Allegiant Air Offers Two-For-One Deal To Telluride Ski Resort

Bay Area- and Arizona-based snow lovers, rejoice! Allegiant Air, in collaboration with the Telluride Montrose Regional Air Organization, Telluride Ski Resort and Crested Butte Mountain Resort, is offering non-stop, two-for-one airline tickets. Travelers can fly to Montrose Regional Airport (70 miles from Telluride; Colorado Mountain Express is the local shuttle), via either Oakland International or Phoenix-Mesa airports.

Deals of this type are unheard of when it comes to premier ski destinations; as a former Telluride resident, I can attest to that. Even better, Allegiant is offering one-way fare from Phoenix starting as low as $46.99 one way ($93.98 round trip; flight times vary). Flights from Oakland start at $49.99 one way ($99.98 round trip, ditto), all winter long.

The Montrose flights began December 15, and conclude April 3, and are based upon availability. Tickets must be purchased by February 28, 2013, for the two-for-one offer, for use by April 3, 2013. For a complete flight schedule, click here.

But wait: there’s more! Telluride Ski Resort and Crested Butte Mountain Resort have launched an Ultimate 6 Pass, a 6-day pass good for three days of skiing and riding at each resort. That means you can use the centrally located Montrose airport for travel arrangements, and hit two of the Rockies’ most epic mountains in one vacation.

[Photo credit: Flickr user r-z]

Ski Town Holidays: Not Just For Skiers

It sounds crazy, but not all ski-town tourists are there to downhill ski. In fact, many don’t even know how. I’ll also let you in on a local’s secret: not all permanent residents of ski towns know how to ski, and of those who do, many can’t even afford a season pass.

The fact is, there are now more options than ever for non-skiers and those on a tight budget to engage in other winter sports, if they’re not willing or able to hit the slopes. I know many couples that have differing ideas of a ski vacation: one loves alpine skiing, while the other is happier sitting by a fire drinking hot toddies or shopping. They make it work.

Regardless of your mutual or differing snow-centric passions, ski town holidays can work for everyone. Most resorts now have Nordic centers and outfitters that offer at least some combination of the below list, so there’s no excuse not to get out there this winter.

Nordic/cross-country skiing (free/cheap rentals!)
Snowshoeing (ditto)
Dog sledding (please do your research beforehand, to make sure the business has no animal welfare citings)
Cultural tours
Adaptive sports
Spas
Skjioring (when a skier is pulled by a dog or horse0
Ice-climbing
Hot springs
Sleigh rides
Horseback riding

[Photo credit: Flickr user US Embassy Sweden]

Winter riding at The Home Ranch, in Clark, Colorado (near Steamboat Springs)

Telluride’s Hotel Madeline gives the gift of all-inclusive holiday ski packages

I don’t know about you, but all I want for Christmas is a ski holiday in Telluride, Colorado. Call me biased, but as an on-and-off resident for five years, I consider it the most beautiful, authentically Western ski town in the Rockies, and the top resort in the U.S..

When it comes to actual skiing, there’s 2,000-plus acres, never a lift line, and if you love steeps, off-piste, moguls, and serious pow, this is the place. Did I mention the annual average of 300 inches of snow and 300 days of sun? Located at the end of a box canyon in the heart of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, Telluride is remote, but worth the effort to get there.

The actual “ski resort” area in Telluride is Mountain Village, a 15-minute ride up the free gondola, or a seven-mile drive up Hwy 145. Mountain Village is actually an incorporated town, an “affluent” community with a handful of luxury hotels and condos, rental homes, and McMansions, and shopping, dining and apres-ski venues. If you’re debating which town to stay in, it depends upon what you’re looking for. If you want a true local’s experience, and the convenience of being stumbling distance from apres-ski to dinner to bars to bed, choose Telluride. It’s also worth noting you can catch the gondola or two chairslifts if you stay in Telluride.

If you’re looking for a full-on luxury ski holiday and a ski-in/out property (or one with a spa), get up to Mountain Village and book yourself into Hotel Madeline. The luxury property was rebranded in February, 2011, and it’s a gem. Done up in a quasi-Euro-mod style, it’s located in the heart of the Village, and offers spectacular mountain views from every angle.

With 100 condominium hotel rooms and 60, one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom condo residences, the Madeline also features spacious, quiet rooms in soothing natural tones, spectacular customer service, the Spa Linnea, indoor heated pool and jacuzzi, a ski valet, the swanky Bar M (popular for apres-ski), fine-dining at M’s Restaurant, climate-controlled parking (these things matter, trust me), and free candy by the fistful in the hotel lounge. What’s not to love?

More to love are this ski season’s specials, which include an “All-Inclusive Holiday Package” of six nights in a King room; round-trip transportation to Montrose Airport (70 miles p/w); two, five-day lift passes; daily breakfast or dinner for two; Performance Package equipment rentals from on-site Neve Sports, and a resort credit of $100.00 for use in the hotel Spa, bar, or restaurant, or at 9545 Restaurant at venerable sister hotel Inn at Lost Creek, a few minutes walk away. Package price for two is $3,737.00/$1,868.50 p/p, valid December 19 through January 2, 2012, taxes included.

Other winter specials include the “Just One More Night” package: stay seven nights and receive eighth night free, as well as similar attributes to the Holiday Package; pricing for two from $6,500/$3,250.00 p/p. Valid December 19 through January 2, 2012, and February 17-25, 2012, taxes and gratuities included.

Check Hotel Madeline’s website for more specials applicable through the end of the season (April 8th), or go to the Inn at Lost Creek website for their ski season specials. There, all guests have access to complimentary daily ski waxing, edge de-burning, and on-slope valet service with immediate lift access and trail access, and individually-designed suites with stone fireplaces, jetted tubs and steam showers, and kitchenettes.

For more information on Telluride Ski Resort, click here.

%Gallery-141414%