20 Oct 2008, 4:09pm
Colorado Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies:
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Comments Off on Fall in Telluride: Riding the Gondola

Fall in Telluride: Riding the Gondola

Me Sightseeing on the Gondola

Me Sightseeing on the Gondola

Boy, am I glad to be back!  I’ve survived my technical difficulties and will try to catch up with my blog postings this week.  (Give me a plume and a few sheets of parchment any day!)

If you think I appear somewhat like a Bond girl in the photo on the left, it’s because I’m riding the gondola that connects Telluride to Mountain Village.  Yeah, I thought I’d go for more of a slick Europhile look here since a lot of people conjure up hair-raising scenes from a 007 flick when they first ride our gondola.  Two systems builders, one from Salt Lake City, the other from Switzerland (not surprisingly!) collaborated to create this fine example of modern technology, a veritable air-born shuttle that spans three miles as it sails above the slopes at treetop height. A super green transportation choice that operates the better part of the year on wind-powered electricity, the gondola has greatly minimized the amount of air and noise pollution in Telluride while keeping vehicular traffic at a minimum.  It always promises an exciting ride as well as safe delivery to the next station.  Visions of heart-racing adventures become dashed when you learn that in the twelve years of its existence, only one evacuation was required and that was on the intercept gondola, the four-minute spit that goes between the core of Mountain Village to the parking area.  (Rescuers do, however, regularly train for such missions, just in case.) 

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Yay for Skiing, Riding & Holiday Making in Telluride

Telluride, Colorado

Telluride, Colorado

Telluride Town All Wrapped Up for the Holidays

Telluride Town All Wrapped Up for the Holidays

Yay, it’s December! Yay, the ski area is open! Double yay, we have a good amount of fresh snow–a season total of over fifty inches so far! Yay, it’s the most beautiful time of the year in the most picturesque mountain town in America. Really. Telluride, Colorado gives festive new meaning all winter long and most especially right now and throughout these upcoming weeks.

Driving Toward the Mountain

Driving Toward the Mountain

Getting Closer

Getting Closer

After a super warm and dry November, the Telluride Ski Resort lifts are finally powering  us up to the tops of the mountains we love so dearly.

Do you remember how you felt on Christmas Eve when you were a child? Well, that’s how many of us have been feeling lately. The excitement is palpable; it seems that just the thought of cruising down the hill basking in the fun and freedom that’s part of most every on-mountain experience has half the town giddy. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning on opening day in anticipation of the thrill of being out on the hill.

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Bike Riding In and Around Our Beautiful Mountain Towns

Biking in Telluride

Biking in Telluride

Family Bike Adventure in Crested Butte

Family Bike Adventure in Crested Butte

Penelope Gleason from Bootdoctors in Telluride

Penelope Gleason from Bootdoctors in Telluride

The hills are alive with the sound of cyclists clicking their way over all kinds of bike trails from single track to old railroad grades to paved bike paths to smooth and bumpy swaths cut through our forests for your recreational pleasure. Our towns and valleys are popping with cyclists clad in brightly-colored garb, too. Whether you’re looking for a scenic ride along one of our rushing rivers or interested in snagging a momentous climb or a descent of World-Cup order, Colorado’s mountain towns offer some of the best bike riding options in the United States. Young or old, skilled or amateur, mountain biker or road rider, there’s something for everyone set within some of the best drop-dead gorgeous scenery in the world.

Below is a rundown of a few of Colorado’s major mountain destinations and some of the cycling options they offer. Read them over, make some enquiries and/or reservations, then enjoy the ride. Most of the mud has dried up and the wildflowers are beginning to bloom, so there’s no better time to freewheel it through and around our mountain towns.

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Fall in Colorado: A Most Colorful Time of Year

View from My Deck: First Day of Fall

View from My Deck: First Day of Fall

Heading Out on My Walk

Heading Out on My Walk

Along the Galloping Goose

Along the Galloping Goose

Happy fall to all!

I am so excited about the beauty that surrounds me right now–the colors are really going off. As usual, it came upon us very fast and I see a change in the foliage every day. We’ve been spoiled with summertime temperatures the past week so in some ways, fall has taken us by surprise. At least that’s the case for me.

