The Dream Stream 5.14.16

(Last Updated On: May 30, 2016)

After skiing the Lightning Bolt the day before, Brittany and I decided to tackle the Dream Stream the following day. The Dream Stream is the prominent avalanche path that is visible on the side of Ajax Mountain from downtown Telluride. Every few years, a Youtube video will pop up from this slide path when Telluride Helitrax bombs the route and a massive avalanche pours off the mountainside. Thankfully, with stable spring conditions we weren’t too worried about that, at least first thing in the morning.

Like the route the day before, we had great views of Telluride and the box canyon that it sits in:
Telluride and box canyon

The route passes by mining ruins before reaching the summit of Ajax. Clouds were starting to develop, so we didn’t have great visibility but conditions were pretty prime corn skiing. Brittany:
skiing the dream stream


corn skiing dream stream telluride

The Dream Stream is a pretty spectacular spot to make some turns, the views don’t get more spectacular. Frank:
telluride skiing

Eventually you hit the actual slide path and begin making your way down as far as you care to. The route ends in a cliff, so we turned around and reascended Ajax.
dream stream run

Back on the other side of Ajax, we found similarly good corn skiing, though it was a bit past its prime at the bottom. Brittany:
telluride corn skiing

A slight detour at the bottom of our route led us to Bridal Veil falls and the power station.
bridal veil power house

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- miners were way crazier and tougher than any of us. So cool to make turns while feeling the spray of the falls:
skiing by bridal veil falls in telluride

Another great line in the San Juans- thanks to our new friends for showing us around!

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Frank Konsella

Frank loves snow more than anything... except his wife.  He ensures his food is digested properly by chewing it 32 times before swallowing.He is a full-time real estate agent serving Crested Butte and Gunnison and would be honored to send you his monthly newsletter.

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Summary
Article Name
The Dream Stream 5.14.16
Description
Ski report from the Dream Stream near Telluride CO in the San Juan mountains
Author
14erskiers.com

Frank Konsella

Frank loves snow more than anything... except his wife.    He ensures his food is digested properly by chewing it 32 times before swallowing. He is a full-time real estate agent serving Crested Butte and Gunnison and would be honored to send you his monthly newsletter.

4 thoughts on “The Dream Stream 5.14.16

  • September 14, 2016 at 4:03 pm
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    I made the first known ski descent with my friend Steve Moose in 1977. He made the first known solo descent the following year while I was making a first descent in an extremely steep chute above Bear Creek(I forget the name) I moved to Alaska and Steve was killed in a hang gliding accident in Bear Creek shortly after. Scott Burbank

  • September 16, 2016 at 2:00 pm
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    Thanks for the history Scott! I wish we knew more about a lot of first known descents 🙂 Telluride backcountry in the 70’s must have been a different world.

  • September 16, 2016 at 3:52 pm
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    It was certainly a different world, 6 by 8 streets and not much on the mesas. Our small band of back country skiers were fond of saying “if it holds snow it is skiable”
    ????

  • September 19, 2016 at 11:18 am
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    Definitely with you on that one! If it has snow, it can be skied. 🙂

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