Crested Butte shines in its steep and extreme terrain. It is considered one of the birthplaces of freeskiing. Crested Butte is also home to Rambo, the steepest cut tree run in North America. The extreme terrain at Crested Butte draws skiers from all over the world. These legendary runs have trained Olympians, hosted International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association events and are the training grounds for Mountain Sports athletes from Western Colorado University. Famous ski runs at Crested Butte include the Headwall, Teocalli Bowl, the North Face Glades, Spellbound/Phoenix Bowl and Third Bowl. Expert skiers will challenge their skills as they explore the mountain’s many nooks and crannies.

If you’re not an expert skier, don’t worry! Beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers also have plenty to explore. Brand new and beginner skiers can take a private or group lesson to hone their skills with an instructor. Ski beginner turns on Peachtree, Painter Boy and Red Lady lifts. Intermediate skiers can get in some laps on the blue runs off the East River and Paradise lifts. Advanced skiers can find black and double-black runs off the Silver Queen Lift and the two T-bar lifts, the High Lift and the North Face Lift.

Crested Butte has unique tree skiing as well. Tree runs at Crested Butte are tight and technical. Most of the trees at Crested Butte are aspen trees. With few low-hanging branches, aspens allow you to ski through them with better visibility and fewer obstacles than other types of trees. Beginner tree skiers can practice on the wide-spaced green tree runs accessible from the Red Lady and Painter Boy lifts.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort spans 1,547 skiable acres. 14% of the terrain is beginner, 24% is intermediate, 25% is advanced and 37% is expert. The elevation at the base area is 9,375 feet. The elevation at the summit is 12,162 feet. The resort has 121 trails and 15 lifts.

The resort is surrounded by the stunning scenery of the West Elk Mountains. A few of the peaks you can see from Crested Butte include Teocalli Mountain, Gothic Mountain, Mineral Point, Mt. Emmons and Purple Mountain.

Colorado is known for its abundant “bluebird” days. The high altitude and cold temperatures of Crested Butte keep the snow quality high even through long stretches of sun.