town with a mountain culture all its own.
Go to Extremes
With 561 acres of double-black-diamond terrain, Crested Butte is known as the North American birthplace of inbounds extreme skiing and riding. Advanced and extreme terrain account for nearly two-thirds of the mountain’s overall acreage, including hair-raising steeps off the High Lift, North Face Lift and front side of the mountain. With more than 150 uniquely named areas within the Extreme Limits, the options are endless.
But Go with a Guide
While it would typically take years of skiing or riding to learn all the lines within the Extreme Limits at Crested Butte, our CB Steeps Guide program offers a much more efficient answer. Designed for advanced skiers and riders who are ready to take their next step into the famed Extreme Limits, the program is an inbounds tour concentrating on terrain accessible from the High Lift and North Face Lift. The tour pairs you with an expert instructor and includes an evaluation and light education, helping adventure-minded guests make the jump to extreme skiing and riding.
Stepping Stone to the Steeps
We all aspire to do big things. If your big thing means that one day, you will be able to slash turns in Crested Butte’s world-renowned Extreme Limits terrain, Peachtree chairlift will help you get there. This will be the third winter for Peachtree chairlift -- a three-person fixed-grip lift serving beginner terrain at the base of the resort. It’s your stepping stone to the steeps, allowing beginners to focus on the fundamentals: starting, stopping, balance, carving and more. New for winter 2023/24, guests can have more room to learn how to turn with confidence. We've widened sections of some of our most popular beginner trails, including Houston as well as the intersection of Peanut and Lower Keystone.
Celebrating 50 Years of the Al Johnson
Crested Butte Mountain Resort is excited to host the 50th annual Al Johnson Memorial Telemark Race on March 17, 2024. This beloved local tradition is named after a mail carrier from the late 1800's named Al Johnson, who was known for traveling between mining communities in the Crested Butte area on telemark skis — often in white-out conditions — on the principle that "the mail must go through!" In this race, participants climb 660 vertical feet, followed by a 1,200-foot descent through CBMR's famed Extreme Terrain, all while sporting their best costumes and Telemark gear. All proceeds from the event benefit the Crested Butte Avalanche Center.
Welcoming the YETI Natural Selection Tour DUELS
The brainchild of snowboarding icon Travis Rice, the Natural Selection Tour features the world’s top snowboarders competing on natural and naturally enhanced terrain to crown the top men’s and women’s all-around snowboarders in the world. Crested Butte Mountain Resort will host one of six YETI Natural Selection DUELS events: a series of head-to-head competitions deciding who will advance to the final two stages of the Tour in Revelstoke, British Columbia. While the DUEL itself is not open to the public, the entire community is invited to celebrate YETI Natural Selection DUELs coming to town with a free concert and party in the base area on Feb. 7.
Winter Dining
Whether you’re looking for a quick bite to get back out there or a true break from the cold, there are options for skiers and riders everywhere at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. New for Winter 2023/24, Highlife Crust & Crafts (formerly Woodstone Grille) is serving up pizza and draft brews in The Grand Lodge, offering an ideal base area après and dinner scene. The restaurant offers fresh, hand-tossed pizza with dough made in-house from scratch using the highest-quality ingredients, along with happy hour specials and to-go slices from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. In the morning, the restaurant serves made-to-order breakfast options for dine-in or take-out, including breakfast burritos, egg scramblers and freshly-baked cinnamon rolls. Guests looking to fuel up for an epic day before hitting the slopes can also check out Coal Breaker Coffee Co. in the Treasury Center. For lunch in the base area, Rooster Run is a great spot for a quick bite, and Butte 66 Bar & Grille offers amazing views and delicious sit-down eats, including new offerings for winter 2023/24, such as elk bratwurst and a mushroom Swiss chicken sandwich. Swing back by Butte 66 later in the day for happy hour, including drink and appetizer specials, plus extended weekend hours beginning in late December.
Guests also have a variety of on-mountain dining options. Uley’s Cabin will once again offer an upscale, Colorado-inspired menu indoors, with reservations recommended through OpenTable. Outdoors, guests can play games like cornhole and giant Jenga while enjoying creative American-style favorites on the grill. Paradise Warming House will continue to serve up comfort food with a ski lodge experience, plus new pho-inspired noodle bowls for winter 2023/24. The Umbrella Bar at Ten Peaks will have quick bites, cocktails, and signature views of the Gunnison Valley. Epic Pass Holders get 20% off food and non-alcoholic beverages at Paradise and The Umbrella Bar with Epic Mountain Rewards.
Small Town Charm
You’ll see no stoplights but plenty of smiles as you walk down the streets of Crested Butte. The vibrant buildings that line Elk Ave. are as colorful as the people inside them, inviting visitors to experience the magic that this true ski town has to offer. Free bus systems operate regularly throughout the winter to take guests from Mt. Crested Butte to the Town of Crested Butte, and even all the way to Gunnison, providing easy access to the mountain and to town, no matter where you are staying.
