Pick a Spa, Pick a Ski Destination

Outdoor Pool at The Peaks Resort & Spa

You’re missing out on a good chunk of fun and relaxation if you think your whole mountain experience has to be all about hitting the slopes. Sure, there’s nothing like spending day after day in the fresh air, carving perfect turns on buttery snow or picking through exquisite, diamond-shaped moguls. Yet even the most die-hard skiers and boarders need a day off. Or maybe just a half day. Or how about a couple days off? It’s supposed to be a vacation after all. You don’t want to feel like you need a vacation after your vacation, do you? How about après-ski—don’t those moments represent some of the best of your whole ski vacation? Those delicious hours of the day don’t have to be all about drinks at the bar.

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It’s Snowing in Colorado

A Much-Welcomed Snowstorm Today in Colorado

Hooray! It finally feels like winter today. It’s hard to say how much we’ll get out of this storm but whatever it is, we’ll take it. Yes, I’m addressing that big white elephant (mastodon, perhaps?) in the room. Yes, I’m writing about the ski situation in the U.S. so far this season. Yes, I’m finally posting a blog after more than a month away!

Posing with Rich, My Supervisor, My First Day Back to Work in December (Yes, we all have lots of fun together and make sure that our clients do, too)

And guess where I’ve been? I’ve been skiing my butt off here in Telluride, Colorado. Actually, my butt’s still there albeit a bit tighter. Although boy, is it sore—it is the biggest muscle in the body, isn’t it? Enough about my derrière. Obviously the skiing has been more than acceptable for me to be out so many days this past month. Granted I’m a ski instructor yet outside of the super busy period around the holidays, January typically slows down a lot. Ski and snowboard instructors only have work if there are people to teach. Despite the usual January lull and a less than stellar ski year, the mountain still buzzes with skiers and boarders of every level. And they all seem to be having a great time.

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My Best Online Shopping Recommendations

Singing, Dancing Marmot Skier from Alpen Schatz

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13 Dec 2011, 7:43pm
Colorado Cycling Podcasts Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies Travel:
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Telluride, Colorado: A Real Winter Wonderland

Main Street, Telluride

It’s that time of year again, the frosty season when you stand on main street in Telluride, Colorado and feel like you can reach out and touch the massive, snowy peaks in front of you. Sure, this view is nothing short of spectacular all year long yet in winter, the light and the snow render these looming monoliths even more awe-inspiring. Add to that old Western and Victorian buildings blanketed in snow, folks trudging through the streets with ski gear in tow, puppies and people practically skipping down the street—and suddently you realize it’s a Norman Rockwell scene like none you’ve ever taken in before.

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7 Nov 2011, 11:45am
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Shopping Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride:
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Filling in Nicely in Telluride: Snowstorm After Snowstorm

Telluride, Colorado

Top of Lift One Taken Yesterday on My Walk: Snow Guns Blazing in Between Storms

Yippee! What a month of November it has been so far—and it’s only the seventh! We’ve had seventeen inches of beautiful white fluff in the past four days and more snow is in the forecast for today and tonight. And then very cold temperatures—as low as single digits Tuesday night. We couldn’t ask for a better set up for a great ski season.

End of October was pretty sweet, too. As I reported in Fall in Colorado:  October Snow Arrives with My Woolens and Ski Gear, our weather switched from glorious full-on Indian Summer to Winter and it looks like winter’s here to stay. That’s just the way it’s supposed to be in ski country.

Boy, do I love this place. When people ask me if I miss Paris, I sometimes reply “Have you ever been to Telluride?”

It’s going to be a great season. I’m off to my storage area to pick up my boots and boards.

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Touring the Southwest with My Parents

A Great Facebook Profile Picture: Dad at the Grand Canyon

Are you familiar with those digital photo frames that display a continuous stream of select images? Well, I was back east in October visiting my parents and brought one of those frames to them as a gift. We had to enlist outside help (thanks Brian) to transfer my images onto the frame (I’m so eighteenth century), but once it started to flash our faces across the screen, we all beamed. My father especially glowed since he was finally able to see himself backdropped by a parade of images from the Grand Canyon and other notable sites in the Southwest. It was like bringing him back to the South Rim of the Canyon to gaze over the vastness and grandeur of what is most certainly our country’s greatest treasure.

We embarked on our two-week Western Jamboree just about a year ago. Fall and even winter are two fantastic seasons for visiting many of our National Parks, especially the Grand Canyon. During these times the wondrous play of light combined with a lack of crowds make these sites even more enchanting. The focal point of our trip was to be the Grand Canyon, a place my father always dreamed of seeing. At the age of eighty-four, we were ready to grant him his wish.

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31 Oct 2011, 3:21pm
Colorado Music & Dance Telluride:
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Halloween in Telluride: Tricks & Treats

Old Time-y Aviators: Huck Yeager and Amelia Airhead

Happy Halloween everyone! I’m celebrating by eating a Butterfinger and a Reese’s cup and washing it down with a Coke. Sometimes it’s really fun (and necessary!) to get a little crazy.

Actually I got very crazy Saturday night at the KOTO Halloween Party here in Telluride. (Ssssshh, don’t tell anyone.) The radio station’s party has to be one of the best in the country! It’s worth the trip to T-ride just to take it in. There are so many creative people in our little mountain town that the costumes astound and the whole evening becomes one big, psychedelic show. And whatever the band might be, the music never disappoints either. Mark your calendars now for next year’s bash. Most of the hotels have killer rates at that time of year, so it wouldn’t be a high-dollar stay. You can also take advantage of some pre ski season shopping while you’re here.

Have a fun and spooky rest of the day.

27 Oct 2011, 11:05am
Colorado Mountain Living Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies:
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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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    This blog is a personal blog written and edited by Maribeth Clemente. This blog sometimes accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner of this blog is sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, Web sites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for certain posts or advertisements, she always gives her honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger's own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
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