Crested Butte

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Greetings from beautiful Crested Butte, Colorado.

Positive change abounds and excitement surrounds the upcoming season - new programs, fresh faces, and most of all Crested Butte Mountain Resort's commitment to our friends that keep coming back for more. Here, you will be inspired by Colorado's True Colors and revel in a sense of freedom and distinction that begins with your arrival in Crested Butte. After getting here, adventure is limitless and we implore you to be inspired by your passion.

Highlights of the coming season include travel incentives for visitors to our beautiful valley as well as bold new directions for CBMR. But as change occurs, we maintain a profound respect for what has made Crested Butte "Colorado's Last Great Ski Town." It is exactly that spirited nature, commitment to preservation and dedicated community that makes Crested Butte the perfect destination for anyone wanting to break out of the typical.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort wants you to get the most out of Crested Butte as possible. Find out more!

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Book through Crested Butte Vacations and get FREE lift tickets between 11/26 and 12/17/08.
www.SKICB.COM

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Spectacular Family Excursions/Deals on the Slopes & Beyond in Gunnison-Crested Butte
Sleigh rides, dog sledding, culture, shopping … and of course skiing and boarding!

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GUNNISON-CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. (November 23, 2009) —Like building snowmen in your backyard and spending uninterrupted time with loved ones? Take winter fun to the next level, Rocky Mountain-style, in Gunnison Crested Butte, Colo., where family merriment and total relaxation abounds in our 1880s-era towns that are rich in history, charm and friendliness.

At the Ski Area, Mt. Crested Butte
Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR, www.skicb.com) offers fun for all ages, even if you don’t ski! Of course there is plenty of options to cruise all levels of slopes on your own or with a guide/instructor or challenge your child or grandchild to a timed race down Smith Hill and test your mettle in three terrain parks (easy and advanced), superpipe or slalom course. Kids get their own trail map that shows some awesome trails where adult skis won’t even fit.

The new lift-served tubing hill and Adventure Park with year-round ice-skating, bungee trampolines and a climbing wall expands options for families this season. You also can tap into the magic of sleighride dinners to the Ice Bar at Uley’s Cabin pulled by a snowcat, daytime and moonlight snowshoe tours, and snow igloos located by the Ice Bar and Camp CB, the kids’ ski school.

There are skiing and snowboarding lessons for youth and adults at CBMR, as well as through Adaptive Sports Center (www.adapativesports.org) for family members with physical and/or cognitive disabilities. There’s also child care for the wee ones, not to mention Kid’s Night Out, available Tuesday – Saturday evenings from 4 – 8 p.m. for ages 4 – 12. Dinner and access to the Adventure Park and tubing hill are part of the Kid’s Night Out activities.

If skiing is your family’s passion, parents and children, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons or even skiing siblings are encouraged to join Olympian and local resident Wendy Fisher for a truly unique Family Extreme Clinic on Jan. 16 – 17. Fisher and her team of instructors will teach families how to maximize their time together on the mountain, while focusing on each participant’s individual needs. Initial work will focus on evaluating and enhancing individual techniques on groomed trails. The group will then move on to bumps, vertical, trees and The Extreme Limits terrain. The cost is $399 per person.

During ski season, the Trailhead Children’s Discovery Museum will be open every day in the Treasury Center from Dec. 4 to April 4, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Kids can enjoy an indoor playground, science experiments, art stations and several exhibits, with special events being held every Saturday at 10 a.m. Admission is $6 per person or a family of four can buy an unlimited-visits pass for the entire winter for $125. For information go to www.thetrailheadcb.org.

In Town, Crested Butte Area
The Crested Butte Nordic Center conveniently offers cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating and sledding all in one place. The Nordic Center grooms more than 50k of trails and offers instruction, equipment rentals and many events. Use of the outdoor ice rink and sledding hill are free, and a pass is required to use the groomed trails. Call (970) 349-1707 or visit www.cbnordic.org.

If you’d rather not expel your own energy to get around and love horses and dogs, check out one of these great options.


* Board a horse-drawn sleigh at Lazy F Bar Ranch south of Crested Butte for a scenic, 35-minute ride to a rustic 1950s cabin overlooking the East River and indulge in a five-course meal. Visit www.lazyfbarranch.com.
* Head out with Fantasy Ranch Horseback Adventures for a one-hour ride in the Almont area. Halfway through the journey, warm up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa. The cost is $50 per person or $60 with transportation.
* There is nothing quite like being pulled by a team of dogs in the thick of mountain terrain capped with snow. Dog sledding with Lucky Cat Dog Farm is one of those lifetime experiences not to be missed. Visit www.luckcatdogfarm.com or call (970) 641-1636 for details about lunch tours and shorter tours.

Enjoy a little history and culture at the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum, where there are displays about local history, including skiing, ranching, mining, local personalities and more. The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame also is located in the museum, along with a gift shop that all ages relish. Just down the street, catch a concert or art exhibit at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts and take in a little theatre at a production presented by Crested Butte Mountain Theatre. Or get the creative juices flowing and paint your own pottery at The Pottery Place, which is part of The Studio Art School, which offers art classes for all ages.

Must-stops for young families on Elk Avenue are Pooh’s Corner and Petite Lavish, and teens love sitting on the floor on pillows or beanbags to eat gourmet pizza at The Secret Stash and shopping for the latest sunglasses at Shades of Crested Butte and styles at Retail Therapy.

