Restaurants Romance & Relationships Telluride: Music & Dance Restaurants Telluride
by maribeth
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Night Out in Telluride
I moved to Telluride almost six years ago largely for its scenery, sunshine and sophistication. I often say that the world comes to Telluride and am amazed by the number of renowned musicians, authors and movers and shakers from the film industry and other creative and scientific domains that consistently descend upon our little mountain town, often to perform or share their work in a small venue. These people are drawn to the beauty and mystique of Telluride as much as the average ski bum is in awe over our plunging slopes and lively bars.
Our world-class festivals bring in much of this talent, extraordinary happenings that take place for the most part from Memorial Day to Labor Day, attracting devotees and casual observers from near and far. Thankfully Telluride’s special attractions are not just reserved for the summer months. There’s plenty to take in here year-round, making it exceedingly difficult to remain idle in this remote mountain town, even in the dead of winter or the thick of off-season.
Grooving to Grupo Fantasma at the Sheridan Opera House
Many of the events are, in fact, hosted by the big festivals. Such was the case recently at the Sheridan Opera House, where the Telluride Jazz Festival put on their winter concert to a sell out crowd. Anything the Telluride Jazz Festival does is of the highest quality, so my interest was naturally piqued when I learned that Grupo Fantasma, a ten-piece latin band, would be showcased this year. Seeing such a sizzling ensemble of musicians jamming on the tiny stage of our historic opera house could not be missed. (As one of Telluride’s landmark sites, this jewel box of a theater has featured illustrious performers such as Lillian Gish, Sarah Bernhardt and Jackson Browne in its more than one-hundred-year-old existence.)
Sheridan Opera House: A Telluride Treasure
Plus the stakes were raised for this evening out. The truth is I had heard about this show from the folks at my salsa class. Salsa as in dancing, not sauce making. I hadn’t taken a dance class since I was seven years old but in recent years I became increasingly consumed with the idea of signing up for lessons with a most willing partner. (My days of dancing the alley cat in a fouffy party dress at the Country Club must have indeed marked me. Or was it the yummy ice cream sundae that followed each session that had me hooked?)
The Ah-haa School, one of Telluride’s fine assets, is a stronghold of learning and fun that offers a great variety of courses from silkscreening to yes, salsa dancing. Why I started out with one of the most challenging dances known to man I do not know. I had found my perfect partner in Steve (see Night Out in Telluride Mountain Village posting), so of course I thought if there’s a will there’s a way and surely we’d be dancing like two passionate latin lovers in no time. Come again? We moved clumsily through our various moves with about as much heat as two gringos doing the macarena at an Italian wedding reception. But still we persevered. This must be some kind of a test of our relationship, I thought to myself numerous times. Up until then we enjoyed an amazingly harmonious existence (excepting the times he’d blow me off on powder days). Now it seemed ridiculous to subject ourselves to consternation such as what step to take when.
Attending Grupo Fantasma was to be a coming out party of sorts for our salsa class. Sure our teacher, the lovely Debbie Reynolds (most aptly named!), was to be there but she would not be calling out quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow to us the way she lead us through each move in class.
The Vault Room at La Coçina de Luz
Many of us gathered at La Cocina de Luz, a favorite locals’ restaurant, for dinner before the show. We enjoyed our own special enclave within the Vault Room where we ate chips and salsa, sipped margaritas, savored mexican food lovingly prepared from the finest ingredients and swapped stories about who we really were beneath our dancing personas and where we hoped to go with our newly acquired hobby. (I liked the idea of some of us going on a latin dance cruise the best!)
We pulled ourselves away from this colorful and lively establishment and braved the short, brisk walk down the street to the Opera House. Grupo Fantasma did indeed turn the chilly night into a hot, sweaty happening fueled by a couple more drinks but most of all our earnest desire to dance the night away with real passion and minimal stepping on each other’s feet. Steve almost gave up on us, lamenting that we couldn’t follow the beat and that I kept attempting to lead.
Then suddenly we clicked. We were dancing the salsa. I looked around and realized that the only people that did anything other than hippie dancing were those from our little salsa class. We felt truly initiated into the exciting world of latin dancing (even though I’m sure we looked like total white folk). We signed up for another series of classes. We talked about taking a trip to Vegas where there’s no shortage of salsa. We dreamed about breaking out into a sensuous salsa some day in South America like two dark haired latin lovers on a spotlighted stage. I started tuning in to “Dancing with the Stars” to check out the moves on the salsa dances. We started to feel more and more latino with every class.
