The skiing in Telluride is world-class and incredible. Aside from the jaw-dropping beauty, the ski mountain offers a true mix of skiing for all levels of skiers thanks to a great selection of runs. What makes my heart go pitter-patter is that even beginners and intermediates can ride to the highest peaks and enjoy spectacular views which are usually only reserved for skiers who are the best of the best.

You really can see forever!

Here are some facts about the Telluride mountain:

Telluride skiing is the best!

1. The skiable Terrain is 2,000 acres and there are 125 trails with fun names like See Forever, Kant- Mak-M, Satisfaction and Holy Cow! My favorite is See Forever (because you can).
2. The longest run, Galloping Goose, is 4.6 miles. I can feel my quads burning right now.
3. Beginner trails = 23%, Intermediate trails = 36%, Advanced trails = 41%
4. There are 18 total lifts including two high-speed gondolas and 7 high-speed quads.
5. Vertical drop is 4,425 feet.
6. Elevation at the base is 8,725 feet and lift-served elevation is 12,570. Breathe deep. All you can smell is pure mountain air.
7. Lift capacity is 22,386 skiers per hour. Telluride is famous for its lack of lift lines.
8. With a 50” base and 116” of snow so far this season (as of February 3, 2012) the conditions are fabulous!

Enjoy a trip to Telluride this winter by checking the Heart of Telluride lodging calendar and booking your dates now. Here’s where you really pay attention: If you mention our blog and book any seven winter nights in the penthouse, we’ll treat you to dinner at The Sheridan Chop House with a $150.00 gift card. If you book the condo for any seven winter nights, a $100.00 gift card to the Chop House will be yours. Great skiing and great food – what a deal!

Not a skier?  Want to leave the skis and boards in the locker one day?  Check out our list of interesting and fun things to do in while on vacation in Telluride.

1. Take in a movie at the historic Nugget Theatre (a real step-back in time).  Be sure to have Luci’s popcorn with real butter. Seriously, there is nothing better than a good movie with really great popcorn.
2. Head over to Between the Covers and find some great reads – novels, magazines, local color, cooking, etc. and then curl up by the fire with some hot chocolate or coffee from Telluride Truffle.
3. Take a three block walk down to Town Park. Beyond Town Park there are some awesome walking trails that are beautiful year-round.  If you are really ambitious, keep walking to the Box Canyon and see if there are any ice climbers on the frozen waterfall. Look for the interesting home on the left (a livable tepee) past the cemetery.
   
4. Visit the Telluride Historical Museum at the top of the hill on Fir Street. It’s a very neat place and you’ll get a free workout walking up the hill.
5. Eat with the locals – Smugglers (lots of big screen TVs here) or run over to Baked in Telluride for all sorts of fresh goodies. Another fun place for a sweet-fix or ice cream is The Sweet Life.
6. Try a couple of treatments at the local spas – do the Peaks Spa one day and Atmosphere Day Spa the next.  Go for the works!  After all, you aren’t spending money on lift tickets.
   
7. Ride the free gondola up and down as much as you want.  You’ll meet people from all over the world.  Don’t forget your camera.  The scenery is incredible. Going up, there’s a stop at Allred’s Station.  Get off here for photos and après ski in the Allred’s bar or go in for coffee and dessert.
8. Hang out in Mountain Village on “the beach”, shop, tour the hotels, have lunch outside and watch people ski.
9. Shop, shop, shop!  Boutiques, galleries, gifts, sunglasses – great shopping!  Make sure to visit Sunglasses HQ in the Nugget Building next door.  Get Kozie, Tim or Cinda to show you the historic safe rumored to be the safe robbed by Butch Cassidy himself.    Amazing sunglasses here, too!
10. Go on a guided snowmobile or fly fishing trip with Telluride Outside. The scenery is spectacular and they furnish everything you need.  On our last snowmobiling trip we saw a lynx out for a morning stroll. The guides stopped from time-to-time to give us historical information on the mining camp we went through and of the general area.  Enjoy Telluride!
    

