MAGIC ON ICE

Ice sports are a key part of this community’s winter fabric

BY EMILY SHOFF

As anyone who has been down at the Hanley Ice Rink on a Friday night to see an adult co-ed hockey game can attest, there’s a whole lot more to this community than skiing. Ice sports of all kinds — from hockey to figure skating to curling — are a key part of the winter fabric of both Telluride and Mountain Village.

At “Hanley” alone, there’s a vibrant youth hockey program, ranging from the wee mini-mites ages 6 and under all the way up to competitive leagues for high school kids. There are also two divisions of men’s hockey, a women’s team, hockey fitness classes and daily pick-up games. The town’s ability to have such an impressive hockey program stems from the tight-knit community, reflects Grayson Fertig, executive director of the Telluride Lizard Head Hockey Club. “Our town is more interconnected than most and that is magnified in hockey,” he says. Fertig, who jokes that the hockey rink becomes everyone’s second living room during the winter, says that the town’s general love of play is also part of hockey’s success. “Telluride is exceptional at recreation.”

Equally special is the town’s figure skating program. Offered to ages ranging from 5 through high school, skating classes offer kids the chance to build skills in a fun, low-stress environment. Alysha Daniel, the program’s director, points to the fact that everyone has a chance to gain skills at their own pace. Because everyone shares the ice during their tri-weekly practices, there’s room for younger kids with advanced skills to skate with older groups. “We focus on fun and on always teaching them something new, so that they keep coming back,” says Daniel. New in recent years is the addition of a harness, which allows more skilled skaters to try out harder tricks. There is also a bonus morning session geared towards advanced skaters.

The program has two performances, one in the winter at the Reflection Plaza rink in Mountain Village and one in March at the Hanley. “Each are incredible in their own way,” remarks Daniel. “The winter one is more individual, with much of the choreography designed by the students, while the spring performance tends to be more collaborative.”

The fun doesn’t stop with just hockey and figure skating at Hanley. There are also daily open skates and an adult curling league. Curling, which is a kind of shuffleboard on ice, has a small but devoted following. According to Patty Arndt, who has curled for as long as the sport’s been around in town — eight years — and serves as the secretary on the Telluride Curling Club board, curling is all about having fun and building community. “As a sport, curling is easy to learn but can be hard to master; the more skillful you get, the more strategic the game becomes. It helps that the last rule of curling is that the winning team buys the losing team drinks, so in a way everyone wins.”

Outside of the Hanley Ice Rink, which is an indoor, National Hockey League-sized, refrigerated ice rink located in Telluride Town Park, there are two outdoor rinks in the park. In Mountain Village, there are two spots for skating: the Reflection Plaza rink, which is overseen by nearby Madeline Hotel and Residences, and another at the Village Pond, located in Village Plaza.

In a town with plenty to do come wintertime, Grayson Fertig is on to something when he points to the vital role ice sports play in building community. Trying your hand at curling, watching an exquisite performance by local figure skaters or cheering your hockey team alongside friends and neighbors are all a part of the winter fabric.