Telluride slopes, dining offer experience rivaling the Alps
Every winter for more than a decade, I have joined friends for a Europe ski trip. Our tradition has taken us to mountain towns in Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy.
We go to schuss down picturesque pistes but also to indulge in wine-paired lunches served in charming chalets. In Europe, skiing is a lifestyle as much as it is a sport. The perfect day isn’t about first-chair to lastchair bragging rights. A great day involves skiing across borders from Switzerland to Italy to lunch on lobster pasta paired with Barolo, enjoy a digestif of amaro on the sun deck, then ski back in time for an après ski glühwein at a barn-turned-bar.
In 2020, we managed to sneak in a trip to the charming Austrian ski area of Saalbach-hinterglemm ahead of a global shutdown. This summer, we optimistically began our ritual vote, which determined that Europe ski trip 2021 would take place in Zermatt, Switzerland. But with European borders showing no signs of reopening, we ultimately admitted defeat. This winter, we’d need to get our ski fix stateside.
It was one of my Swiss friends who suggested Telluride. This southwestern Colorado town, tucked into a remote canyon in the San Juan Mountains, is often referred to as the Switzerland of America for
its dramatic peaks and low-key vibe. It’s also one of the hardest ski resorts to get to in North America.
In pandemic times, extra effort for fewer crowds has become a travel mantra. And news that Auberge Resorts Collection took over the slope-side Madeline Hotel made a visit this season more enticing.
Telluride is unique in that the ski resort and town lie about 1,000 vertical feet apart, but they are connected by a free, 13-minute gondola ride. This has helped protect the historic downtown, preserving its Wild West charm and mom-and-pop businesses.
Perched at 9,500 feet, the pedestrian-friendly Mountain Village has all the amenities, including an ice-skating rink and ski-in/ ski-out wax station. This season, in reaction to the pandemic, you’ll also find 20 gondola cabins-turneddining cars sprinkled throughout the base plaza. Each cabin has a QR code that accesses about a dozen village restaurant menus.
Patrick Latcham, director of business development for Telluride Ski & Golf, tells me the gondolas, as well as other creative COVID fixes, such as onmountain dining tents, may stick around after the pandemic. Guests like the novelty and businesses get extra seating, he said.
Telluride’s base area may feel small, but don’t let that fool you. The mountain spreads out across three peaks and boasts some of North America’s most extreme terrain. Black diamond slopes, including hike-to-terrain, make up just over 40 percent of the runs. If you’re willing to boot-pack to earn your turns, you’re rewarded with leg-burning runs of 2,000-plus vertical feet.
As a lifelong snowboarder, the thought of dropping into the European-style faces of Black Iron Bowl was thrilling. But at 40, I’d decided this would be the season I’d learn to ski. Would a novice like me be able to handle Telluride?
On my first day, I quickly discover that Telluride’s extreme reputation overshadows the fact that it’s also the ideal mountain for beginners to progress. And unlike many resorts, you aren’t relegated to a small corner of the mountain lapping green runs. Telluride has a green or blue run at the top of every lift, guaranteeing even newbies can soak in 360-degree, snowcapped mountain views. It is also the only resort that I’ve come across to designate trails as double greens and double blues.
Anyone who has skied in
Europe knows that nabbing a good lunch reservation is as important as scoring first tracks. So our first runs of the day are mapped out to bring us to Alpino Vino. A first-come, first-served policy explains why, at 11 a.m., a line of skiers snakes down the See Forever trail.
At 11,966 feet, Alpino Vino is the highest elevation fine-dining restaurant in North America. You can ski in and order a $3,000 bottle of wine, but there’s still an inherent casualness when you are dining in ski pants atop a mountain.
A table on the deck delivers mesmerizing views of the Wilson Range. Aperol spritzes and a plate of meats and cheese transport me to the cozy refugios of Italy’s Dolomite Mountains. I later learn chef Nico Peccedi grew up in the small ski village of Bormeo in the Italian Alps, close to the Swiss border. His simple, rustic food, like grilled cheese and pesto paired with tomato-gorgonzola soup, is exactly what I crave on a brisk winter day.
A top-to-bottom run is necessary to burn off lunch. From the Prospect Bowl Express Chairlift, I’m able to hop on Galloping Goose, a scenic, cruisey double green. At 4.6 miles, this is the longest run on the mountain and doubles as a real estate tour of some of Telluride’s most stunning mountain mansions.
We reach the base just as the alphorn has been blown at Timber Room, signaling the start of après ski. Within the Madeline Hotel, the restaurant takes its design cues from the chalets of Megève. A double-sided fireplace anchors the space, and intimate booths ensure socially distanced seating.
Timber Room elevates the après offerings with a menu featuring 30-some Champagnes by the glass, first-growth Bordeaux and decadent small plates, including deviled eggs with black truffle shavings and baked potatoes topped with crème fraîche and osetra caviar.
Bubbles are poured and glasses raised. We salvaged our ski tradition. Telluride delivered a taste of our favorite European mountain towns right at home.