My husband and I love to ski.  Bill is a black diamond skier and I am a “cautious intermediate” which pretty much means I stick to the blues and greens. I especially love the runs off of Chair 10 (like Sundance and Galloping Goose).  When I want to take it easy and breeze past some gorgeous Colorado homes, I head for that area around Chair 10 which I like to call “Home and Garden.”

Probably the opposite of “Home and Garden” is helicopter skiing  which I have never attempted and won’t be trying anytime soon.  Helicopter skiing is for experts who want to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience skiing in beautiful, isolated locations with fabulous snow but no ski lifts. The closest experience I will ever have to Heliskiing is watching videos  of people (with cameras on their heads) doing it.  YouTube has some great footage. Check out the short videos to get a better feel for this exhilarating sport.

One of my favorite places to get lost in historic downtown Telluride is Naturescapes Gallery, owned by Dale Malmedal, outdoor photographer extraordinaire.  Some of Dale’s photography will literally make you catch your breath.  His scenic shots in and around Telluride and Mountain Village are something to behold.  He captures the beauty of Telluride in every season, but today I’m just including a few lovely autumn shots.  I always wonder how many hours it takes for him to get shots such as these.  Rather than ramble on, I’ll let Dale’s photography speak for itself.

Back Road to Sneffels

San Miguel Autumn

Colorado Crimson

Autumns Adieu

You can find Dale’s photography  and Telluride note card sets at Naturescapes Gallery, 100 W. Colorado Avenue, Telluride, Colorado and also on his website at www.naturescapesgallery.com.

Six Things I Learned About George Clooney at the Telluride Film Festival

George Clooney at Telluride Film Festival 2011

1. George Clooney loves being a movie star.  Not that I’ve met tons of stars, but after going to the Telluride Film Festival for over ten years, I have seen my share of them.  No one wears “movie star” like George Clooney.  He loves people, enjoys shaking hands, posing for pictures and is totally comfortable walking around Telluride’s downtown farmer’s market buying vegetables.  This year the Telluride Film Festival did a tribute to George Clooney in the packed-to-the-gills Palm Theater (seats 600 people) and I was lucky to be in the audience.  Usually the star being honored is secretly ushered up to the stage by the star’s “handlers” after the lights have been turned down.  Then the star appears on stage.  Not George Clooney.  While the lights are still up, he comes waltzing down the center aisle and yells out “I’m here!”  We all laughed–he charmed the whole town.

2. George Clooney will (in my humble and accurate opinion) be nominated as Best Actor for his role in The Descendants (written by the same writer-director who won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the movie Sideways–that was the funny drunk fest movie set in the Santa Barbara wine country). George is so good in The Descendants (movie due to come out this fall) that I am predicting he will win the Best Actor Oscar.

George regrets Batman

3. George Clooney regrets doing Batman and Robin.  Whenever he mentioned the movie Batman and Robin, it was in a context of “I’m embarrassed that I did that.”

4. George Clooney is funny.  He told stories about his childhood.  He once worked as a chauffeur for his famous aunt, Rosemary Clooney.  While driving Rosemary Clooney, Helen O’Connell and Martha Raye home after one of their shows (or actually after the party after one of their shows), Martha Raye said she had to go to the bathroom.  So George pulled over.  Martha Raye opened the door, stepped out of the car, spread her legs and peed on the curb.

5. George Clooney uses the “f” word quite often.  On stage after the showing of his new movie The Descendants someone in the audience asked him about the fantastic little girl who plays Scottie, his youngest daughter in the film.  How much acting experience had she had?  He tells the funny story about this being her very first movie.  He said you can tell because “during the scene where she and I are eating ice cream she actually ate the ice cream during each take and there were about ten takes.  The next day she couldn’t come to work because she was sick.”  George Clooney then went on to say that in the scene where Scottie is crying, she is crying real tears.  The director said to try to cry when you’re saying your lines and once the camera rolled the tears started flowing, she nailed the scene and as soon as they said “Cut,” she was back to her normal happy self.  At which point George Clooney said to us, the audience, “All I could think of was F*** her for being such a natural actress.”

