Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Colorado Ski Trip -- Day 2

Today we woke up around 7:00 a.m., had breakfast (two pieces of cinnamon-raisin toast, mixed fruit, orange juice, water), and headed to Telluride Ski Resort for the first day of skiing. We parked in Mountain Village, rode the gondola to the base of the mountain, and were on the lift by 9:30. Fortunately we had sunshine, clear skies, essentially no wind, and very pleasant temperatures (mid-teens to upper-20s). Unfortunately, it is the week between Christmas and New Year's, so even though Telluride is remote, there were still plenty of crowded lift lines (especially at the lifts servicing beginner and intermediate terrain). Waiting 10 to 15 minutes feels so strange to us! We did manage to find some nice terrain that was more advanced and farther up the mountain, thus escaping the worst crowds. We found some nice lines in Revelation and Little Rose Bowls, and enjoyed a long, winding, relaxed traverse later in the afternoon that took us past beautiful aspen trees and mountain lodges.

Lunch was at Alpino Vino, the highest restaurant in North America at 11,966 feet. Instead of the $1,600 bottle of wine (seriously), we settled for $5-per-cup hot chocolate (complete with whipped cream and marshmallows), and my dad and I split an eggplant-Parmesan panini/arugula-blue cheese-walnut salad combo, and a turkey-apple-Brie cheese panini/tomato soup combo. Yes, expensive, but delicious food in a beautiful setting!

Our first day of skiing concluded with the traditional hatpin purchase, then we drove down to the town of Telluride for supper and exploring. It's a gorgeous, historic, quaint community full of old buildings, cute shops, and friendly people. We had dinner at Steamies Burger Bar, boasting "Colorado's #1 Burger" -- I had a chicken/cheese/jalapeno dressing sandwich, a shared order of fries, and a mint-chip shake. We hit the Black Bear Trading Company and a German shop afterwards, perusing and admiring the many amazing items available for purchase, then headed back to our hotel in Ridgway for showers and bedtime. It felt great to ski on a real mountain for a full day...in sunshine, no less!