Telluride Mountain Colorado is a photograph by Janice Pariza which was uploaded on April 14th, 2014.
Telluride Mountain Colorado
A shot of Telluride Mountain, The San Juans, Wilson Peak in the Colorado Rockies.... more
Title
Telluride Mountain Colorado
Artist
Janice Pariza
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
A shot of Telluride Mountain, The San Juans, Wilson Peak in the Colorado Rockies.
This image was shot in early April.
The San Juan Mountains are a rugged range surrounding Telluride, CO, and many small mountain towns in this area are now transitioning from mining to a recreation and tourism-based lifestyle. The San Juans have more land above 10,000 feet than any other range in the continental United States - hundreds of majestic peaks rise above 13,000 feet and some are above 14,000 feet. When Spanish explorers came through in the late 1700s, they named many prominent features of the area, which was populated by fur traders and Ute Indians until 1873, when the Utes relinquished their mineral rights.
Long before part of this spectacular mountain range became the Telluride Ski Resort, it was the San Juan miners that populated the area. The miners skied to and from work and they worked long hours underground. Husbands and fathers came home from work with frozen feet and stepped into a warm bathtub to defrost their shoes enough to get them off. Miners were tough, living among rockslides and mudslides, floods, avalanches, brutal winter cold, and extreme conditions in any sense of the word.
This high-risk mentality of mining camps above 10,000 feet set the tone for the active lifestyle and high energy found in the San Juans of Colorado today. Those who choose to live in mountain towns were, and are still today, tough, courageous, creative, caring, helpful, intelligent, and independent people. Walk the streets and read the plaques, then go to the library and the museum to educate yourself. The San Juan Mountains will touch you, and Telluride will teach you. Come to absorb the sensitive spirit and historical echoes of a place you can only get to know by being here and taking it all in. Join us in Telluride, Colorado for our celebration of life, of nature, and much more. You won't regret it.
Uploaded
April 14th, 2014
