It’s a wee bit strange, ain’t it, to know that you’re living in the time that will become the “Remember back then?” time. The “You shoulda been here when…” time.

When global warming has scorched the southwest, you might text-message your grandkids on Mars and say “You should have skied Telluride in 2007-2008.”

By the time the area closed a week ago, the Telluride Ski Resort received 353 inches of snow.

That’s almost 10 yards, or 30 feet of snow. If it had fallen all at once, that would have been enough to bury a virtually every building in Telluride up to its roof.
Of course, if fell over the course of four months, meaning that an average of almost three inches fell every single day.

“It was my best year in Telluride,” said Leah Boelman, a 9-year-restident. “Epic.”
That 30-foot total is the epic-est accumulation since 1996-1997, according to the Telluride Ski Patrol. That year, 373 inches fell.

Mother nature doesn’t have a desk calendar, and didn’t know that the ski area closed April 6. She unloaded more precipitation on Telluride during a three-day storm that began Wednesday.

About 18 inches fell in town.

Avid skiers who hiked up the mountain during the storm said that two to three feet of snow lay on top, and that the best turns on the area all year may have come after the area closed.

“It was my best turns of the year,” said skier Travis Young. Some runs were so choked with powder that turns were impossible, and straightlining was your only option.

If you add the two to three feet on top to the official season total, Telluride might have had one of the deepest snow years in decades.

And if March hadn’t been as bone-dry as the Sahara, Telluride might have had one of the deepest snow years since the glaciers receded.
Skiers can hardly contain their joy.

“This is my best ski year ever,” said skier and 10-year local Mike Munno. “It’s not even close to tell you the truth.”

“I don’t know about all-time best,” said Luigi Chiarani, resident since 1987, “but it was some of my best skiing.”

The Telluride Ski and Golf Company, always concerned with the safety and well-being of its avid skiers, sent out a press release Thursday asking powderhounds to sniff someplace else.

“The temptation to make post season turns is hard to resist but, for safety reasons, the Telluride Ski Resort is asking people to refrain from post-season skiing, snowboarding or sledding on the mountain,” the press release read. “Crews are working on the front side of the mountain especially, with work being done on the gondola, lifts and runs. Slide conditions also exist with the new snow. No ski patrol or first aid services are available on the mountain.”

While Telluride’s ski area is all tucked in for the summer, shooing recreators away, the majority of Colorado ski resorts are like Taco Bells — they stay open later. And ambitious skiers are traveling.

Last week’s storm caused surprising little havoc on the roads around Telluride. But Red Mountain Pass, between Ouray and Silverton, was closed for a day this weekend after an avalanche covered the road.

That made it hard to get there, and those who wanted to experience Silverton’s precipitous drops coated in precipitation had to drive through Durango.
All roads and highways are back to operational status.

With the deep base, skiers are looking forward to more spring skiing, postponing till later the time when this season is just a fond, fantastic memory.

“We’ll be skiing all summer,” said Young.