After working through a few hiccups, our Telluride trip was deemed a success! A few days prior to arrival, 30" of snow fell. During our ski week, we experienced bluebird skies every day. Everyone was overjoyed at the great snow conditions and our bluebird weather. The skiing was absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!

Sunday was our Welcome Party at The View at Mountain Lodge on the mountain. The venue was beautiful with a great view. We had theme participation and plenty of room for everyone to enjoy and welcome each other. Our first raffle took place with prizes from Viking Ski Shop in Chicago, Winter Ski and Sport, and Telluride. Thank you for your donations!

Monday was a busy event day. First up was the NASTAR race at 10:00 am; we had 80 racers, including a snowboarder! Bob from Elevation Imaging was busy taking pictures of the racers. Following the race was the Mountain Lunch at Gorrono Ranch on the mountain. What a great place for lunch! Our non-skiers were able to enjoy a lunch together at Crazy Elks in Mountain Village. Following lunch, Elevation Imaging was snapping group photos. In the evening, we headed downtown Telluride to the Pub Crawl. 5 venues were visited: O'Bannons, Sheridan, Liberty, Strong House, and Last Dollar Saloon - each venue had their own style :)

Our first Après took place on Tuesday in Mountain Village at "the Core". We punched credentials and gave out drink tickets at two venues: (1) Tracks served us some great drinks, and many stayed there until after the event was over. (2) Crazy Elks was busy making pizzas for us. It was fun watching them make them and taking them out of their ovens. We had many compliments on their surprisingly good pizza! They made 5-6 different varieties fresh from their ovens & pair with a beer of our choice.

Wednesday was a day off for many and others enjoyed a ski day. Many of our 15 clubs spent the evening together in their condos, or at a restaurant.

Thursday was our second Après at OAK, Fat Alley BBQ. Oak is a staple in Telluride because of the yummy food and beer/cocktail selections. It is located only steps away from the bottom of the Gondola, and has great outdoor seating. Robbie (the owner) took good care of us and served delicious BBQ sliders, yummy wraps, french fries, and the most delicious fried sweet potatoes.  We had a variety of drinks available to use with our two drink tickets.

Friday evening was the banquet at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village. We had 27 tables each with 2 bottles of wine for the CMSC-ers. Tables were grouped by club, decorated with gold and silver coins, necklaces, nuggets, miners hats, and centerpieces to support our Miners and Madams theme. Our theme was well represented when you walked in to see many types of Miners and many types of Madams in costume. The prime rib dinner was a success! So many compliments about the surprisingly tasty meal. 80 racers were invited up to the dance floor area after dinner to await the results of the race. We presented 19 medals plus the NASTAR pins that were distributed to the trip leaders. Following the awards, Ft Wayne Ski club performed an "old style saloon" skit for us - so creative! Lastly, the dance floor was consistently full with the tunes played by DJ Josh. He made some great choices to keep the dance floor full.

Saturday was the journey home after some snow fell overnight.

Until next year, when Chicago Week goes to Mammoth! We're already working to finalize a theme.

Regards,

Vicki & Sandy, Trip Leaders