It’s time to ski and Telluride is calling.
For us, Telluride is an easy 8-hour drive. How can I say easy and 8-hour in the same sentence? Well, the trip breaks up nicely so it doesn’t really feel like eight hours. We drive up the mountain to Flagstaff where we top off the gas and get some Rolo’s before heading northeast to Navajo Nation Land. We drive through Tuba City, grab a bite in Kyenta, pass Four Corners and enter Colorado. A quick gas stop in Cortez followed by a left onto Highway 145 and before you know it we are there. The roads on Navajo Nation Land are really nice with super wide shoulders most of the way. New Mexico and Colorado could pay more attention to their roads by Four Corners though. The best part of the drive is Highway 145. It’s a nice two-lane road that follows the Delores River and goes through a few super cute little towns along the way.
Our first trip to ski in Telluride was over Christmas break in 2008. We’d skied in McCall, Idaho followed by trips to Park City, Utah and Winter Park, Colorado. We wanted to find a place we could drive to and had gazed up at the ski runs in Telluride on previous summer trips.
Our first trip did not disappoint. All four of us were keenly watching the snow reports and tallying up the total by the foot. It would be another monster year for them and we so excited to go. The night before we left was like that old Disney World commercial where the kids and dad are trying to sleep with smiles on their faces whispering, “I’m too excited to sleep.” Our friends, Eric and Michele and their kids were joining us on this little adventure and their kids were as excited as ours.
We stayed at The Peaks Resort mid-mountain at Mountain Village, which was ski-in ski-out and had a ski valet. Our room was large enough for all four of us and had a table and chairs that became our kitchen, so to speak. We brought stuff for breakfast and lunch and only planned to eat dinners out to save money. The hotel has sweeping views of the San Juan Mountains and the Meadows ski run. It was the perfect first place to stay and be within walking distance to everything. A huge perk to staying in either Mountain Village or down in the town of Telluride is that once you park your car, you won’t need it again until it’s time to leave.
We realized after hotel camping at The Peaks that we needed a place with a full kitchen to satisfy my need for a budget and the family’s need for an endless supply of food. Before our next trip Mark scoured VRBO and found the rental company Latitude 38. They have a wide variety of properties in all price ranges. Over the years Mark’s gotten to know them pretty well and I like to think that helps us get a great deal. Every place has exceeded our expectations. We’ve stayed in condos and homes and like staying near the core area by Chair 4 the best. It’s an easy walk to the lifts for skiing and to the gondola station for a ride down into town.
The mountain is a prized gem all on its own. There are 120 ski runs and over 2,000 acres of terrain to ski on. There are enough runs at every level for everyone in the family to have a great time. Even though it’s a big mountain, you’re never really crowded or feel like you’re skiing on the freeway. We spent much of our time off Chair 10 that first trip. Eric and Michelle’s daughter Kimber was eight and learning to work her skis. She was so cute going down the Marmot, Double Cabins and Galloping Goose runs chanting “make the pizza” when she wanted to stop. For her, the runs were all about french fries (keeping skis parallel) and making pizza. I smile every time I remember it. It didn’t take her long to want harder runs so we moved to Chair 4 and played on the steeper stuff. That was her only Telluride trip on skis; the next year she joined her brothers Blake and Beau on a snowboard.
Our dear friends, Roger & Mim are expert skiers but enjoy cruising the mountain. We spend our days together while their daughter Mariah joins Mark and our boys crushing it on the hard stuff. My favorite area to ski is around Chair 5. I could play up there all day. The runs are steep enough for me without being scary. The lift lines are short so I can get a lot of runs in. Prospect Bowl off Chair 12 is another wide open space to explore as there are several ways back to the lift.
There are beautiful views all around you on almost every run but the best view for me is at the top of Chair 14, the Gold Hill Express. Off to your right as you exit the chair is Revelation Bowl, a black diamond run that gets groomed with a snow-cat on a wench. Straight ahead is La Junta Peak and to your left is the See Forever ski run which they affectionately call “groomed with a view.” It is a required photo spot for us every year before Mark and the boys head off to Revelation and I head down See Forever. From top to bottom it’s nearly three miles with breathtaking views all the way down.
