Ear to the ground

“I think the phone’s for you, person lying in bed next to me.”

– A Durango woman answering a stranger’s phone after a night of holiday revelry

Best in board

The world’s top knuckle draggers are sliding into Southwest Colorado this weekend. The Snowboard World Cup makes its sole U.S. stop in Telluride on Dec. 16-18. The event will feature Snowboard Cross and Parallel Giant Slalom, and athletes from around the world will take part in the competitions.

Athletes include two-time Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott; three-time X Games gold medalist Lindsey Jacobellis; six-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland; Olympic athlete Graham Watanabe; and World Championship bronze medalist Nick Baumgartner.

However, the biggest star of the weekend might be the Snowboard Cross course. 2010 Vancouver Olympic course designer Jeff Ihaksi arrived in Telluride in early December and has been working with Telluride’s snowmaking, grooming and terrain park teams to construct and fine tune the world-class course. Peter Foley, head coach for U.S. Snowboarding, is also on hand to offer both his guidance and expertise.

The Parallel Giant Slalom will take place on Upper Misty Maiden; and Lower Misty Maiden will be the site for the Snowboard Cross course with the finish in the cocktail-soaked and spectator-friendly Mountain Village.

The Parallel Giant Slalom finals take off the afternoon of Thurs., Dec. 16, and the Snowboard Cross finals will follow on Dec. 17.  A new Snowboard Cross Team Event will round out the competition on Sat., Dec. 18.

For more information, visit www.tellurideworldcup.com.

Crashing Christmas

Just in case we missed you last week, here’s another update from your friends at theDurango Telegraph. The staffers at your favorite local weekly will be taking Christmas week off. That’s right,Telegraph world headquarters will be closed to the public next week.

Avid readers are reminded to not look for a new edition on Dec. 23 (and please don’t call to tell us that the new issue is not up on the web). Instead, hold onto this content-rich, eye-catching “double-issue” for an additional seven days. We’ll be tanned, rested and back in business Dec. 27.