Good news is that according to the forecast, glorious Indian summer weather will continue to light up the leaves and our spirits for the upcoming ten days or so as we inch toward peak viewing times. (In truth, it’s typically gorgeous around here in southwest Colorado through mid October, especially if the mountains are frosted with fresh fallen snow.)

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Win a Fall Foliage Trip to Telluride, Colorado

Fall in Telluride

Fall in Telluride, Colorado

Autumn in Telluride rates as one of my favorite times of the year. Since we’re located in southwestern Colorado, it’s typically sunny and warm during the day and cool and crisp at night. Known as the gold season, the aspens present a dazzling array of sunshine yellow, honey and maize while the brush, which flanks our mountainsides and carpets our valleys, turns into a rich showing of saffron, russet and ruby red.

The foliage typically peaks at the end of September, however, the scenery remains stunning here through mid October, especially if we’re blessed with a fresh dusting of snow on our breathtaking peaks. The big summer and festival crowds have gone home, so you can easily soak up the tranquility of our charming mountain destination and the outlying area whether you’re hiking, biking, fishing, jeeping, shopping, dining or just lolling on a nice deck.

Thanks to Mountain Lodge Telluride, the New Sheridan Chop House Restaurant, Paragon Outdoors/Bootdoctors and Salon 7, you can win a fabulous stay in Telluride, one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. (And that’s coming from a gal who lived eleven years in Paris.) Here’s what the trip includes:

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Fall in Colorado: A Beautiful Time for Sightseeing and Winter Travel Planning

Fall in Telluride

Fall in Telluride

Fall in Aspen

Fall in Aspen

As you can see from the photos featured in this post, we are in full fall splendor here in Colorado. The foliage is peaking now, yet there’s still a lot of green on the trees. So it should remain beautiful in the mountains for another few weeks. Now we’ve entered the autumnal phase of white beginning to replace the gold, russet, burnt umber and bronze that currently punctuate our alpine panoramas. Yes, as the snow fills in, this harvest of fall colors fades into the landscape and we’re left increasingly hopeful about the opening of our ski resorts and the promise of the winter season in the Rockies.

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Great Fall Travel in the Rockies

The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa

Wow! What a week it has turned out to be! The colors are really going off here in Telluride and from what I hear, most of Colorado—especially at the higher elevations—is exploding with a spectacular show of gold, orange and even a bit of red (more unusual for the West). This autumnal festival of colors came upon us fast and furiously this year. Less than a week ago it was still very green and summer-like—come to think of it, it was summer.

I’d say we’re pretty much at peak now and all over you see people oohing and aahing about this extraordinary riot of colors which has arrived almost ten days early this year. I might go so far to say it’s the most beautiful fall foliage season I’ve seen yet in Colorado although in truth, I think we all tend to forget how drop-dead gorgeous it is here in the Rockies this time of year.

And I’m optimistic it’s going to be great way beyond peak. It hasn’t started snowing much yet. Aspen, Vail, Telluride and Beaver Creek—all the stunning high-mountain resorts—have been blessed with a few dustings, however, our autumn vistas are not yet backdropped by snow-capped peaks (another unusual occurrence for this time of year). This is when the fall foliage viewing really takes your breath away; sure, the snow knocks some of the leaves off the trees but it’s worth it to see the striking contrast of golden aspens flanking the mountainsides of bright-white peaks.

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27 Oct 2011, 11:05am
Colorado Mountain Living Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies:
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Comments Off on Fall in Colorado: October Snow Arrives with My Woolens and Ski Gear

Fall in Colorado: October Snow Arrives with My Woolens and Ski Gear

Snowy Bikes in Aspen

Woo hoo! It started snowing here in Colorado Tuesday night and the thrill is on. A big storm rolled in just as it’s supposed to—that’s to say in time for most of the leaves to be off the trees (at least at higher elevations) and about a month away from the opening of most major ski areas. It’s time for that white gold to start piling up here in the Rockies.  And thankfully, it begins accumulating every year right about now. Our Halloweens are typically snowy as well as spooky.

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