Along the See Forever run also sits Alpino Vino, the country’s highest elevation restaurant sitting at 11,966 feet. It’s a must stop once a trip kind of thing for us. It has a cozy dining space inside and a nice large deck for outside dining. On bluebird days the deck is in high demand. If you’re on the deck near a heat lamp, you’ll need to remove your ski helmet so it doesn’t start to melt. I ordered the signature grilled cheese and tomato-Gorgonzola soup on our first visit and haven’t tried anything else on all subsequent visits. When you start with the best thing on the menu, it’s best to stay there. Of course this lunch pairs well with a nice bottle of white wine.
Our ski day finishes sitting at either Tracks or Tomboy Tavern at the bottom of Chair 4 watching people come down the Misty Maiden run. Heat lamps are plentiful so relaxing on the patio with a apres ski beverage is comfortable as well as entertaining. Mim, Roger and I will grab a table while the rest of our group finishes up then we all relive the excitement of the day’s ski runs before heading back to our condo/house.
Once back at our lodging, we all shower and take care of dinner. We plan easy meals that transport well. Usually it’s spaghetti, burgers, grilled chicken or tri tip. Mim always makes her crescent wrapped ‘lil smokies. I assure you, we don’t starve. When the boys were younger, our trip was tied to their Christmas break so college bowl games were always on the TV. We’d pick our teams for the night games in the morning then jaw back and forth jokingly during the game. As they got older, they’d venture down to town for ice cream. Now that they are all over 21, you’d think they’d venture to town for a beer but it’s still ice cream they seek. After that first trip, we now eat out once in town on our ski trips. We’ve found some great little places. Pizza, Mexican and BBQ. It’s hard to find a bad meal in town. If you have a group of five or more, I recommend reservations as the best places get really crowded.
The town of Telluride is like a step back into the mining time of the late 1800’s. Many of the buildings are over 100 years old and the whole place is just so darn cute. Even if we aren’t eating in town every night, I still love to walk up and down Main Street. The free gondola operates from 6:30 am to 12 midnight everyday. It’s the perfect way to get around Mountain Village and Telluride. One end is at Market Plaza in Mountain Village and the other end is down in Telluride at Oak Street & San Juan Avenue. Most times we board at the Mountain Village station. The gondola stops at Station St. Sophia where you can enter/exit for Allred’s restaurant or to ski down to town or the Mountain Village core. From this point your views change from mid mountain ski runs to the lights of Telluride laid out below you. The pictures I take have never compared to the beauty before me on our ride down.
Last year was our first trip without kids. Mark found us a house; huge mansion is more like it. We see these big beautiful homes on our lift ride up Chair 10 and have often wondered what the insides look like. Mark scored the deal of the century on a beautiful 6-bedroom 6,700 square foot house steps away from the Bridges ski run. Four couples joined us making for a group of 10. We told the kids we had a big bunk room for them, all they had to do was get there but none of them could make it work. Boy did they miss out. We had a huge kitchen, living room and bedrooms on the main floor complete with a giant deck, two bedrooms plus a theater room on the top floor and a full game room, giant mud room and bedrooms on the bottom floor. This was certainly our most lavish accommodations to date.
We skied and skied, lunched at Alpino Vino and ventured into town. This year we also went snowmobiling. Oh man was that fun. It was a guided ride through a closed golf course and campground then up a mountain. There were two guys up higher than us on the mountain on big tire bicycles. It was cold, we were all bundled up and those guys looked like they were out for a leisurely ride in workout gear. Wow.
Looking back at these pictures I see my boys literally growing up in each new set and realize just how lucky we are to have this playground within a days drive. Soon they may have children and I look forward to hooking another generation on this wonderful place.