“Jazz Festival will be here soon enough,” I mentioned to Steve. “Maybe there will even be a latin act on the town park stage or at the opera house,” I added, hinting at the opportunity to dance more to some great live music.
“We better get practicing then,” he replied with a hint of a smile on his curled up mouth.
“I’ll check the salsa CDs out of the library. You’d better start polishing your shoes.”
Soup, Salad and Lots of Salsa in T-ride
Sheridan Opera House, 970-728-6363, www.sheridanoperahouse.com
Telluride Jazz Festival, 970-728-7009, www.telluridejazz.org
Ah-Haa School, 970-728-3886, www.ahhaa.org
La Coçina de Luz, 970-728-9355, www.lacocinatelluride.com
More Favorite Telluride Restaurants
New Sheridan Chop House, 800-200-1891 and 970-728-4351, www.newsheridan.com
Cosmo, 970-728-1292, www.cosmotelluride.com
Rustico, 970-728-4026, www.rusticoristorante.com
La Marmotte, 970-728-6263, www.lamarmotte.com
Thank you to Ron Semrod for the interior photo of the Sheridan Opera House.
Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Night Out in Telluride Mountain Villlage
Night Out in Telluride Mountain Villlage
Great Room with a View on a Busier Night
I almost can’t wait for the ski season to end. The key word there is almost. I’d love for the skiing to go on and on but I’m also yearning to spend more time at my desk, something that is indeed a big challenge when the slopes lie right outside your door and you’re caught up in the ski fever that grips every mountain town from late November through a good part of April. Plus I’ve been working a lot on the hill teaching skiing, a very rewarding job that not surprisingly leaves little energy for writing at the end of the day.
Then there’s the near grueling pace of the social life that one must endure in such a happening mountain resort. No matter how much you try to stay in, there’s always a concert (often free!), a dinner, a party or an impromptu gathering to take in. Telluride is a culturally rich, increasingly sophisticated town, which consistently goes off at the close of the lifts. more »
Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Colorado Ski School Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
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Family Fun Facilitators
Breaking for a Photo with Lisa, Noah and Sage in Front of a Mountain Lodge Cabin
“So what do you like best about skiing?” I asked eight-year old Patrick on one of our many chairlift rides together. There was a long pause during which time I anticipated the usual response, the one I receive most from kids—something along the line of loving to zip down the slopes really fast. Patrick gazed out at the snow covered panorama that glittered with white diamonds before us on that chilly, yet sunny, morning.
“I like the views of the mountains,” he finally replied. “It’s so beautiful,” he added with all the wonder of having just opened a prettily wrapped Christmas present and finding a treasure inside. “Back in D.C. where we live there are cars all over the place,” he added. “It’s so busy. Here it’s beautiful and quiet.”
I pondered his answer as we sailed over the slopes dotted with skiers of varying ability levels, largely vacationers that all totaled resulted in record-breaking numbers for the mountain this past holiday season. “It is lovely here, isn’t it?” I replied, thinking about how the awe-inspiring grandeur of our jagged peaks escapes no one, not even children that are typically focused on the thrill of bombing down the hill more than absorbing the beauty of the surrounding area.
It was day eleven of my fifteen-day stint of ski instructing and with each client, big and small, I always found new inspiration, a fresh take on how to help everyone maximize their mountain experience. I was on private lessons throughout this period, assignments that allowed me to more fully connect with my students which in turn created bonds that brought us all closer together, parents included.
Sure skiing improved and we even broke through barriers such as being able to carefully work our way down steeper terrain without succumbing to a total meltdown. (Cheering about those achievements together afterward was always the best!) But more importantly, relationships were forged; everyone had more fun, a not-so negligent happening that produced a more positive time on the slopes and memories that would surely last a lifetime.
Some of my most vivid memories involve family ski vacations and I know that that’s the case for most of the people that chose to brave the cold and snow, the often tedious adjustments of clothing and gear and challenges such as trying to get your skis into a perfect parallel on a blue run when it feels safer to revert back to a power wedge. Running about on a sandy beach—clad in nothing but a bathing suit—is far less daunting, yet certainly less rewarding.
I like doing what most ski instructors do best here in Telluride: working with adults and children as a sort of family fun facilitator. And in doing this, we take on a variety of roles at different times including coach, mountain adventure leader, big buddy and even surrogate mom, to name a few. As an enthusiastic instructor, I introduce silly chairlift games, orchestrate drills such as skiing on one ski (to better feel the weight on the outside ski) or just simply cruise down the trail, setting the pace with a variety of turn shapes for all to follow.
Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Colorado Ski School Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
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Training and Turns
Telluride Ski and Snowboard Instructors at Morning Lineup Before the Sun Even Hits "The Beach"
It’s almost midnight and I’m trying to wrap up a few loose ends in my writer’s world so that I can devote the majority of my energy to my ski instructor life—at least for the next two weeks. As of tomorrow, I’ll be on the mountain some fifteen days in a row. Typical ski instructor schedule around the holidays as a great influx of visitors and second-home owners are debarking this weekend and next. Those that are super organized have already done all of their Christmas preparations and such; others, like myself, rely primarily on the mountain for invoking great festive spirit.
Charting the Course for Future Mountain Adventures with Clients
We’ve all been working hard these past few weeks to improve our turns and also to perfect our teaching and communication skills. This has been achieved throughout a variety of workshops, orientations and training sessions both on snow and off; all has been carried out in an effort to ready ourselves for our clients and guests, young and old, first timers as well as well versed ski and snowboard enthusiasts. Probably what resonated the most for me was the importance of the emotional connection we create with our clients or students. (That comes more naturally to me than skiing the steeps!)
And the mountain has cooperated heartily. Snow fell twenty inches within twenty-four hours this past week, bringing snow totals for the month of December up to 69 inches. All lifts are open and the trails are cushioned with downy packed powder throughout.
My laundry is done, my little apartment is super clean and tidy and there’s a stock of EmergenC in the cupboard, chicken soup in the freezer and a huge bag of crunchies for my kitties in the closet. There’s not much more I can do to be entirely ready to spend a string of long, cold days on the mountain. And I can’t wait. I often say that becoming a ski instructor is the best thing I ever did for my writing career. It gets me out of my own often squirrel-ly way and allows me to interact with all kinds of people in a place I love dearly doing something that is incredibly fun. Telluride Ski and Snowboard School is one big family. The mountain, in fact, is one huge tribe. I look forward to providing updates about our gang throughout the season.
Spreading Rainbows and Sunshine: The Most Important Part of Our Job
Thank you to Deb Willits for the photos. She is most certainly one of the best Professional Ski Instructor of America (PSIA) trainers in the country and Telluride is lucky to have her.
The Mountain Awaits You
Colorado Mountain Living Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Colorado Mountain Living Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Winter in Telluride: Loving the Snow
Winter in Telluride: Loving the Snow
San Sophia Ridge
O.K., the calendar might not say that it’s officially winter, but it has been feeling pretty wintery here since the big storm blew in on Thanksgiving. It’s lovely to see Telluride blanketed in white, and there’s no doubt now that the mountain and the town will be wearing its snowy mantle all the way through spring. The ski area opened on Thursday and I finally pulled myself away from my desk yesterday to do my first turns of the season. Oh, what joy! I feel so fortunate to live here and to be able to tap into the mountain’s restorative powers on a whim.
For me, poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, a local, has beautifully captured the spirit of winter in Telluride in the below poem.
if you listen
the snow falls with
no sound
standing outside
in its silence
you find yourself
listening
to listening
but oh,
this snow knows symphony
its score is written on
every mountain, every tree
each rooftop, each street
as each snowflake falls
a silent beat
a voiceless song
composed by sky
performed by icicle,
avalanche,
slush and ski
if you listen
you’ll hear it echoing
the snow is silent
and still
it sings
Thank you to Rosemerry for such inspirational words and vivid imagery. I encourage you to learn more about her work at www.wordwoman.com.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies
by maribeth
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Togethering in the Rockies
Mountain Lodge at Telluride: A Great Place for Spending Time Together
Togethering. Certainly there was a lot of that this past weekend. Thanksgiving kicks off the season—especially here in the Rockies—when friends and family gather in houses, condos and cabins to share their vacation time together.
Togethering is the term coined not too long ago by travel agents and other travel industry experts to refer to the tendency of vacationing together as a family unit, often with extended family members and/or relations from previous marriages. “This coming together of combined families and friends has been more of a trend the past few years,” says Steve Togni, General Manager of Mountain Lodge at Telluride, a handsome property skirted with ten well-appointed slopeside cabins and an alluring lineup of condos, all perfect for families looking to settle into the mountains for an extended stay. “It has become less about skiing,” Steve adds. “It’s more about shopping, spa going, dining and just being in the mountains. I would describe these stays more as winter vacations rather than ski vacations. There’s definitely more of it going on in the winter than in the summer.”
