Folks have been skiing in Crested Butte longer than they’ve been driving cars, flushing toilets or turning on light switches. Thank goodness today we can do all of the above.

Crested Butte today is a marvel of contrasts. High-speed lifts whisk skiers to the top of an expansive ski mountain abuzz with youthful energy, flanked by a modern resort with state-of-the-art services and amenities. Yet, just a few minutes away lies the old town of Crested Butte, one of Colorado’s largest National Historic Districts, looking much like it did a century ago when burly gold miners skied in from their mountain claims for supplies, good food and warm companionship. The historic town, bathed in antique lamplight, still knows how to welcome, entertain and pamper its guests.

Far from urban crowds, Crested Butte has preserved the best of its heritage-a sense of history, community and hospitality-while creating the best of the new-exceptional skiing, diverse recreational amenities, and fine dining and lodging.

In the town of Crested Butte, guests feel warmly welcomed by both its friendly locals and its old Victorian storefronts. Yet this is no sleepy backwoods burg; Crested Butte boasts an impressive cultural slate-art galleries, musical entertainment, dance, theater-and, as Michael Carlton wrote in the Denver Post, "Crested Butte has more fine restaurants per capita than any other town in the U.S."

The modern ski resort is a separate world of luxury conference facilities, shopping, dining and recreational amenities. Accommodations range from the plush, slope-side Club Med resort to lodges, bed and breakfast inns and condominiums-more than 5,000 beds in the valley. Historic town and contemporary resort are connected by a free shuttle bus.

Among avid skiers, Crested Butte is known as a place where anyone can find the right challenge - whether it’s the resort’s innovative QuickStart beginners’ program, inviting intermediate bowls and non-threatening glades, or the double-black diamond Extreme Limits, the finest adventure skiing in the Rocky Mountains. Crested Butte leads the state in teaching first-time skiers; the country’s best and boldest skiers and snowboarders also gather in Crested Butte each year for national extreme skiing and snowboarding championships.

Though Crested Butte feels like a world removed-nestled in a valley at the road’s end, surrounded by towering peaks-it is as accessible by air as any ski resort in America. Skiers can easily fly into the Gunnison/Crested Butte airport from anywhere in the United States, with convenient international connections as well.

Crested Butte offers guests accessibility, amenities and skiing to rival the largest ski resorts in America, but it has what they can’t buy, build or imitate-authentic Old West charm, small-town hospitality and a "real skier’s mountain." Crested Butte is truly "the last great Colorado ski town."