Ear to the ground

“I had time to smoke a cigarette before I hit the ground.”

-A local rider describing a slow-motion bike accident that happened after his handlebar grip came off in his hand

Back in black

Durango Mountain Resort is playing the waiting game, and inside sources tell us Telluride plans to kick off ski season with man-made snow on Village Bypass and Misty Maiden. But hope is not lost for hungry Four Corners skiers. The season kicks off on Nov. 23 at Silverton Mountain, and the high-altitude, experts-only mountain actually has snow and skiable terrain.

Silverton Mountain will crank up its one double chair on Thanksgiving and seven runs will be open with several more slated to open each day throughout the weekend. Cabin, Riff, Raff, Colorado, Tiger Claw, Concussion and Tiger 1-5 will all be open on Nov. 23. Ropedeedope, Mandatory, Splitski, and Waterfall should open throughout the weekend.

The ski area reported 30 inches of fresh last week, and unguided skiing is open from Thanksgiving through Jan. 14.

Silverton Mountain also has options for Durangoans who are a little light in the pocketbook. Destitute skiers and boarders can earn free tickets by bootpacking snow in avalanche starting zones. The bootpacking days are set for Nov. 25 & 26 and Dec. 2 & 3. No experience is required, but skiers must have a beacon, shovel and probe. Each day of packing earns a free unguided ski day. Reservations are not needed for bootpacking. Just show up ready for a full day of packing at 8: 45 a.m., and don’t forget to duct tape your pant legs to keep the snow out. For more information, visit www.silvertonmountain.com.

Reviewing ‘Durango”’

“Durango” is getting average reviews in the northeast. “Durango” is a new play from Julia Cho following Korean man, Boo-Seng Lee and his two sons on a long road trip to where else – Durango.

The play is considered a bleak but compassionate look at the American dream, which ends in a superb anticlimax.

“Finally arriving in Durango, they learn the sightseeing train already has left the station. Because Boo-Seng never thought of making reservations, there’s no chance they can get on another train for months,” The Star-Ledger, a New Jersey paper, wrote.

The paper then gives “Durango” a mixed review, writing, “Scarcely a barn-burning drama, ‘Durango’ derives its effective sense of poignancy through quiet means.”