First things first: despite myths to the contrary, you don’t get drunk faster, when drinking at higher altitudes. You might feel the effects faster than you do at sea level, but the body processes the alcohol in the same way, regardless of the elevation. But elevation sickness is real, and its symptoms are hauntingly familiar to the impacts of over-drinking: dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, drowsiness, unsteady gait, headaches… The solution to avoid that sudden onset of overwhelming sensations, other than checking into a hyperbaric chamber, is to stay hydrated. Simply put, drink water, before you arrive and don’t stop until it’s time to go back home.
This is important to remember when visiting Telluride, a snow globe-perfect Colorado mining town that measures six blocks wide and 12 blocks long, all of it nestled into a picturesque box canyon. The town sits at 8,750 feet, and its eponymous ski resort tops out at 13,150 feet, making it one of the highest-elevation winter-ready locales in the country. Come from sea level, and you’ll feel the effects of the high altitude almost instantly. One flight of stairs at 8,750 feet will leave even the most in-shape person winded.
Other than the cliff-exposed high-elevation terrain, this might be the only tricky part about visiting Telluride (save the potential for weather to stymy your efforts to reach the resort in the first place). But once you arrive, it’s easy to get to some of the area’s best drinking establishments, whether you choose to ride the free gondola from the base of Telluride Ski Resort, which hops over a ridgeline before plunging down to Main Street, or hop on a fat tire snow bike tour that ends at the city’s award-winning brewery.
Just don’t forget to measure each sip of the good stuff with…oh, about a gallon of water. Here are five spots you have to hit while visiting Telluride this winter.
Telluride Brewing Company
Founded by brewmaster Chris Fish and bartender/friend Tommy Thacher, Telluride Brewing poured their first pint in 2012. Six months later, they took home the gold medal at the World Beer Cup for their Face Down Brown, a brew that was created largely because Fish didn’t like the other brown ales on the market. These were the heady days of Colorado’s craft beer infancy, back when the state only had about 150 microbreweries. Fast-forward to 2017 and the state boats more than 500 breweries, and Telluride consistently ranks among the best, continuing to win awards and make great beer year after year. And while they do have plans to move from their current location just outside of Telluride proper, their ambitions don’t include leaving Telluride—or even distributing out of Colorado. To do so, as Fish explained, would mean leaving Telluride, which is where he’s lived for more than 15 years, and where he always plans to stay. In this brave new world, where microbreweries can demand price tags in the millions of dollars by macro-brewers yearning for a touch of “authenticity,” that “local first” approach is refreshing.
Drink: The Face Down Brown lives up to its reputation, both in taste and in its quiet nod to Telluride’s lifestyle (the skier that’s face-down on the can’s graphic is wearing a pair of custom Wagner Skis, also made in Telluride). But when visiting the brewery, try the Fishwater Project, their Fishwater Double IPA that’s been aged in bourbon barrels for six months to deliver an oaky, hoppy brew with a boozy 11% ABV.
Telluride Distilling Company
Photo by Nathan Borchelt
Located in the same complex as the Telluride Brewing Company, the founders took a decidedly more scientific approach to crafting their sugar cane-based vodka. Two of the four founders boast backgrounds in engineering and molecular biology, basically making the exercise one big chemistry experiment. It’s an experiment that works. Most of the equipment and processing used was constructed in-house, including the still, which is wired to a computer that distiller Abbott Smith can even control via his smart phone while he’s riding the ski lift. They’ve been distilling for three years, and the tasting room has been open for eight months, giving you a chance to sample their vodka, which goes down smooth and bracing, and schnapps. Why schnapps? As Abbot explained, “I’m from Wisconsin, and I love schnapps.” But forget all schnapps you’ve had before. Brewed at 100 proof, Telluride’s version, aptly dubbed the Chairlift Warmer, isn’t cloying or sweet. You get the nose-tickling hit of peppermint, but it goes down almost too easily, especially when added to hot chocolate.
