Travel: Colorado

I'm peering down with dread at what I'm being asked to attempt, the mountain dropping from under my feet as if sliced with a knife.

After two flights to reach my destination in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, my body clock is all over the place and my feet are in ski boots for the first time in a year - and that's only if you count half a day at Glenshee.

But my daredevil guide is pushing me to the edge. As I look down, she's waving me on and shouting about fish, flashlights and martini trays ... again. I'm left with no choice but to keep those images in mind, take a deep breath and take the plunge.

When a three-time freestyle world champion is leading the way, the seemingly impossible quickly becomes challenging but achievable.

Alison Gannet has retired from competitive skiing and now divides her time between her ambassadorial role for Crested Butte resort and promoting green working practices for businesses around the world.

Over lunch, one minute she is showing me YouTube footage of her skiing hell-for-leather off cliff edges; the next she is showing pictures of the pink carrots she is growing in her garden.

Alison is cool. How else could you describe someone who has such an imaginative teaching method. The repertoire goes something like this: "Use your pole to stab a fish.

"Then think of your pole as a flashlight. Shine it. Then pretend you have a tray of martinis in your hands. Keep them in that position so that you don't drop it. Stab the fish, shine the flashlight, serve the martinis. Stab, shine, serve."

Sure enough, after stabbing, shining and serving martinis for a couple of hours my confidence is soaring and I feel on top of the world, carving my way down well-named runs such as Big Chute, Twister and Hot Rocks.

It might have something to do with the altitude, of course. At 10,000 feet up, there is less oxygen. But the beauty of the surrounding landscape and the freedom and exhilaration they provide also has something to do with it, for sure.

Think skiing in Colorado, and the places that spring to mind are probably Breckenridge, Aspen or Vail. Familiar and flashy, they have earned their reputation among North America's most popular resorts. Think outside the box, though, and you can find the likes of Crested Butte and Telluride, resorts with as much, perhaps more, to offer but with fewer visitors and far more character.

Over the course of a week, split equally between the two resorts, I don't wait more than 30 seconds for a lift and we often have entire runs more or less to ourselves. Unlike in Europe, the snow is immaculately groomed too, making for perfect conditions, and there is something for skiers of every level, from beginner to expert. Charming and steeped in character, Crested Butte and Telluride are Colorado's hidden gems.

Crested Butte, named after the shape of the mountain, is an authentic western town that has preserved its heritage and shunned corporate America.

It's one of the few places where you can't find a Starbucks or McDonald's but you can't fail to come across a good story.

Take the hunter who once brought home the largest elk ever to be shot, only to have misplaced the animal's head. When the townsfolk sought to put the catch on display, they had to find another elk head and sew it on.

An old mining town in existence for 130 years, Crested Butte has switched black gold for white gold. Snow rather than coal is the most important resource these days for a town with a population of less than 3,000.

The pub Butch Cassidy visited when on the run from his first bank robbery is still there to tale the tale. He had fled from Telluride, and after three wonderful days of skiing that's where I was headed next.

Famed for its film festival as much as for its skiing, Telluride is the resort celebrities visit to hide away.

Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey are among the regulars, and one look at the size of the houses with ski-in, ski-out facilities is enough to suggest there is plenty of money sloshing around on these slopes.

It must have been the same back in 1889 when a young Butch, whose mother was a Scottish immigrant, made the first of his many bank robberies, helping himself to $21,000.

Telluride at that time was a mining community, but all that changed when the first ski lift was installed in 1972. Like Crested Butte, it has never looked back.

Our guide, Tom, was offering a hundred bucks if we could find someone who is Telluride born and bred. All the residents originally came here to ski and never went home again, he says. It's easy to see the temptation.

Beautiful, tree-lined runs for those of all abilities, spectacular views over to the neighbouring state of Ohio, fabulous restaurants and a relaxed atmosphere make it a stunning location.

Before taking to the slopes, I was off for a sunsite snowmobile adventure, snaking through the forest high in the mountains as the sun began to dip behind the peaks.

Later, when hearing all about the town's fascinating history on a walking tour, our guide was untying the rope acting as a lock for the old cinema and inviting us inside for a look at a special old theatre. It's the type of place, as Butch Cassidy once discovered, where people happily leave their front door unlocked.

Like Crested Butte, I'm told it's also the type of area that is transformed in the summer by spectacular wild flowers and flowing rivers well stocked with fish. The surrounding mountains become a haven for hillwalkers and mountain bikers who want to get away from it all.

After having so much fun here in the winter, I finished my week's skiing by making a promise to myself. Come the summer, I'll be back.

Return flights from Edinburgh to New York with Continental start at 400. Connection flights from New York to Gunnison, near Crested Butte, with Continental start at 200 return (www.continental.com).

Phil Johnson stayed at Elevation Hotel and Spa (www.skicb.com/cbmr/elevation-hotel-and-spa.aspx) in Crested Butte, where stay and ski prices start from 70 per person per night, and at Capella Hotel (www.CapellaTelluride.com) in Telluride. For more information, visit www.skicb.com and wwww.tellurideskiresort.com.

This article was first published in Scotland On Sunday, 17 April, 2011