Scott got picked up by Doug and his buddy Randy on Sunday morning to go on their Telluride via ferrata adventure. I had a relaxed morning and eventually ventured out in search of caffeine and sustenance. I found a cute mobile coffee shop, housed in a repurposed horse trailer, near our condo and right at the entrance of the Telluride gondola station. I sat on a bench and sipped my coffee and ate my breakfast burrito and enjoyed seeing all the dogs and even a cat that accompanied other morning downtown wanderers.

Eventually I headed towards Bridal Veil Falls where I would be embarking on my first solo hike and was hoping to catch a glimpse of Scott and friends 500 feet in the air as they scaled Spiderman-style along the south-facing wall of the box canyon near the falls. Scott had floated the idea of me doing it with them and after seeing pictures of it, and hearing Sara DePape’s exhilarating experience of it, I said “Thank you very much for thinking of me, but NO.”

So off I went. The hike was nice and although I missed having my adventure buddy Scotty B with me, it was nice to be able to tackle the trail, various boulders, and 900 feet of incline at my own pace and not have to be constantly rushing to keep up with him. I stopped at each of the smaller waterfalls and their subsequent pools along my way and ended up at the top of the 365 foot Bridal Veil Falls in just over an hour. I never did see Scott and his friends on the via ferrata but got a phone call from Scott as I was about halfway down the trail on my descent that he was down in the parking lot and would hike up to meet me. I continued working my way down and he found me a few minutes later and told me about the via ferrata.

He had loved every minute of it and was pumped up from the experience and excitedly shared the following as we hiked back to the parking lot:

There was a mixup with Doug’s other friend who went along, and the friend thought that
they were doing the via ferrata in Ouray. They all got on the same page and headed to the one in Telluride but then opted to do the Bridal Veil Falls hike that ultimately leads to its start rather than taking the Jeep to the top.

“For getting old, it absolutely was an adrenaline thrill but it wasn’t exceedingly difficult. You are secure hanging on the side of the mountain and you had the breathtaking views because you were perched on the edge of the cliff wall, but you didn’t have the pump of the muscles as if you were free climbing.”

We headed back to the condo to change so that we could meet Doug and Randy for lunch at a restaurant. It was next door to our condo and we were quickly realizing just how primo its location was and were thankful to Doug for arranging the stay. Over lunch, I got to hear them relive their morning’s adventure and felt confident that my decision to opt out of the via ferrata’ing was the right one.

After lunch Scott and I jumped on board a free gondola to go explore the town of Mountain Village as well as to enjoy the 13 minute long ride that provided incredible views of the surrounding San Juan mountains, the valley floor where Telluride is located, and the box canyon that we had both just hiked.

Once the gondola reached Mountain Village we stayed on it to ride it to its end where it deposits you at the town hall and unbelievably bougie market. We strolled around the market to take in the upscale offerings and to have our minds blown at the accompanying upscale prices. A ski vacation in Telluride is not for the poors, that was for sure.

We hopped on the gondola again to return to the San Sophia station. While riding it, we made small talk with a well dressed older gentleman with an Italian accent who was sharing the same car and he suggested getting a drink at the restaurant that he ran, Allred’s, as the views were stunning. We thanked him for the suggestion and once at the station went to check out the area, including the nature center, which of course, was right up my alley.

We decided to take our new Italian friend’s advice and went to check out Allred’s. We ran into Mario again once we were inside, and he personally escorted us from the bar to the restaurant’s dining room so that we could experience what Barbara Walters once called, “one of the top five dinner views in the world.” Mario worked some of his Italian charm on me, taking me by the elbow as we walked and telling Scott that for me the drinks would be free, but for him, he would have to pay normal prices. I of course ate up every second of this interaction and batted my eyelashes and laughed.

We were feeling pretty snazzy as we returned to the bar, which also had stunning views, although Scott mentioned that if he were in charge, he would cut down some of the lovely and iconic Aspen trees right outside the windows, as they were blocking his views of the mountains. I think in a previous lifetime he must have been a beaver.

I had a Coors which seemed like the right drink to get in Colorado and after we were finished, we boarded the gondola and got taken down the mountain and dropped back into Telluride. It was a lovely afternoon and we decided to walk around the town. I, of course, had spotted many of the outdoor ware stores in town, and wanted to check them out. Our first stop was to Patagonia, and I was absolutely in heaven, and drooled over all the beautiful offerings that they had. I discretely tried on the Nanopuff vests and jackets so that I would know what size I was so I could hunt for them on some of my favorite consignment clothing websites later. Unfortunately, many of the stores were closing because it was Sunday evening, but the afternoon and the town couldn’t have been any more lovely. We went back to the condo briefly and then touched base with Doug to firm up plans on where to meet him for dinner.

We walked a short distance to Brown Dog Pizza and ordered a pie while we waited for him. He showed up a few minutes later and we gave him a rundown of our day. He was not surprised that we had run into Mario who is a bit of a local legend, and evidently has a reputation as Telluride’s own lothario. (FYI, I refused to let my bubble be burst, you got to ride those highs when they come, you know?)

Doug was more talkative this evening, having recovered from his mountaineering adventure from the day prior and he and Scott got a chance to catch up in more detail. We enjoyed talking with him, and were not surprised that it turned out that he knew our server. Doug has been a ski guide for 20+ years so knows everyone in the town it seems. Eventually we called it a night and he escorted us back to the condo. We thanked him profusely for the condo connection and invited him to come hang out and adventure in our neck of the woods sometime. I could see how he and Scott would have been good buddies in college!