The last true ski bum’s haven in Colorado, maybe the Rockies. Romantically unchanged; great music festivals, big air competitions in the middle of main street in town, the Mayor himself gets drunks and hucks himself off the kickers during snowboard/ski competitions.

Funky, ecclectic food (Secret Stash, Ginger Cafe), watering holes at every corner, and better slopes, though much fewer, than Aspen, Vail and Breckeridge. Matchstick Productions (Ski Movie) and Two Planks Productions are based right in town.

As a bonus, the Butte hosts world class mountain biking; switchbacks and single tracks to make you puke as well as easy sage rides through the valleys. The single tracks take you through golden Aspen groves in the fall. The last three weeks of September are the best biking weeks here. If you’re up for it you can even ride all the way to the Maroon Bells near Aspen (30 or 40 miles). Some locals do that trip three times in one day.

Men’s Journal magazine just published a big write up on Crested Butte and Mayor Allen Berhnholz (? not sure on that last name). This town of 1,500 is in threat of becoming another ski resort town, so if you go, please leave it like you found it!