A lot of people choose to rent large homes out West and many families return to the same house year after year. Clearly there’s beauty in having your own special hideaway without being encumbered by the expense and hassle of owning it yourself. “We have people coming back to the same property year after year,” says Maité Daguerre, Director of Operations at Elevation Vacations, a company that specializes in luxury rentals in Telluride. “People love the personal touch and great service we provide,” Maité continues. “It’s all about relationships. When someone checks in to a big luxury home—or even a small guest cottage—we meet them at the door, show them how to use the stereo, help them out however possible.”
I’ve togethered a number of times with my family in Aspen where my parents have a large condo. It’s always different there than being reunited at other locales; it seems the mountain and the lively town of Aspen provide the foundation for all. Both, of course, are good to escape to when the togethering element becomes a bit too much. My favorite times togethering in Aspen have been when it has just been my dad and me. Can togethering be about only two people?
When our family isn’t occupying our condo, it’s rented out and managed by Frias Properties of Aspen, the biggest rental company in Aspen that offers a variety of lodging possibilities in Aspen and Snowmass. “Our bookings are looking good for the season,” says co-owner Chuck Frias. “The international guests will be down from the Australian and Brazilian markets and also from Europe since the euro is weaker than it was last year, but we’re pricing more aggressively to make up the difference.”
A Family that Skis Together Stays Together
Unless you’ve been squirreled away the past few weeks, you know that the travel bargains are better than ever, so this is the time to take advantage of savings of up to thirty percent off on lodging and some airfares. Certainly if people are considering travel, they’re going to put a premium on time with their families. Folks will still want to get together and often it’s easiest to meet in a fun destination in the Rockies when families are spread out between Denver, Phoenix and New York.
Word has been that the outlook is more tenuous for Steamboat Springs this season, but the Sheraton Steamboat Resort isn’t complaining. They’re set to reopen December 4 after a $20 million renovation and bookings are full. The makeover transformed this fine Starwood property from a 350-room hotel to a 200-plus establishment composed of a good number of luxury condos. They offer several different possibilities for families looking to find a living situation that meets their taste and budgetary needs. Their two- to three- bedroom villas are more high-end, but all are ski in/ski out and freshly decorated in their new modern mountain look.
Trapper’s Cabin at Beaver Creek
You can find all kinds of lodging options throughout the Rockies for your togethering. No matter what the price tag, you’re sure to save some on dining expenses if you make use of the glorious kitchen facilities that appear to be at the heart of the accommodations best suited for families.
But what about those truly extraordinary reunions such as a very special wedding anniversary or a landmark birthday when money is no object? The gem in the RockResorts crown is most definitely Trapper’s Cabin, a magnificent four-bedroom, four-bath hideaway in Beaver Creek that sleeps up to ten people. Renovations on Trapper’s Cabin were completed last winter and the amenities such as a sleek professional kitchen and a game room complete with a pool table, poker table and large flat screen T.V. are enough to keep the whole gang happy for days.
The Tempter House in Telluride
There’s no fear whatsoever of catching cabin fever at the Tempter House, the Hope diamond of high-end lodging in the Rockies, situated right here in Telluride, perched at 12,200 feet at nearly the summit of Telluride Ski Resort. The Tempter House is one of the most secluded and romantic destinations you will encounter with 360-degree panoramic views that will make you feel like you’re floating on a mountaintop cloud. A couple’s massage or private catered dinner can be arranged or you can just relax with a glass of wine in front of the master bedroom’s wood burning fireplace and focus on your hunny. This must be why it’s referred to as the Tempter House! (Actually the name is inspired from Temptation Chute, a gnarly couloir that plunges down the mountainside on the out-of-bounds side of the house.) The Tempter House is, however, totally ski in/ski out. Many more glorious amenities are also offered. Expect to pay about $5,000. a night. Now that’s what I call topnotch togethering.
Great Views to Wake Up to at the Tempter House
Mountain Lodge Telluride, 866-368-6867 or 970-369-5000, www.mountainlodgetelluride.com
Elevation Vacations, 888-728-8160 and 970-728-8160, www.elevationvacations.com
Frias Properties of Aspen, 800-633-0336 and 970-920-2000, www.friasproperties.com
Sheraton Steamboat Resort, 866-716-8134 and 970-879-2220, www.sheraton.com/steamboat
Trapper’s Cabin, 970-754-5788, www.trapperscabincolorado.com
Tempter House, 866-888-7197, www.tellurideskiresort.com/TellSki/info/tempter-house
Special Travel Tips for Telluride and Steamboat Springs
There are many great deals for kids to fly for free to Telluride and Steamboat. Click on the below links to find out more.