Gunnison Gateway
Families looking for less-expensive lodging during the ski season or for an easy day or half-day trip from Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte, check out Gunnison, home of Western State College. There is a free bus that runs several times a day between Gunnison, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. Enjoy a day at the Gunnison Recreation Center’s entire facility for only $4 for kids ages 5 – 17 and $6 for adults; kids under 5 are free. There is an indoor pool with slides, rock climbing wall, gym, gymnastics room and game room.

You are never too old or young to learn how to ice skate. The City of Gunnison Ice Facility at Jorgensen Park features three sheets of ice: an indoor NHL-size rink, outdoor Olympic-size covered rink, and outdoor frozen pond. The admission cost for the indoor rink is $3 for ages 18 and older, $2 for ages 5 – 17, and free for kids under 5. Skate rentals are $3 per pair. There is no cost to use the outdoor rink and pond. Check for public skate times at both rinks; the pond is dedicated to open skating. For the Rec Center and ice skating facilities, go to www.cityofgunnison-co.gov.

There is outstanding Nordic skiing and snowshoeing along backcountry routes and groomed trails at Hartman Rocks Multi-Use Recreation Area west of Gunnison. This combined with VanTuyl Ranch, the Western State College practice field on campus and Jorgensen Park encompasses approximately 45K of trails groomed by the Gunnison Nordic Club. Rent equipment at Gene Taylor’s Sporting Goods and TuneUp Bike & Ski.

While downtown, don’t miss stopping by the Gunnison Arts Center. Younger kids also will request a stop at Circus Train while teens enjoy browsing at Colorado Boarder and dining at Mario’s Pizza & Ristorante, a college hotspot for almost 40 years. Don’t miss sweet treats at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at both ends of the valley.

Wallet-Friendly Family Vacations
When traveling by air to the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) on United, Delta and American between December 17, 2009 and April 4, 2010, take advantage of CBMR’s Friends and Family Fly Free program. Buy two airline tickets and get the third free when staying in CBMR’s lodging properties for at least four nights. The maximum number of free tickets per itinerary is three (for a booking of nine tickets), and the maximum travel credit is $450 per free airline ticket. The offer is subject to availability and not valid for inbound travel to GUC between Dec. 26 – 29, 2009 or outbound travel from GUC between Dec. 30, 2009 – Jan. 3, 2010. Offer also is not valid for any travel between March 12 – 16, 2010.

Families also can save with CBMR’s Kids Fly Free promotion from Jan. 3 – Feb. 12, 2010. One child, ages 2 – 12 years, flies free on American Airlines with a paying adult. There is a minimum three-night stay at CBMR properties required and arrivals into the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) must be scheduled Sunday through Wednesday.

Departures from GUC must be scheduled from Tuesday through Friday. Through this promotion, kids, ages 2 – 12, also receive a free child’s lift ticket when accompanied by a paying adult and stay in CBMR lodging for free with no additional fees.

These offers cannot be combined with any other offers and are valid only on new reservations. For information and reservations visit www.skicb.com or call Crested Butte Vacations at (800) 600-2803.

Vacation Packages & Visitor Information
To find out about Gunnison-Crested Butte’s calendar of events and other personalized vacation packages, call the Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association’s toll-free number (800) 814-8893 or visit www.GunnisonCrestedButte.com. Find the Tourism Association on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gcbta or follow us on www.twitter.com/gcbta.

The Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport in Gunnison is served year-round by United Airlines with flights from Denver and during the winter season by American Airlines with direct flights from Dallas/Fort Worth and Delta Air Lines with direct flights from Salt Lake City and Atlanta.

About Gunnison-Crested Butte, Colorado
Gunnison-Crested Butte is nestled among almost two million acres of pristine wilderness in southwest Colorado. Winter sports enthusiasts know the area for its world-class alpine skiing and snowboarding at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice fishing. Gunnison-Crested Butte is also a haven for outdoor summer activities. In the warmer months, visitors can choose from recreational activities such as hiking, climbing, mountain biking, boating, whitewater rafting, kayaking, fly-fishing, camping and horseback riding. Year-round visitors enjoy distinctive restaurants, unique shops and stimulating cultural opportunities, and have a wide range of lodging options — from rustic inns to guest cabins and bed-and-breakfasts to full-service resort hotels.

Recognized as the “Official Wildflower Capital of Colorado” by the Colorado Legislature and one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Dozen Distinctive Destinations” in 2008, Crested Butte is the site of rich mining, ranching and skiing heritage and home to the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Only three miles up the road is the resort village of Mt. Crested Butte, home to the ski area, an active base area, the area’s conference center, and outstanding hiking and biking trails.

Gunnison, a real western town located 28 miles from Crested Butte, is home to the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, Gunnison Whitewater Park, Gunnison Valley Observatory, Pioneer Museum and Western State College, a four-year institution offering majors in the liberal arts and sciences and professional fields. Both Crested Butte and Gunnison have thriving historic central business districts packed with shopping and dining opportunities.

In Gunnison County, visitors will find the Curecanti National Recreation Area, where dinosaur fossils were recently discovered; the Blue Mesa Reservoir, Colorado’s largest body of water and home to the largest Kokanee salmon fishery in the United States; and The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one of our country’s newest national parks. Gunnison County includes the quaint and historic towns of Pitkin, Gothic, Tin Cup, Marble, Powderhorn, Almont and Crystal, plus the better-known communities of Gunnison, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. Gunnison County is part of the West Elk Loop and Silver Thread Scenic & Historic Byways.