All Images: Nolan Blunck
“Winter is back,” – a refrain heard over and over again in Crested Butte this weekend. Whether it was the kid in the High Chair lift line, the group of out-of-towners excitedly boarding the Mountain Express town bus or the dad towing his kid by sled on Maroon Ave—they all said it. The thing is, none of them had to say a thing, you could see it in their eyes, in their smile and all over their faces.
The stoke was high on the streets and slopes of Crested Butte as 33 inches of cold smoke powder fell over the course of 48 hours. After a relatively dry first month-and-a-half of 2025, winter returned with a vengeance this weekend.
Whether you believe Ullr delivered the goods, it was a groundhog in Pennsylvania seeing his shadow or some other theory, it doesn’t matter to those of us in the Gunnison Valley right now. All that matters in the Southern Elk Mountains is that the high-alpine Spellbound, Teocalli Bowl and Headwall are firing on all cylinders again. Shoot—even lower elevation zones like Horseshoe Springs and Bakery Trees offered face shots and bottomless refills.
The storm rolled in at the beginning of the holiday weekend with the snow starting a bit heavier than usual for this region. Then temps cooled and multiple feet of light and dry fluff fell on top. While all this snow was a welcome sight to Crested Butte locals, the best news is there’s more in the forecast for this upcoming week. Winter is back indeed—continue scrolling to feast your eyes on photos from the last few days to get you hyped for more storms to come as you dream up plans for your next trip.
