getting drunk is a very popular pastime here. that being said gunni/crested butte have just about everything you can think of to do outside. cliff jumping, waterskiing/wakeboarding, swimming, climbing, mountaineering, rafting, kayaking, surfing (yes it might be on a river, but the whitewater park has a surfable hole), gold medal fishing, camping, hiking, and mountainbiking are all minutes from your door. crested butte is the birthplace of mountain biking, and teh valley has 300+ miles of ridable trails.
cb has sick skiing terrain, but the snow is hit or miss, and the backcountry aruond the area is pretty easy access and gets 2-3 times more snow than the resort.
the terrain park and skiing is better at cbmr than at dmr (purgatory), but given the opportunities to get to silverton, wolf creek and the surrounding backcountry from durango the skiing is comparable on the whole.
you will find that durango has way more population and less of a rural feel, and therefore more opportunities to do things like shop and eat. it has good access to outdoor recreation, but not the way the access is in gunnison/cb.
there are tradeoffs to being in either location, but i bet you will find yourself doing the same amount of drinking regardless of where you go (both schools have reputations as being party schools).
