Industry News
At first guess, you may think gondola dining at Telluride Ski Resort would take place while riding through the sky on the free Mountain Town Gondola. Quite the opposite will be happening, though, as Telluride will be unveiling new outdoor dining options for the winter 20/21 season.
Telluride will debut 20 refurbished 8 passenger gondola cabins for guests to dine in this season. The 20 gondola cabins will be scattered among the outdoor plaza in the Town of Mountain Village base area.
Based in Fruita, CO, the Gondola Shop will be refurbishing and providing the gondola dining cabins to the resort. These will be authentic gondola cabins that actually spent time ferrying skiers and riders. This batch will be coming from Killington Ski Resort, VT, and Steamboat Ski Resort, CO. The gondola cabins will be completely redone, featuring lights, upholstered seats, heating and ventilation, and wooden dining tables.
Most of The Gondola Shop’s business comes from private buyers. Looking for a gondola cabin with a sauna built-in? That’ll set you back $25,000. From sauna cabins to offices to children’s play areas, The Gondola Shop has customized almost everything you can think of in their 22 years in business.
Along with the 20 gondola dining cabins, Telluride also plans to construct a pavilion and 20-foot yurts in the Town of Mountain Village plaza. 12 restaurants at the village plaza will be able to serve guests via QR code menus at each table, with some focusing on take out while others will serve you tableside.
All of this is, of course, in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Telluride wants to ensure guests are social distancing and observing local health ordinances. This sounds like an innovative idea and could be a cool concept for other ski areas to follow. Telluride even said they might keep the gondola dining cabins for future après ski post-pandemic.
