Pasted below is an article from Austin-based writer Becca Hensley recapping her recent visit to Telluride.  The Himmel Spa at the Fairmount/Franz Klammer Lodge received her vote for best spa.  No surprise there...my sweetie works at that spa.  Enjoy the article:

No longer the mecca for experts only, this resort offers something for everyone
By Becca Hensley
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Sunday, February 22, 2009

TELLURIDE, Colo. — I grew up skiing.

But these days I take a geriatric approach to the sport that I practiced with such irresponsible zeal in my youth that even my fellow fearless ski pals called me "the bomber." Indeed, there was a time I wouldn't be caught idle on any steep incline — I'd be headed straight down it. Now, I take my time and I tend to underestimate my abilities.

"I'm going to go green, maybe blue at the most," I tell the men from Black Tie Ski Rental, who scoff as they deliver my rented skis to me at Lumiere, the new hip hotel that sits slope-side in Telluride's upper section — an actual separate town known as Mountain Village. They scoff only because I've told them that I grew up in Colorado and they sense, I think, that I won't be able to resist the wide expanses, the dizzying terrain, those high pitched, precipitous rolls that define the slopes of Telluride.

They're right, of course. And the moment I get on the chairlift, I'm seized with that reckless skier's joie de vivre. But this is the magic of Telluride. Anybody can get on any chairlift and come down the mountain nice and easy. So I start at Prospect Bowl, a point reached after several chair rides that sits at an elevation of more than 11,000 feet. It's a stunning fusion of mystical mountain, evergreens and jaw-dropping views. Only at Telluride can novice skiers reach the high elevations and experience the captivating vistas normally reserved for experts. This is the sort of panorama that makes true believers out of skiers and snowboarders. It's a love at first sight phenomenon that casts you into nature's charms, head over heels — well, not literally, I hope.

I warm up safely beginning at the top of this mountain, gliding down a 41\/2 mile green run called Galloping Goose. It's the longest and most meditative ski run of my life. For one thing, I seem to be the only skier traversing it. For another, it's wide, not roadlike, and it undulates downward for more than 2,000 feet.

I ski until the very last minute before the lifts close. Telluride has a way of urging you on. My quads scream at me, but still I finish my final run without a serious fall. How convenient to meander to a stop near the bottom of the hill in the precise spot where Lumiere's able ski valet awaits to cart away and store my ski equipment until tomorrow. Boots off at last, I rush into the adjacent hotel, belly up to bar, aptly called The Little Bar, and order — I know this is weird — an apr?s-ski sushi plate.

Perhaps the sushi best puts Telluride into perspective. This is an old mining town grown into a posh resort. Anything goes.

First, find the foundation: historic Telluride itself. Just a few blocks long, a boom town of yore where prostitutes once lured tired miners to bed, and Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank, Telluride is an earthy, profound sort of place. It conjures traces of old-school Colorado hippie meets urbane sophisticate, all finished with a unifying dollop of sports-obsessed nature lovers and those in search of tranquility.

Telluride embraces every kind of visitor, and the locals make up a diverse crowd.

"If you come here, we welcome you into the fold," says Tom Watkinson, public relations and communications manager for Telluride. "There's no 'in' group here — its Telluride!"

That might sound like PR baloney, but it isn't. Visiting families from Austin are received with the same grace normally reserved for celebrities. Perhaps that's why famous Telluride lovers, including Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise and Ralph Lauren, can't get enough of the place. They get treated like regular people, and we real people get spoiled like movie mavens.

The new Lumiere hotel in Mountain Village understands the sometimes complicated science of VIP service. Chic and intimate, it has only 30 rooms, each managing to offer the amenities of a condominium with the chichi features of a fine hotel. Design lovers take note: The kitchens have Wolf ranges and original art.

And mountain aficionados know this: Every room has a view.

From the moment of arrival, a cadre of valets unpack your car, whisk your skis downstairs to the ski butlers, bring you a welcoming plate of cheese and wine, and ensure that your every inquiry is answered and desire met.

When you head to the slopes, just steps from the hotel's back door, you stop to allow the boot valet to put on your boots before proceeding out the door to the ski valet who puts on your skis, hands you a map and sends you on your way.

In my case, the ski valets also threw in a pep talk that kept me off the bunny slope, "Nobody forgets how to ski!" Just the words I needed to channel my inner teenager.

Every aspect of Telluride delights, but what makes this destination ski resort work is the whole package. Surprisingly easy to get to these days (no fewer than nine direct flights fly into the tiny and accessible Montrose airport), the resort is a breeze once you arrive. The free gondola takes you from Telluride to Mountain Village and beyond, and operates until midnight, so no car is required during your stay. Ski lifts on the mountain are ubiquitous, and one always leads to another. You can make your way from the most southern end of the resort to the most northern on skis in less than 15 minutes.

At the same time, so many well-placed runs are spread over such a vast space that lift lines are virtually nonexistent. No lodge is more than a few steps from a lift. And funky and classy restaurants, bars, galleries and shops abound.

Perhaps what I like best is the preponderance of runs for every skill level and their placement across the mountain. On more than one chairlift, entire groups or families can ride up together then ski down the run that matches their experience. Afterward, they can meet at the bottom and start all over again.

Inclusive, festive and as authentic as it comes, Telluride triumphs. 

Once considered hard to get to, Telluride is now less than five hours (including layovers and an easy hour and 10 minute shuttle ride from the airport) from Austin, thanks to direct flights on American from Dallas to Montrose.

Telluride Ski Resort: www.tellurideskiresort.com.
Best hotel for the Mountain Village experience: Lumiere Telluride, www.lumierehotels.com.
Best hotel for the historic Telluride experience: New Sheridan Hotel, www.newsheridan.com.
Best restaurant for fancy fare: Allred's (at the gondola station), www.allredsrestaurant.com.
Best place for a cocktail: Last Dollar Saloon, affectionately known as The Buck (no Web site).
Best sushi: Honga's Lotus Petal, www.hongaslotuspetal.com, or Lumiere's The Little Bar (though this is just for guests).
Best bookstore: Between the Covers, www.between-the-covers.com.
Best ski run for novices: Galloping Goose and Double Cabin (Ute Park Lift).
Best ski run for intermediates: Sandia and See Forever (Chair 5).
Best ski run for experts: Bushwacker, the Plunge and the Revelation Bowl (access via the new quad lift).
Top spa: Spa at the Fairmont Franz Klammer, www.fairmont.com.
Best cup of coffee: The Steaming Bean, www.thebean.com.

After a record December snowfall, the Telluride area has enjoyed countless days of bright sun and clear blue skies.  Snow is back in the forecast for this weekend, but meanwhile, today's high is expected to reach 50 degrees.  What to do?  Complain about the weather and let it effect your mood?  Heck no!  Take what the mountain gives you and adapt!  Adapting should not be too hard this afternoon, while I make a few languid turns in the warm Colorado air.  You have to love life!