Colorado Mountain Living Shopping Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Colorado Mountain Living Shopping Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Getting Ready for Ski Season: Part Two
Getting Ready for Ski Season: Part Two
I grumbled as I pushed past cartons stacked as high as the ceiling to access the last of the plastic containers filled with my winter clothes. Now what the heck am I still doing with all this? I thought. I eyed one box in particular marked “silver punch bowl, serving trays and flower holders.” These grand accoutrements—along with my super fine porcelain demi-tasse cups and flouncy dining room chair covers—bore little resemblance to my current life. I should sell these and the odd pieces of furniture that are also blocking my path on eBay. Especially now that times are so tough. I eyeballed them alluringly, briefly contemplating opening a box or two to remove a few cherished items such as my silver candlesticks and fancy candy dishes. What’s the point? I knew I couldn’t shoehorn another thing into my little apartment. Instead I just grabbed my skis and boots (alpine and nordic) and snowshoes and closed the door on this storage area filled largely with remnants of my past life.
And in doing so, I entered my second phase of readying myself for ski season. Thank goodness this changing out of closets and gear only takes place twice a year. Back home I shuffled my affairs about, grateful that mountain living required me to keep a sizable collection of hats, mittens and winter jackets in my closets year-round since even in June the thermometer can easily dip to freezing on especially clear nights. I carefully counted out my ski socks, making sure that I had enough to cover me for at least eight days, knowing full well that once the mountain gets busy I wouldn’t want to be forced to do laundry in the evening to assure myself nice clean socks. (As a rookie ski instructor, I made the mistake of thinking I could get two days out of a pair of socks by draping them in my locker every other night. That was a mindless mistake that created an unspeakable issue I never imagined I was capable of contracting!)
This Year’s Lineup at Paragon
Next stop to the ski shop. Paragon on main street is my favorite. I have bought all of my gear from them and they have been super efficient about keeping my skis in good shape. I dropped them off for a tune and knew that they’d grind them on their state-of-the-art tuner and then wax them so that my skis would be prepped to glide and perform at their optimal level. “Ski tuning is not just for racers,” Peter, the store manager tells me. “You have to take care of them, get rid of the scratches, gouges and oxidation so they can better accept the wax and provide you with a superior ski experience. We’ll make sure your edges are sharpened, too, my sweet Bessie.” (Peter and I have quite the history together, but now is not the time to stray from my storyline.)
Colorado Mountain Living Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Colorado Mountain Living Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Getting Ready for Ski Season: Part One
Getting Ready for Ski Season: Part One
I spotted a glimmer of an orange-y object in my path. I stooped down to pick it up and discovered that it was a perfectly intact miniature Reese’s cup, the sort distributed at Halloween. Jackpot! A golden nugget wouldn’t have made me more happy. I gobbled it so fast I almost choked on it. I knew that this little shot of sugar would enable me to forge up the hill—the Galloping Goose ski run to be exact—the trail outside my apartment that I began to hike on a regular basis as soon as the snow melted late last spring. That little peanut butter treat gave me enough of a burst to make it to the bridge on Sundance, always a stretch since that meant I had to power up to a blue run from a double green.
It was far from noon yet I was thinking about what I’d fix myself for lunch. I had already had two breakfasts and a tide of tea and coffee since I dragged myself out of bed at 6:45 a.m. My body felt completely deflated, like a balloon that had been left out days after a party. Still I knew I would somehow reap benefits from all this fatigue.
Pre-Season Conditioning
“There’s much less of a chance of being hurt during the season if you do ski conditioning class,” my good buddy and top ski instructor, Dave Brown, informed me.
I felt grateful I had never had an injury in my five years of ski instructing, but I figured I shouldn’t push my luck, especially now that I’m getting older. So this year I decided to sign up for the five weeks of pre-season conditioning class offered by Telski to their employees at Peak Performance Therapy. (Yes, most people end up here after suffering an injury on the mountain.) Plus I really wanted to get into good shape this year. I was tired of going from 0 to 75 mph in no time since in previous years I’d work some fourteen days in a row at Christmas without having logged many skier days on the mountain leading up to that busy period.
