Art & Culture Being Green Food & Wine Mountain Living Telluride: Art & Culture Being Green Food & Wine Ken Burns Mountain Living Nature Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
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Mountainfilm Mania
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Banner Over T-ride
Festival season has arrived here in Telluride and it kicks off today with Mountainfilm. “It’s a weird mix of film fest, think tank and jamboree,” says Mountainfilm Director, David Holbrooke. “It’s both low key and intense, loose, yet focused,” he continues. Indeed Mountainfilm is where some of the best minds in the country come to share their ideas through art, film, presentations and books. David discussed the essence of this Memorial Day weekend tradition in Telluride and its 2009 lineup during a recent Travel Fun interview. This year’s theme is food, so, of course, there will be a lot to whet your appetite—for your body, mind and soul.
For me, one of the main attractions this year includes the premiere of “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” by master documentarian Ken Burns. “I think he’s taught more people about the history of America than anyone else,” David says about Ken Burns referring to his documentaries on the Civil War, World War II, jazz, baseball and more. You can tune in to PBS this fall to view this six-part series about the history of our national parks.
“The people that come to Mountainfilm are leaders of a paradigm we need to head to whether culturally or environmentally,” David emphasizes. Such people include renowned chef Ming Tsai, mountain adventurer Conrad Anker, animal activist Paul Watson and reporter Nicholas Kristof, to name a few. David’s dad, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, will participate via a tele conference since world affairs prevent him from being at the festival in person.
Be sure to visit the MF Store to purchase DVDs highlights from the festival and definitely take in some of the events if you’re in Telluride this weekend.
Book Picks
“Deep Economy,” by Bill McKibben
“Edge of Never,” by Bill Kerig
Both authors and many others will be present at this year’s Mountainfilm.
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by maribeth
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Skiing and Spa Going: Part One in Vail, Colorado
Après Ski Necessities at Vail Plaza Hotel & Club
What? Don’t tell me you’re tired of hearing about skiing. While most die-hard skiers are still plowing through mashed potatoes and corn snow at ski areas such as A-Basin in Colorado and Mammoth Mountain in California, most of us ardent ski buffs have finally resigned ourselves to hanging up our skis for the season. But smart travelers should begin contemplating next season.
If any of you out there (devoted readers, for example) have been waiting with bated breath to read about my weekend with Steve (see Weekend Expectations blog below), I can tell you our time together scored exceedingly high marks. We, in fact, spent two weekends in a row together in April experiencing end-of-ski-season bliss. Plus we learned that spring is a great time to ski and spa go without dealing with the crowds. Bargains are excellent during this time as well. (The same, of course, holds true for early season in November and the first half of December.)
Vail and Its Fairytale-Like Village
We zipped off to Vail after Telluride officially closed to experience the fun and fanfare of their closing weekend. A spring storm dumped impressive amounts of snow on the mountain beginning the Thursday before. Had it not been for Steve nursing an extremely sore back (from apparently having skied too hard the previous weekend in T-ride which had also benefited from an outstanding snowfall at its closing), I would have feared more powder day problems. Instead we carried on like two lovers on a weekend getaway where skiing and mountain fun entered into only part of the equation (wink, wink).
I had only been to Vail once before many years ago for my PSIA (Professional Ski Instructor of America) certification, so this time I was eager to discover it for real. Steve gladly toured me around Vail’s renowned back bowls and I was thrilled to find myself cruising on black terrain considerably softer than what we have in T-ride. (Of course I love our steeps but they do require more effort.) After just a few hours of skiing, however, Steve declared that his back had had enough. That was fine with me since by then I felt as though I had a good grasp of the mountain and looked forward to the day when I could return and really wear myself out at this world renowned resort.
This left us with time to explore Vail Village, a pedestrian-friendly assemblage of shops, restaurants, bars and places of lodging that truly made us feel like we were on vacation. One might look at this Bavarian-inspired hamlet as hokey (I have in the past), but it really does transport you to a faraway land and we jumped on for the ride. Steve, with his family ties to the Italian Alps, pointed out how authentic these alpine chalets really were in their construction and interpretation. This enchanted me even more, so I suggested we stop for a coffee and a strudel at Hotel-Gastof Gramshammer, one of the more charming wooden establishments in the area, founded in 1965 by Austrians Sheika and Pepi Gramshammer.
It was a good choice. We sat at their German beer garden terrace and then later discovered that this classic alpine establishment also housed two other restaurants, a particularly animated bar and hotel rooms above. I wasn’t sure whether I was more wooed by its charm or Steve’s attentiveness.
