Gunnison / CB Mags

**teleee** · 11-02-2017, 08:58 PM

I am seriously contemplating/planning on a move to your lovely part of the world. Just wondering if there are any mags on here. Always nice to find some fellow skier, biker, fishing mags.

**WTF is dat** · 11-02-2017, 11:02 PM

There’s lots of mags on here from that area.

Hope you know what your getting into.

**skifishbum** · 11-03-2017, 07:21 AM

well there will always be a spare bedroom in a mormon mansion fixer upper and a spot in the boat should you return to the zion curtain land

**hatchgreenchile** · 11-03-2017, 07:37 AM

Nice place to end up. Beautiful area and one of my favorite mountains anywhere. Free stone grinds all season at CB !

**whipski** · 11-03-2017, 08:00 AM

If you land in Gunny I'm up for backcountry and alpine at Monarch.

**BFD** · 11-03-2017, 09:02 AM

I am a little south of you in South Fork. Was at hartman rocks for a couple of days last week. Pretty nice to have nearby. I am up for a ride or ski anytime. If you are not set on CB or Gunnison you should check this place out. would be happy to show you around.

**snowaddict91** · 11-03-2017, 10:33 AM

Former Gunni resident. Its a good place to be. Hoping to get back there someday.

**teleee** · 11-03-2017, 10:41 AM

Thanks everyone, the significantly better half just accepted a professor position at the college in Gunnison. And I have always wanted to have a house on a fishable river - so it seems to be a match made in heaven.
Dibs I will definitely take you up on the Zion returns.
The rest of you kooks I look forward to meeting you. I have been hitting Hartmans and the rivers. Looking forward to seeing what winter has to offer

**adrenalated** · 11-03-2017, 11:46 AM

If you like skiing pow you best get yourself a snowmobile.

If you like skiing steep, technical, rock-strewn low tide gnar then CBMR is incredible. But you won't ski a ton of deep pow inbounds there.

Monarch is a fun local hill, but pretty small and not very steep. They get a lot more snow than CBMR (I know the published difference is 350" vs. 300" but it feels like a lot more). It's worth skiing but I'd get bored trying to spend an entire season there.

The backcountry west of CB gets 600"+ but you need a sled to get out there.

**snowaddict91** · 11-03-2017, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by teleee

Looking forward to seeing what winter has to offer

Adrenalated summed up the skiing well. The nice part is all the goods face northish, so even durin a drought it doesn't normally get icy.

And if you live in Gunni, get ready for it to get COLD. But the moderate summer more than makes up for it IMO.

**adrenalated** · 11-03-2017, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by snowaddict91

The nice part is all the goods face northish, so even durin a drought it doesn't normally get icy.

And if you ski the more technical lines they rarely get too bumped up. Chalk FTW.

**WTF is dat** · 11-03-2017, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by teleee

Thanks everyone, the significantly better half just accepted a professor position at the college in Gunnison. And I have always wanted to have a house on a fishable river - so it seems to be a match made in heaven.
Dibs I will definitely take you up on the Zion returns.
The rest of you kooks I look forward to meeting you. I have been hitting Hartmans and the rivers. Looking forward to seeing what winter has to offer

You could end up in many worse places than Gunnison. The town is pretty small and doesn’t have much to offer. Definitely not my cup of tea but, but it’s not a bad place. Pretty quiet. The university does breathe some life into the town. The fishing is good and there is some mountain biking.

Crested Butte is pretty much the quintessential Colorado town, and is incredibly picturesque. I agree with what others have said, but the snowfall isn’t THAT bad. Monarch definitely gets a lot more. There is some serious gnar at Crested Butte. If the extremes aren’t open the mountain seems small and can get boring really quickly.

Monarch is also probably worth getting a pass to. I disagree that you will get bored there. I would LOVE it if my home mountain was a small locals only mountain that gets nearly 400 inches a year. Slow lifts, cheap prices, and no crowds ever. There are some fun, steep lines in the hike to terrain, and you can also find some good trees inbounds. There is also some easily accessible backcountry at monarch.

Someone else said this but Gunnison gets seriously cold. Really, really cold. It is by far the coldest place in Colorado. Sometimes like -30 cold. If the inversion effect is not taking place Gunnison is actually quite mild in the winter thougg. Even on days when it is super cold if the sun comes out things warm up quickly and feel tolerable. Still really cold most mornings.

**hatchgreenchile** · 11-03-2017, 02:19 PM

400" at Monarch? 600" at Irwin, 300" at CB?
You guys must work in the marketing department.
All those are inflated a good 25%.