6. And the final thing I learned about George Clooney at the Telluride Film Festival, is that he has a great handshake.  (See George and me below.)

George Clooney shakes hands with Katrine Formby.

When Heart of Telluride owners, Katrine and Bill Formby, purchased the building that now houses their beautifully remodeled penthouse and condo in downtown Telluride, the 1970s building needed a lot of work.  Doors didn’t shut well, and one of the windows by the hot tub upstairs wouldn’t stay latched.  My family of four was bedding down for the night for our first stay in the unit and we had checked everything for security.  All was well.  Night-night, sleep tight.

Big Yellow Cat artwork by "Ping"

About 3:00 am, with no warning, something heavy suddenly landed square in the middle of my chest.  I shrieked.  My husband knocked over a lamp and careened into the nightstand.  The kids came running from the other bedroom.  There on my chest was a monstrous, purring, happy-as-you-please, yellow cat.

The cat was put out the back door and we put our giggling kids back to bed, all the while trying to figure out how the cat got in, checking doors and windows.  The kids decided the cat should be named “the Condo Cat”.  We laughed and went back to bed.  Just as we were settling down (and my heart was back in a regular rhythm), round two arrived.  The Condo Cat was back – same scenario exactly.  By then we were laughing ourselves silly and the kids were in our bed playing with the cat.  The Condo Cat was enjoying himself immensely, his motor running loud and strong.  The kids wanted him in bed with them.  Oh why not, we said.  We were all totally wired by then anyway.

The window that wouldn’t properly latch has long since been replaced by beautiful French doors, but I found it sweet that the first time we all stayed in the remodeled condo several years later, the kids asked, “But Mom, where’s the Condo Cat?”

After a winter of epic snowfall, the river was running wild, as was the anticipation in our group of eight for a half-day rafting trip at Specie Creek outside of Telluride. Fitted with wet suits, life jackets and water booties, we listened to a speech on safety by Telluride Outside (and questioned our sanity) while we were assigned guides and rafts. As we gathered to get into the two rafts, we stepped into the frigid, fast-moving rapids for the first time. All sanity vanished. My brain was as numb as my feet.

Amy's Rafting Adventure

The rafts were untied and it took only seconds for the current to shoot us quickly downstream, all of us laughing, eyeballs wide and wanting to scream hysterically at the potential danger and fun of it all.  Being ignorant about rafting, we were at the mercy of our guides. 

And what wonderful guides they were, giving us safety tips, pointing out all kinds of wildlife and flora along the way – as well as pointing out boulders the size of monuments that

we might have capsized upon had we not heeded the insistent and sometimes desperate commands to “Row left!!! Row left!!! Harder, harder!”

Drama ensued.  A raft of folks behind us didn’t “Row left!” as quickly as needed and dumped themselves into the river which put my son in the position of pulling a 74-year-old woman out of the river.   Leaning on the very edge of the raft (with his dad holding his legs) and extending his paddle, the woman was able to grab hold and was pulled into the raft.  We found out later that she had recently been mountain biking with her son in the Himalayas and had been hang-gliding the week before.   At 74, she was no lightweight – what an inspiration!

Rafting Specie Creek

After everybody in the capsized raft was safe, our trip downriver continued.  The air of danger and adventure seemed even more real now.  Chicken that I am, I slunk deeper into the raft, not wanting to be the next victim.  It was unforgettable fun for our family.  Go rafting!  Take a guided trip and ramp up the adventure in your life.

Bridal Veil, Colorado’s longest free-flowing waterfall

Indulge yourself in all things Telluride.  I wanted to share five of my favorite ways to relax and enjoy this incredibly beautiful mountain town.

