Telluride Skijoring Transforms Main Street Into Snow Course This March

East Colorado Avenue shed its identity as a downtown thoroughfare this weekend and became something else entirely: a snow-packed course where skiers and snowboarders rocketed through gates and launched off jumps while tethered to horses galloping down the heart of Telluride.

The inaugural Telluride Skijoring event ran Saturday and Sunday, March 14–15, with hours stretching from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The event was free and open to all, drawing spectators into the historic downtown to watch the sport play out on the street in front of them.

The weekend program covered the full range of the sport. Novice runs gave newcomers an introduction to skijoring's mechanics, while seasoned teams delivered advanced skills demonstrations. A "Best Dressed in the West" costume contest ran alongside the athletic action, inviting everyone present to participate in the western spirit the event was built around. Presenting sponsor Telluride Sleighs and Wagons anchored the sponsorship structure, which the organizers organized into western-themed tiers: Diamond Spur, Platinum Spur, Gold Spur, Silver Spur, and Bronze Spur.

Skijoring's roots in Colorado trace back to the early 1900s, when the Scandinavian practice of being pulled behind reindeer or horses on skis crossed the Atlantic and collided with the state's deep snowpack and ranching culture. Mountain towns like Steamboat Springs and Aspen adopted the sport through winter carnivals, where demonstrations grew into competitive spectacles blending horsemanship with speed. The Telluride Skijoring event framed its arrival with that lineage directly, describing itself as bringing the sport back to Telluride.

The skijoring weekend capped a three-day run of winter events in San Miguel County that opened Friday evening with the 6th Annual Skidola uphill race. Hosted by the Telluride Foundation and the Telluride Mountain Club, Skidola sent competitors charging from the town of Telluride up to San Sophia Ridge with a 5:30 p.m. start on March 13. The race welcomed four categories: men and women on skis or splitboards with skins, and men and women on microspikes or snowshoes. Entry cost $54, including a $4 processing fee and a Skidola beanie. All four registration categories had closed ahead of race day.

The Friday schedule was tightly sequenced. Bib pickup ran at Jagged Edge at 223 E. Colorado Ave on Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m., with a second pickup window at Oak Street Plaza, 250 San Juan Ave, on Friday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. A Pies for PI silent auction ran from 4:30 to 6:45 p.m., with participants invited to donate or bid on pies. Race timing closed at 7 p.m., with awards presented in front of Oak Patio at 6:45 p.m. Skidola's sponsor roster included Jagged Edge, Alpine Bank, Disco Swell, Home Loan Insurance (a division of Mountain West), Telluride Center for Dentistry, Telluride Properties Forbes, Community Banks of Colorado, and Alpine Club.

Together the three days stacked an uphill foot and ski race, a horse-powered street course, and a downtown costume contest into a single March weekend in Telluride.