Monarch might be pretty boring, depending on your ski hill preferences. It's certainly small and short.
It's not exactly a "no crowds ever" hill either. Yeah, it's doesn't get absolutely mobbed, but it's not exactly a ghost town either.

**skibum93** · 11-03-2017, 02:20 PM

I lived there for a winter and would love to return. Wonderful people and great skiing.
If you go, buy the Off Piste Atlas CB Backcountry guide. It's a good start to learn the more popular bc terrain. A sled would be wonderful, but there is still good terrain within a 2.5mi approach to the skin track.

**WTF is dat** · 11-03-2017, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by hatchgreenchile

400" at Monarch? 600" at Irwin, 300" at CB?
You guys must work in the marketing department.
All those are inflated a good 25%.
.

**hatchgreenchile** · 11-03-2017, 02:53 PM

Those averages really aren't reflective of what actually falls.
Marketing departments love to boost up numbers. All but a few do it.
Good site if you're interested, http://bestsnow.net/

**WTF is dat** · 11-03-2017, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by hatchgreenchile

Those averages really aren't reflective of what actually falls.
Marketing departments love to boost up numbers. All but a few do it.
Good site if you're interested, http://bestsnow.net/

How accurate is that site ? You mean to tell me that Vail gets more than 350 and ABasin is 320 but aspen only gets 250? Really ?

**hatchgreenchile** · 11-03-2017, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by WTF is dat

How accurate is that site ? You mean to tell me that Vail gets more than 350 and ABasin is 320 but aspen only gets 250? Really ?

Pretty damn accurate, he has been tracking snowfall totals for decades.

**SKIP IN7RO** · 11-03-2017, 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by hatchgreenchile

Pretty damn accurate, he has been tracking snowfall totals for decades.

Thanks for heads-up on that site. It's been awhile since I went down that rabbit-hole of info. His average totals are far more accurate for my home mountain (rhymes with fulf bleak) than what the marketing dept. claims. I believe his stats are from full operation opening to closing date....none of the closed for a couple weeks in April and then open for a final weekend to milk the extra snowfall for season totals.

**Gone Skiing** · 11-03-2017, 05:36 PM

Since I've lived here the resort has gotten 325, 225, 375, 120, 180, 300, 200, 250, 300 (just from memory, but in the range). I don't doubt for a second that the Anthracites see 600" a year. I've seen that area get a true 60" storm in a week where town and the resort got 3".

Welcome to the valley telee. Good spot here. Wait until you get to explore some of the biking up in CB and Taylor next summer. Its pretty endless and has a high ratio of sick to suck. Skiing is always good somewhere, and that somewhere is usually the Anthracites. Get a sled as soon as you can swing it, even a shitty 1995 yamaha 500 can easily be the difference between 4 pow days and 40.

**SKIP IN7RO** · 11-03-2017, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Gone Skiing

even a shitty 1995 yamaha 500 can easily be the difference between 4 pow days and 40.

Buddies of mine utilize this method to get to some nice areas around there.

**WTF is dat** · 11-03-2017, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by hatchgreenchile

Pretty damn accurate, he has been tracking snowfall totals for decades.

Interesting, thanks for the link. I still wonder about some of the accuracy of that? Is he using the resort announced totals or keeping his own data somehow? He’s not including pre opening and post opening? I feel like those should be included...

Another thing to consider is the variation within the resorts. For example, Breck moved the snowstake a few years ago to a favorable spot where they report a lot more snow than the rest of summit county. I don’t care how you feel about them moving the snow stake, but the point is that where you take the measurements matters.

**adrenalated** · 11-03-2017, 07:58 PM

Good Lord I didn't realize quoting the published numbers from resorts and cat ops (Irwin) would yield such bickering.

The important point is CBMR gets a little snow, Monarch gets more, and the Anthracites get a lot. If you're looking to ski pow, that matters. If you're looking to ski terrain, just go to CBMR and don't worry about it.

**WTF is dat** · 11-03-2017, 10:20 PM

I didn’t mean to be bickering I honestly didn’t know and thought it was interesting

I still think that site is bullshit. No way Aspen / Highlands gets just 15 inches more snow than Keystone and Sunlight. That is wrong

**goldenboy** · 11-04-2017, 09:20 AM

Hey telee, welcome if you're heading this way. Always happy to show a mag around. There are a bunch of mags other than goneskiing and me that don't post much anymore here in CB.

And yes, the Irwin area gets legit snow, regularly over 500". And yes, you need a snowmobile to enjoy it. Monarch gets more than CBMR, but who cares. The steep N facing chalky snow that we get during dry spells is at or near the top of the list for non-powder snow conditions in my book.