1. Mosey on down to The Steaming Bean and enjoy a big cup of organic, locally roasted coffee and, my favorite, a bacon, egg and cheese bagel.  Yummy!
2. Take a walk on the wild side and hike to Bridal Veil, Colorado’s longest free-flowing waterfall.  On the way from downtown Telluride, you’ll pass the park (listen for the river) and you’ll eventually run upon a meandering, scenic walking trail.  Don’t stop here!  Keep going (through the gate) and then head to the falls.
3. Park yourself on a bench on Main Street (aka Colorado Avenue) and check out the dogs.  It seems everybody in Telluride has at least one unusual dog – and the dogs are out in force each day visiting with one another and getting a little exercise.  One day I saw a dog with a cat and a mouse riding on its back.  Really, no joke!  Obviously, the owners are sometimes pretty interesting, too.
4. If your sweet tooth is calling, drop by Telluride Truffle in the Nugget Building on Fir Street.  Their truffles are the best I’ve ever let melt in my mouth.  I’ve also fallen in love with a cookie they call The Perfect Cookie.  Believe me, it is.
5. Go to the corner of Fir and Colorado Avenue and look uphill to the north.  At the top of the hill is the Telluride Historical Museum, a delightful place to learn about the fascinating history of Telluride.  Great for kids, too!

Telluride Truffle in Telluride Colorado

For more fun things to see and do in Telluride, look on our website under the About Telluride tab where we have organized everything for your convenience. You will find everything from upcoming events, fitness, beauty and spas services, summer activities for kids and much, much more.

Enjoy the day!

Amy

Last summer we started the Telluride July 4th Hot Shot Photography Contest. The idea came to me while at a retreat in March of 2010. Everyone who attended was asked to submit one great (hopefully) photo taken during their stay. The last day of the retreat all the photos were shown up on a big screen and everyone was abuzz about their hot shots. The idea seemed so simple and garnered so much energy that I thought we should try it in Telluride on July 4th. The Ah Haa School as well as the Telluride Watch Newspaper agreed to collaborate with Bill and me and now the Hot Shot Photo Contest is a beloved annual tradition.

In my last post I featured the three winning photos for 2011. Below are ten more amazing images, all honorable mentions (honorable mentions each received $50).

"Fighter Jet at Bridal Veil" photographer: Amy Levek

"Sweet Music" photography: Chad Dillon

"Ol' Glory in Telluride" photography: Sheridan Pritchard

"Telluride Fireworks" photography: Sarah Welch

"Oh Yah!" photography: Christina Moore

"Balloon Toss" photography: Teddy Newmyer

"Waiting for the Parade" photography: Linda Kelso

"Team Spirit" photography: Hannah Reich

"Box Canyon Roar" photography: Kevin Ludwig

"Come In and Have a Beer" photography: Pat Robertson

This past July 4th I was standing on Main Street with hundreds of people watching Telluride’s 4th of July parade and I heard someone next to me say, “Gosh, this is very Mayberry.”  I smiled.  Seemingly every local dog was dressed in red white and blue–the parade did remind me of Mayberry, the fictional TV town where Andy Griffith and Barney Fife amused us with harmless home-town antics where the crime of the year was someone stealing Aunt Bee’s shoes.  July 4th is not to be missed in Telluride with the parade, free root beer floats at the Museum, a town picnic and a fireworks display that rivals the grand displays of large cities.

One new tradition we started a couple of years ago is Telluride’s July 4th Hot Shot Photography contest. Here is how it works:

1. Anyone (professional or amateur) can enter one photo in the contest.  The photo must  have a 4th of July flair to it.
2. The photo MUST have been taken somewhere in San Miguel County on July 4th of that year.
3. The judging panel looks at all entries and awards first prize ($500), second prize ($300), third prize ($100) and ten honorable mentions ($50 each).

Below are the top three winners from this year (2011):
First Prize:  Mary Kenez with “The Tail End of the Parade.”

Second Prize:  Tamara Strang with “Parade Time.”

Third Prize:  Tamara Ogorzaly with “Telluride’s Favorite Vets.”

View all the photos from the Telluride 4th of July HOT SHOT Photography Contest.