Mountain Medicine

In Telluride, the Old West mingles charmingly with New Age pursuits

It’s mid-morning, the sky is a watery sort of blue, and I’m standing in front of a busy retail shop that used to be a bank. But not just any bank this one was where the legendary Butch Cassidy participated in his first heist, back in1889. Now, while “heist” isn’t exactly part of my everyday vocabulary, I feel pretty comfortable using it in Telluride, especially after an energizing yoga session, two spa treatments, and a self-guided walking tour that’s taken me past most of this small town’s historic buildings.

Up and Away

My husband, who’s here with me, thinks it’s just a case of not having had breakfast, and steers me toward the gondola station for the ride back up to Mountain Village and Capella Telluride, our hotel. The free gondola system connects the two areas for most of the year, with a few weeks in the spring and fall excepted. Today, it’s crowded with people who’ve come for the annualTelluride Yoga Festival. Hosted by The Peaks (formerly the Golden Door Spa), it’s taking place at a number of venues scattered around town, but thanks to the gondola, nothing’s more than about 15 minutes from anything else.

The gondola is actually one of Telluride’s greenest features. The very first public transportation system of its kind anywhere in the US, its energy comes entirely from windpower sources. Open from 7 in the morning till midnight, its three-mile length stops halfway between Telluride and Mountain Village at the St. Sophia station, where the elevation is 10,540 feet, and an assortment of trailheads can be accessed for cycling, hiking, or skiing.

We share a cabin with a couple and their Golden Retriever, and disembark at the station across from Capella. I start the morning with a combination treatment in Capella’s 3,000-foot, caf© au lait-colored boutique spa that began with a Coffee Contour Scrub, and finished with a Body Butter Cocoon. The coffee scrub was a deliciously scented full-body exfoliation that left my skin soft and incredibly smooth. Tracy, my therapist, arranged my treatment in the enormous couple’s room, which means that I won’t need to wait for the linens on my table to be changed between scrub and body mask. Instead, I’m able to lounge next to the fireplace with a glass of water and a bowl of walnuts after showering in the giant steam shower, then make myself comfortable on the second table.

Tracy covers my hair with a warm head wrap, and then covers the rest of me with a dense cream. She massages it deeply into my skin, wrapping me in warm layers so that the moisturizers can do their magic. After a last relaxing session in the steam shower, I head back to the changing room and lounge area, which were designed to look and feel like an intimate living room. The teas offered in the adjacent lounge were blended specifically for the spa, and I enjoy a cup of Tuscan Garden made from a fragrant concoction of grapes, black currants, apples, oranges, lemon, lavender flowers, sunflowers, and rose petals. It tastes every bit as lovely as it sounds.

Calling Dali and Neptune

In the morning, I take the gondola back into the center of town and walk the few blocks to the Ah Haa School for the Arts. It’s located in the town’s historic train depot, with a terrace in the back that abuts the beautiful, paved multi-use path that runs alongside the San Miguel River. You can sign up for a day class or for a whole series in everything from ceramics, metal work, and painting to theater and bookbinding.

I’m met by visual artist and jewelry maker Brooke Ahana. For years, I’ve worked in pen, ink, and watercolor, and she’s agreed to give me a private lesson in some basic techniques for acrylic painting. I’ve seen her work, and have been looking forward to working with her and I’m not disappointed. Based in Los Angeles, she’s a summer artist-in-residence in Telluride, and my first impression of her proves to be satisfyingly accurate: she’s someone who exudes joy.

While we sit together on the terrace blending colors and exploring various brush techniques, I ask her about the necklace she’s wearing. It has a long chain, with a collection of charm-like objects and the mysterious inner workings of a watch that manages to look both trendy and timeless. She explains that her sustainable jewelry creations often involve found objects and antique pieces, reclaimed and melded with an edgy twist.

I leave with a mostly-finished painting, a desire to shop for some of Ahana’s jewelry, and streaks of blue and purple on my bare thighs. There’s no time to change, though I’ve got an afternoon spa appointment at Atmosphere, a fabulous day spa and local institution located next to the Camel Garden Hotel. Ashley, the receptionist, takes my shoes, hands me a pair of slippers, and shows me into a roundish room with comfy chairs. The space is filled with an eclectic and jubilant collection of art gathered by the owner during her frequent forays to Africa.

