Home to Telluride Gay Ski Week during the last week of February (the dates this year are February 25 through March 3, 2012), breathtaking Telluride Ski Resort rises sharply above the historic village for which it is named. This challenging mountain with 115 runs and a 4,500-foot vertical drop (highest point is 13,150 feet) is one of western Colorado's world-class facilities. And it's in a laid-back, upscale, gay-friendly town with a number of stellar restaurants, inns, and shops. During Gay Ski Week, accommodations are at the cushy Mountain Lodge resort. Telluride buzzes with activity all winterlong but is also a beautiful spot for hiking, fishing, and camping during the summer months - visit the Telluride Tourism Board's website for more information.
Book rooms and compare rates on hotels in Telluride during Gay Ski Week.
Ski Week consists of a nonstop of parade of festivities. Many parties, including apres ski drinks and breakfasts, take place at one of the town's swankiest lounges, Suede, inside the Capella Hotel. Other events take place at the Sheridan Opera House, the Telluride Conference Center, Gorrono Ranch on the Mountain, the Peaks Resort at Mountain Village, Honga's, and the Beach at Mountain Village base.
Telluride has no shortage of gay-friendly accommodations, including the official headquarters of Telluride Gay Ski Week, Hotel Madeline Telluride Hotel, and the gay ski week's official host hotel, the Peaks - a Grand Heritage Resort & Spa. Another welcoming option is the inviting New Sheridan Hotel, which completed a massive upgrade a few years ago. During Gay Ski Week - or any busy time, really - a good bet is Telluride Reservations Center (877-696-8907). For condo and ski-home rentals, look to Alpine Lodging & Real Estate and ResortQuest Telluride, which has more than 200 properties, many of them steps from the slopes.
Telluride is in southwestern Colorado. You can fly right into the town's small airport directly from Phoenix and Denver on US Airways and Great Lakes Airlines respectively, or to nearby Montrose (a somewhat safer choice, because it's less likely to be hit with bad winter weather) from Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and Newark, on Delta, United, and American.
