Telluride, Colorado, March 15-22, 2025

The Telluride trip was a highly successful trip for the Ski Club this season. We had 31 participants, the skiing conditions and weather were extremely favorable, accommodations at the Peaks first rate and the dining superb. There were group functions or optional dinners planned for 5 of 7 nights allowing for a lot of positive social interaction and conviviality and it was a great and easy group to travel with. The sign up/payment process, as well as communications utilizing the new WeTravel platform, was very efficient.

The Skiing Experience:

We were blessed with fantastic snow and weather throughout our week. Although the overall season at Telluride had below average snowfall, we were greeted with fresh snow for our arrival, and received another two feet of new powder during the week. Locals said it was by far the best week of the season. Lift lines were very manageable, even with some schools out for Spring break. Temperatures were mild, but stayed low enough to keep the snow in excellent condition. We had several bluebird days. The week after we left forecast that temperatures would rise significantly causing conditions to deteriorate and the week before we arrived was bereft of snow. So we were truly in the “sweet spot” for conditions and the group felt very fortunate indeed.

We had one skiing injury during the trip when a participant’s skis didn’t release and one person left early due to a non-contagious illness.

In addition to the skiing, some participants took advantage of snow shoeing, hiking or hike-to skiing to reach untouched powder areas.

Accommodations:

We stayed at the Peaks Resort and Spa, where the Club has stayed for the past few trips. It is no doubt the best, and best located, ski lodge in Telluride--and one of the best in the western states. It is a true ski-in/ski-out slopeside location, the rooms are spacious, many have prime views of the lovely surrounding peaks, and the hotel has great amenities including an indoor/outdoor pool and hot tubs, and one of the best spas in the region. The spa has its own pools, hot tubs, steam and sauna, a well-equipped gym and our group’s spa access was included at no extra charge. Spa treatments are of course extra, and those that used the services found them to be of high quality.

The superb ski valet service is one of the distinguishing features of the Peaks. The valets literally place your skis on the slopes to be ready for ‘take off’, take them at the end of the day to store and dry your boots overnight.

Honestly, there is nothing to complain about at the Peaks Resort—except the premium price they charge for top notch accommodation and amenities. I would add that other accommodations in Telluride at or below the Peaks level, are also charging a premium price these days as we made comparisons before booking there.

Overall, Telluride is one of the most expensive resort in the US, but the skiing, facilities, rooms, amenities, spa and ski valet services as well as the beauty of the San Juan Mountains are all top notch. And the ski club is still able to arrange attractive packages that are well below what one would pay as an individual to visit Telluride and stay in these accommodations. If the Ski Club returns to Telluride, I don’t think there is a better property to accommodate us than the Peaks.

Social and Dining:

Breakfast was an option for the trip, but 28 of 31 participants opted to participate. The Peaks buffet breakfast in the Altezza Restaurant was excellent, we had no problem getting larger tables to accommodate our group. The venue had unparalleled views of the slopes and was never crowded.

Most people took advantage of the breakfast meeting time not only to socialize and meet new friends, but to plan with whom they might want to ski that day and arrange meeting times. Overall, I recommend breakfast be included as part of a package or an option for all trips as this is an important opportunity for social interaction and planning prior to skiing.

One of the big advantages of Telluride is the free gondola that connects the Mountain Village, where we stayed, with the Town of Telluride. There is a raft of good restaurants in both locations, with a variety of price points on offer. Participants made ample use of both locations-- mountainside and in town, for dining and social events.

For the first time on my trips, we held our welcome reception outside the hotel where we stayed. While the Peaks would have accommodated us, the price was much higher and the prepayment conditions onerous therefore encouraging us to look outside the hotel for other options.

We organized the welcome reception at what turned out to be a much better venue in the Mountain Village, the Communion Wine Bar, where we reserved the entire venue and had

great food and wine at a more reasonable prices--and enjoyed a much better atmosphere than a hotel meeting room. A representative of the Telluride Resort was invited and brought trail maps and briefed the group on the mountain layout and timing of different available opportunities.

For the same reasons, we organized the group dinner outside the hotel at La Piazza del Villagio in the Mountain Village. They prepared a very extensive and well prepared Italian menu for us. Private rooms that can accommodate a party our size are very scarce in Telluride overall, but the wine cellar room they had for us was great and the food and service terrific.

Our last group function on our final night was a pizza party La Pizzeria in the Mountain Village, under the same ownership as the La Piazza. Food and service was also very good. Both group dinners included a cash bar and beer and wine were provided in the package for the welcome reception.

In addition to the group functions, there were two optional dinners at two of the best restaurants in Telluride, one in downtown at the Cosmopolitan, where we reserved their private wine cellar and another dinner at Allred’s, which is at the mid-station Gondola and where the food matched the views in excellence. 22 and 25 participants attended the optional dinners respectively, and a couple of people who failed to sign up in advance unfortunately could not be accommodated due to space constraints of the rooms.

Overall, I would highly recommend these venues outside the hotel if the Club returns to Telluride.

Transportation:

23 of out 31 participants opted for the group flight, and 8 were land-only. The latter opted to do their own travel mainly because they were either coming from outside DC, planned longer stays out west, or signed up late and there were no seats available on the group flight. Travel in both directions was on time and uneventful-- which is a good thing. There were no non-stop flights to Montrose, but we had brief connections in Chicago and Houston on United.

Virtually all the land-only participants arranged flights to arrive and depart at times that coordinated with the group ground transport. So we all arrived together at the resort after a little less than two hour drive from the airport. Our original departure from IAD was rescheduled by the airline to depart two hour earlier—6:10 AM (ugh!), but the advantage was we arrived at the resort by 1:30 pm, giving us plenty of time to check in to the rooms

(which were ready early for our arrival), pick up EPIC passes, for those that rented equipment, get their gear from Black Tie, which provided their usual excellent service. About half the participants rented equipment from Black Tie.

Participation and Booking Insights:

There were 31 participants on the trip including myself. There were 5 couples on the trip. Gender participation was fairly well balanced at 14 M (45%), 17 F (55%).

In terms of demographics, 4 participants (13%) were under the age 40; 8 participants (25%) were age 40-60; and 19 participants (60%) were above the age of 60. There were 24 WB/IMF Staff/Retirees and spouses (77%) and 7 Associate Members/Guests. (23%), the latter having been on multiple club trips over the years. In fact, we said special a good-bye to one of our most valued ‘guests’ who made Telluride his last trip, Michael Altshul, who has been skiing with the Club for 4 decades--multiple trips yearly.

We had a total of 17 rooms, of which only three were singles. The high price of a single at top US resorts continues to depress demand for this category. Many high-end properties in the US seem to be pricing singles to achieve the same room revenue that they would otherwise earn from double sharing so this will need to be taken into account if staying in one of these properties when counting the types of rooms likely to fill.