Crested Butte, Colorado - 2024
Nestling in at 9000 ft and with only one road out in the winter, the former coal mining town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, Colorado is not mainstream. But what it lacks in accessibility, it makes up aesthetically. It is an amphitheatre of pristine, uncluttered grandeur that reminds me somewhat of the Dolomites in Italy. This is one hell of a location and well worth the trip.
It is only 18 miles, as the crow flies, from Aspen, but by road in winter it is a 202-mile journey. Such is the nature of the topography in Colorado. I think it is rather appropriate that there is such a distance in winter between the most famous ski resort in the world and the small community that is now dubbed “The last great Colorado ski town” because they couldn’t be more different. At the last census, only 1700 people claimed Crested Butte as home, but it is a known known destination.
What both places have in common, however, is a mining past and with that goes dive bars that have stood the test of time. In Crested Butte, the infamous watering hole is Kochevar’s, established by Jacob Kochevar back in 1886. He seemed an interesting man with a keen eye for what his customers were looking for - women.
In its early life it was transformed from a brothel to a bowling alley, to a bar. Not many bars can lay claim to that level of adaptability at such an early stage in their history.
But perhaps the bar is most famous for housing Butch Cassidy and the Wall Gang. Butch left his gun, which is now displayed proudly inside the saloon. No better place, therefore, to bring my bunch of morally impaired misfits.
We did, however, acknowledge that the joint had history with femininity and what fun it was to bring one of the world’s most celebrated supermodels - Alessandra Ambrosio - to the bar at the end of the road.