Telluride Recreation

October is the time of year when turning leaves signal cooler mountain air. It also means the end of a busy bike season in the San Juans.

For those who want to squeeze in one last event before the snow flies, Mountain Village has got your back. The fourth annual Fall Tilt in Telluride returns Friday, October 5 – Saturday, October 6. The cash purse totals $5,000.

“Every year the caliber of riders that come out to celebrate with Mountain Village is impressive,” said Mountain Village Community Relations Manager Nichole Zangara. “The town is invested in mountain biking and we look for every opportunity possible to share our passion for the sport with other like-minded riders.”

The Fall Tilt race course, all within the Mountain Village Bike Park, is comprised of five adjacent downhill trails that will be used simultaneously from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is up to the rider which trail he or she uses for each downhill lap.

“Riders can expect some new trails like Gold Rush, which will be a fun addition and help keep 12 hours of riding from getting too repetitive,” said Race Director Jon Tracy. “With the World Cup Trail being one of the faster courses in the park, if you want to be a top finisher you will want to ride this trail. Last year the top finishers completed 76 laps. That translated to 228 big jumps in the course of a day … pretty incredible.”

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The Town of Ouray’s renowned ice park will be a hub of climbing, activity and competition this week as the Ouray Ice Festival — considered one of the world’s premiere ice climbing events — gets under way.

Things kick off Thursday at the Ouray Ice Park south of town as well as venues in Ouray, and will run until Sunday. The festival features events covering the gamut of ice climbing, from clinics, slide shows, films and kids events to equipment demos and demonstrations. But the festival’s highlights are the ice-climbing competitions, which feature some of the world’s leading professional climbers. Competitions start Saturday with a mixed climbing event with 24 competitors, and on Sunday a speed round starts with between 35 and 40 competitors.

“We usually have about 3,000 to 4,000 people, and this year we are expecting a big crowd because our competition structure is pretty impressive and the viewing is really good,” said Ouray Ice Park Board President Mike MacLeod. “Even if you don’t know the first thing about ice climbing is the competition is going to be pretty exciting to watch this year.”

The Ouray Ice Park features ice walls and a 25-foot tower overhanging the Uncompahgre Gorge. Along with Ouray’s panoramic views, the park offers easy to difficult routes. Ice climbers have been coming to Ouray for decades, but since the early 1990s the park’s ice has been augmented for more abundance.

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The Telluride Tourism Board has put the finishing touches on a proposal for Telluride and Mountain Village to once again host a finish stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in 2013.

The proposal is very similar to last year’s application and uses the same “micro-site” online platform that Telluride’s 2012 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) created for its successful bid. “However, it addresses a great deal of learning that took place from our perspective on hosting the event this year,” Martelon said.

Medalist Sports, the owner of the Pro Challenge event, will make an announcement in early December about the route for next year’s stage race, planned for Aug. 19-25, 2013.

If Telluride wins a spot on the route, Marleton said, a larger LOC will then be formed to focus on the 2013 event. The 2012 LOC consisted of a diverse group of 17 individuals from Telluride and Mountain Village, many of whom would likely be willing to serve again.

Telluride’s decision to bid for a stage of the 2013 Pro Challenge came on the heels of detailed analysis about the pros and cons of the 2012 event, which although successful logistically and in terms of global publicity for the Telluride area (television coverage of the race aired in 170 countries around the world), brought in far fewer people than promoters had promised.

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