Telluride Trip Report
by Joe Moreau
“Every way you turn is a picture postcard!”
The Nashville Ski Club headed out on a not-so-early flight to Telluride on February 21st to meet up with thirty-nine total Ski Club members converging from all over the country. We had Tennessee reps not only from the Nashville area, but also Knoxville and Memphis! Not to mention our far-flung members from Arkansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, and California who complete the group.
We arrived in Telluride right on time and just after several days of fresh snow. Our welcome reception was festive and held in the Bear Creek Lodge lobby, with plenty of liquid refreshments and nice charcuterie from skigroup.net to compliment the great pizza from the Crazy Elk.
On Sunday we headed out early and were able to catch some fresh powder along the sides of the wonderful groomed slopes. There were several people who had never been to Telluride and all were stunned at the pure beauty that surrounded us. Someone even “complained”, “I don’t know what to do, every time I stop to take a picture, I see more beautiful pictures, every way you turn is a picture postcard!”
We did get to see the beauty of the views all week, with Wednesday as the only potential threat for snow (which didn’t happen) being the only overcast day. The temperatures did start warm and continued to climb during the week, but the snow held up pretty good overall.
With the warm, sunny, springlike weather it did allow the group to take advantage of hitting Après Ski at our all-time favorite, the Gorrono Ranch. You can sit back in their Adirondack chairs, enjoy adult beverages, and soak in the sun while telling tall tales of days past or making up new ones from the day!
Another delightful experience is lunch at Alpino Vino, the highest elevation restaurant in North America! This wonderful restaurant sits atop the See Forever run with an elevation of 14,565 feet. This is truly a place where you must follow the vacation rule, “On vacation, two things do not count, calories and cash!”. But the view, food, and experience are well worth it, and I highly recommend you try it out next time you’re in Telluride.
We also did get out a couple of times as a group. First, we hit the “Disco” night at the Alibi, where many disco ball necklaces and glow sticks found their way into our group as we danced the night away. Thanks to the fellas who got there early and secured our VIP section and continued to act as bouncers to keep the riff-raff out of our makeshift dance area. I must also give a big shout out to Carol Janusek who was dancing all the way to the end! She definitely embodies the ski club spirit of enjoying the moment.
The next night we made our way back to downtown for the group dinner at Rustico’s Italian Restaurant. This truly authentic Italian restaurant treated us to a wonderful experience and outstanding service. Not to mention, everything from the appetizers through dessert was absolutely FANTASTIC!
We finished the week off with more outstanding sunny days and enjoyed the final evening together again in the Bear Creek Lodge lobby for our farewell potluck dinner.
I want to thank my co-leader, AJ Willett who did a great job setting up the group events and really supporting the group activities making sure everyone had plenty of options.
Also, I want to thank all those who attended the trip. Luckily, we didn’t have too many hiccups, but I really appreciate everyone working together to help make the trip enjoyable for everyone.
As group leaders we try to do our best to make sure everyone has a good time, and from the responses received so far, it looks like we accomplished our task. Especially with the number of people who told me they want to go back to Telluride every year!
Rest assured, we WILL be back!
Be sure to check out the Photo Gallery to see what a great time we had!