STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — As we exited the on Steamboat’s Storm Peak, I was reminded of a line from one of my daughters’ favorite story books, “Bella and Bean” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich:
“And the sky poured stars like sugar … ”
It was time to climb back into the Sno-Cat and make our way down to the gondola, which would then take us into town. Excited by an offer to ride in the front of the Cat, my youngest daughter was already trying to find footing for her dress shoes on the vehicle’s massive tread. My husband and older daughter were already in two of the heated cabin’s 13 bucket seats.
But I lingered outside. Just steps away from the light-filled windows of the lodge, I was surrounded by a darkness lit only by the moon’s glow on the snow and those oh-so-close stars.
The mountains are different at night, and many ski resorts invite visitors to enjoy the stars, the quiet slopes and a seriously good meal among the peaks in the evening.
At Four Points, we had been treated to a five-course Northern Italian-inspired meal. On the menu was everything from goat cheese gnocchi napoleon to salmon piccata to tiramisu.
Despite Steamboat’s well-earned reputation as cowboy country, there wasn’t a single steak on the menu. We ate our carefully prepared meal on tables covered with white linen, and we were serenaded by a talented young violinist as the setting sun turned the snow around the lodge from pale pink to deep violet.
“Not what you’d expect from dining in Steamboat is it?” asked Steamboat spokesman Mike Lane over his glass of cabernet sauvignon. “Our guests are always getting more sophisticated, and so we need to, too.”
That’s not to say fine dining is a new concept on Colorado’s slopes. has been offering gourmet fare from its secluded spot between Grouse Mountain and the Larkspur Bowl since 1985. Sit by the window while you enjoy locally sourced meals and you might see a fox run by in the night.
I had my first high-altitude, high-end dinner on New Year’s Eve 2000 at . With all the dire predictions about Y2K, I wanted to be somewhere beautiful when the world came to an end. And, oh, was it beautiful, with the candlelight flickering inside and the snow sparkling on the other side of the giant windows.
Now, fine mountain-top dining is becoming standard at Colorado resorts.
“Our guests have come to expect certain dining opportunities on our mountains,” said Rob Spence, Vail Resorts vice president of mountain dining. “In their everyday lives, people have access to better ingredients, and that has fueled a desire to be more experimental. We have provided the opportunity to satisfy that hunger while vacationing.”
At some of these fine-dining experiences, you might show up in your ski boots. This year’s includes menus from France, Spain and the Pacific Rim at the mid-mountain Black Mountain Lodge on the Saturday closest to the full moon from December to April. I’m going to choose one of the randonee dinners, in which the resort turns off the lift and guests skin, snowshoe or hike to and from the lodge.
Many resorts have a fine dining option for families with children, too. The was entertaining (cue the oompah band) and satisfying — what kid wouldn’t be pleased with a meal that ends with a bowl of chocolate? But I think my family’s favorite part was telling ghost stories as the gondola slid noiselessly through the dark forest on the way home.
Chryss Cada is a freelance writer and an adjunct professor of journalism at Colorado State University.
