Yeah, I ski at Durango just about every year. Compared to what it was 20 years ago when I first started skiing there, it has changed dramatically. Thankfully, not so much as Breckenridge or Telluride, though. At least with Durango the ski crowds typically aren't as large as say, Breckenridge or Vail. Telluride ski crowds are sort of self-regulated by the challenging terrain.
I’m not sure how anyone can afford to ski at Durango anymore with what all the hotels charge for rooms now. Even though I grew up in the area I never was a downhill skier, although I used to cross-country ski. Friends of mine who did ski always liked to get over to Telluride if they could, because as you said, it was self-regulating as to who would be on the slopes. They could get away from the massive crowds of people coming to the area on ski package vacations and jamming up the lift lines and runs. Telluride demands a much higher level of ability to ski (unless you happen to like spending time in ambulance rides to the hospital).