Our Community Commitment
We believe the strength and health of our community is vital to our shared success. Between August 2022 and July 2023, CBMR provided more than $530,000 of cash and in-kind grants to organizations across the Gunnison Valley through EpicPromise. Each year, the resort also hosts a Donation Day, benefiting a different organization in the Gunnison Valley. Individual donations are met by a $2,500 guaranteed match from CBMR. Recipients of Donation Day funds as well as EpicPromise grants have included Mountain Roots Food Project, Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley, Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte, Crested Butte Snowsports Foundation and more. New for Winter 2023/24, we have a page on our website dedicated to the work we are doing to support the health and vibrancy of the Gunnison Valley community through EpicPromise.
Our Composting Commitment
CBMR’s compost program started in 2019 with back-of-house food scraps at our base area restaurants and has since expanded to include nearly all of our operations. Now, compost includes food waste, green waste such as yard clippings and leaves, shredded paper, and Eco-Products, all of which are hauled to 3XM Grinding and Compost in Montrose County. CBMR composted 35 tons of food scraps and compostable packaging between August 2022 and July 2023, bringing the total to about 92 tons of compost since we began the program. CBMR was also able to reduce its waste to landfill by approximately 36% between August 2022 and July 2023.
Vail Resorts’ Commitment to Zero
In 2017, Vail Resorts announced Commitment to Zero – a bold goal to achieve a zero net operating footprint by 2030 across the entire enterprise. Commitment to Zero creates the opportunity for one mountain resort operator to have a big impact on preserving the environment through its three pillars: zero net emissions, zero waste to landfill, and zero net operating impact on forests and habitat. Since the launch of Commitment to Zero, CBMR has contributed more than $100,000 toward forest restoration and preservation, as well as trail access projects, through donations to the Crested Butte Land Trust and National Forest Foundation.
Your Phone Is Your Ticket
Mobile Pass & Mobile Lift Ticket technology will be available to guests for the 2023/24 winter season on a brand new My Epic app. The new technology will allow guests to buy their pass or lift ticket online, activate and store it on their phone in the My Epic app, put their phone in their pocket, and get scanned, hands free, via Bluetooth® technology designed for low energy usage. This reduces the need to visit the ticket window or wait to receive a pass or lift ticket in the mail. In support of our Commitment to Zero sustainability commitment, this change over time will also reduce the waste created by plastic cards and RFID chips. Vail Resorts will continue to have plastic cards available to any guests who cannot or do not want to use their phone as their pass or lift ticket.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort Fast Facts
Dates and Hours
2023-24 Season: Opening Nov. 22, 2023
Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Elevation
Base: 9,375 ft.
Summit: 12,162 ft.
Vertical Rise (Lift-Served): 2,775 ft.
Vertical Rise (To Peak): 3,062 ft.
Acreage
Total Skiable Acres: 1,547 acres
Acres of Snowmaking: 300 acres
Acres of Grooming: Approximately 500 acres nightly
Trail Classification
Conventional Trails: 165
- 14% beginner
- 24.6% intermediate
- 24.8% advanced
- 36.6% extreme
Number of Lifts: 15 total
- 4 high-speed detachable quad chairs
- 3 fixed grip quad
- 3 triple chairs
- 2 surface lifts
- 3 conveyor
Events (all dates tentative):
- Opening Day – Nov. 22, 2023
- Christmas Eve Celebration – Dec. 24, 2023
- New Year’s Eve Celebration – Dec. 31, 2023
- Ski Town Breakdown presented by MTN DEW – Feb. 17, Mar. 16, Apr. 6, 2024
- Natural Selection Tour DUELS Celebration – Feb. 10, 2024
- Toyota Music Den Spring Après Series – Mar. 15, 22 & 29, 2024
- 50th Annual Al Johnson Memorial Telemark Race – Mar. 17, 2024
- Pond Skim - Apr. 6, 2024
Fun Facts:
- With 561 acres of double-black-diamond terrain, Crested Butte is known as the North American birthplace of inbounds extreme skiing and riding.
- One of our extreme trails, “Rambo,” is considered the steepest lift-serviced tree-cut trail in North America. It has an average pitch of 55 degrees.
- The longest run at Crested Butte Mountain Resort is 2.6 miles, from the peak to bottom of the East River chairlift.
- Crested Butte Mountain resort has an average annual snowfall of 236 inches.
Getting here
Crested Butte Mountain Resort is located in southwest Colorado, a 4.5-hour drive from Denver and 2 hours from Montrose. The resort lies in the town of Mt. Crested Butte, two miles from the town of Crested Butte. From Denver, visitors take US-285 south to Buena Vista, turn right onto US-24, take US-50 over Monarch Pass and into Gunnison, turn right at CO-135-N/ Main St. and travel 29 miles to Crested Butte Mountain Resort. From Montrose, visitors take US-50 east for 64 miles to Gunnison, turn left onto CO-135 N/N Main St. and head north for 30 minutes, enjoying the scenery along the way.
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