I’ve booked a Lava Shell Massage, mostly because I want to know what, exactly, a lava shell is. Cynda, my therapist, takes me into one of the rooms that opens directly off the lounge area, and explains the treatment while showing me the smooth, polished Tiger-striped clam shells she’ll be using. The shells self-heat through a chemical reaction that occurs when a blend of minerals, salty water, and algae are inserted into the shell. As they interact with one another, heat is released. Cynda uses the shell tools in much the same way lava rocks are used, stroking and kneading my muscles into a state of complete relaxation.

Downtown Digs

For our last two nights, we’ve checked in at the Hotel Columbia to get a feel for what it’s like to stay in the downtown area. Located close to the gondola station, and directly across from the river, it’s called Columbia in honor of Telluride’s original name.

In late spring, summer and early fall, Telluride is a walker’s paradise, and though the extensive trails found along the slopes are tempting, James and I access the riverside path and walk for the next four hours along the water’s edge. By the time we’re back at the Columbia, we’ve worked up an appetite and have been advised by more than one local resident that the place for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is La Cocina de Luz on East Colorado St., where chef-owner Lucas Price creates regional Mexican cuisine from locally sourced, organic, and sustainable ingredients. I pride myself on being something of a connoisseur when it comes to guacamole, and the version served up by Chef Price is exquisite. Everything is, in fact, and we feast on field green salads, handmade organic tortillas, garlic roasted vegetables, and iced hibiscus tea.

We visit several local galleries, then buy a bottle of wine to take back to the Columbia, where our suite one of the 21 suites that make up the hotel has a small kitchen stocked with wine glasses. There’s also free wireless, a gorgeous bathroom with a deep soaking tub, a balcony, and a gas fireplace in the generously sized, luxurious living room area. The hotel offers free storage for bikes, and there are also ski lockers and boot dryers during the winter season.

In the morning, we linger over the delicious breakfast buffet in the hotel’s dining room, The Cosmopolitan. James disappears toward the mountain bike trails, and I head back to Mountain Village for an appointment at the newly renovated Peaks. The spa complex is gigantic: not only is there an indoor water slide connecting the multi-level pools, but entire fitness studios have separately been dedicated to yoga, movement classes, cardio, weights, and rock climbing. The rock-climbing wall gained local fame when actor Tom Cruise stationed himself here to train for scenes in his film, Mission Impossible.

In addition to all the workout spaces, the spa follows a European model of water therapy, with multiple pools of varying temperatures, steam baths, and saunas. One of the best changes that’s taken place as part of the extensive property renovations is the selection of ISUN products for the spa. Founded by Bunnie Gulick, the product line is made from organic, wild-crafted, and sustainably harvested botanicals. Ingredients are Fair Trade, packaged sustainably, and altruistic monthly donations from product sales support a variety of charities, including Feed the Children and Youth Action International.

Navigating the space with its tranquil mix of Asian and Native American-inspired d©cor I locate the waiting area. I’ve chosen a Gemstone Massage, and my therapist, Sunny, delivers a soothing treatment with herbal oils infused with gemstone energy. She uses garnet oil on my lower legs and feet for its grounding qualities, carnelian oil on my stomach and upper legs to imbue a sense of warmth and well-being, rose quartz oil on my upper chest and arms to impart joy into my heart area, and finishes with amethyst oil on my shoulders, neck and face for its deep, calming effects. Sunny massages the energy points on my face, then helps me to turn over on the table. She drips each of the four oils along my spine, then blends them together as she massages my back, restoring a sense of balance and harmony to both my body and spirit. I feel light and peaceful as I make my way back down the mountain to the hotel.

The next day, we sleep in, and enjoy another long morning walk before beginning the seven-hour drive back to Boulder. I can’t say whether it was the spa treatments or the leisurely strolls along the river that’s left us both in such good moods, but the journey home is especially pleasant, with a picnic dinner en route. People often claim that Telluride has a great, grounding energy that’s drawn from the nearby San Juan Mountains and the splashing river that borders the town, and I suspect they’re right. I don’t know what Butch would say if he rode into town today, but I’d advise him to park his horse somewhere and schedule a massage. Seems to me that a balanced mind and body has to be worth considerably more than a sack filled with cold metal coins.