Qualla: Telluride https://qualla.com/telluride en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:04 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/e/r/telluride-historic-district-wp/telluridefromhikingtrail-july2.jpg Qualla: Telluride https://qualla.com/telluride Telluride: Introduction https://qualla.com/telluride/ Photo credit Donald P. Cram, CC BY-SA 3.0. Telluride sits at the end of a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains, surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks on three sides. There's one road in and one road out - a geographic fact that has shaped its history. Gold and silver built the town in the 1870s; when the mines closed, the town nearly died. For decades, Telluride was a beautiful ghost, its Victorian buildings preserved by poverty. Then came the ski resort in 1972, then the film festival in 1974, then the real estate boom that turned a dying mining town into one of America's most expensive communities. The irony is sharp: the isolation that made Telluride poor now makes it exclusive. The box canyon that trapped the town has become its selling point. Butch Cassidy robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank here in 1889; today the building is a luxury retail space.

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Image: Donald P. Cram | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/e/r/telluride-wk/9wer-telluride-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Telluride: The Mining https://qualla.com/telluride/ Photo credit Donald P. Cram, CC BY-SA 3.0. Prospectors reached the Telluride area in 1875, naming their camp 'Columbia' - later changed to Telluride (possibly from tellurium, a gold-bearing ore, or perhaps 'to hell you ride,' reflecting the journey in). Gold and silver poured from mines high in the surrounding peaks: the ...

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Image: Donald P. Cram | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/e/r/telluride-wk/9wer-telluride-the-mining.mp3 0:06 2 full Telluride: The Outlaw https://qualla.com/telluride/ Photo credit Donald P. Cram, CC BY-SA 3.0. On June 24, 1889, Butch Cassidy (Robert LeRoy Parker) robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank of approximately $20,000 - his first major heist. He and accomplices escaped through the canyons that Cassidy knew from his days working at a nearby ranch. The robbery launched his career as A...

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Image: Donald P. Cram | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/e/r/telluride-wk/9wer-telluride-the-outlaw.mp3 0:06 3 full Telluride: The Revival https://qualla.com/telluride/ Photo credit Donald P. Cram, CC BY-SA 3.0. Telluride nearly died when mining ended. By 1970, the population had fallen to around 500. The Victorian buildings survived because no one could afford to demolish them. In 1972, Joe Zoline opened Telluride Ski Resort, transforming the dying town. Two years later, filmmakers Bill...

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Image: Donald P. Cram | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/e/r/telluride-wk/9wer-telluride-the-revival.mp3 0:06 4 full Telluride: The Access https://qualla.com/telluride/ Photo credit Bede735, CC BY-SA 3.0. The box canyon defines Telluride's character. Colorado Highway 145 is the only road in - and it dead-ends at the base of the ski slopes. For decades, this isolation limited growth. The free gondola connecting Telluride to Mountain Village provided a second access point (sort of),...

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Image: Bede735 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/e/r/telluride-wk/9wer-telluride-the-access.mp3 0:06 5 full Telluride: Visiting Telluride https://qualla.com/telluride/ Photo credit Carl Mikoy from New York, USA, CC BY 2.0. Telluride is located in San Miguel County, southwestern Colorado. Access is via Highway 145 from the north (from Ridgway) or south (from Cortez/Dolores). The main street is a National Historic Landmark District with preserved Victorian buildings. The free gondola connects Telluri...

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Image: Carl Mikoy from New York, USA | CC BY 2.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/e/r/telluride-wk/9wer-telluride-visiting-telluride.mp3 0:06 6 full