Around Telluride

Early Bird discount for students enrolled in Telluride regional schools ends March 31. Enroll today at www.tellurideacademy.com or call 970-728-5311. Telluride Academy is the region's largest outdoor adventure organization for youth ages 5-17, serving local students and visitors to the region since 1981. Telluride Academy...

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's conversation with Kris Holstrom]

IMG_1147 Do you have hidden or latent leadership qualities? Do you care about the future of our region? Who would you miss if businesses start to fail? Address these questions at tge culminating event for the RSVP - Regional Sustainability Visioning Project is this coming Wednesday, March 18 at the Telluride Conference Center. Doors open  8:30 a.m.

What is it?
A community conversation about a sustainable future in changing times.

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's conversation with Michael Schoenfeld]

Image Not all non-profits are created equal. Some, like Telluride local Michael Schoenfeld's Channel G stand out from the pack.

Channel G is a nonprofit's nonprofit – literally. The 501 (c) (3) organization and media company is in the business of documenting the work of others around the world engaged in environmental, social, and health-related projects. The short-form films Channel G produces get distributed through a wide variety of online outlets and viewed at film festivals such as Telluride Mountainfilm.

Channel G's first fundraiser in town, March 14, 7:30 p.m., at the Sheridan Opera House, hopes to raise the funds necessary to produce a promotional film about the San Miguel County One-To-One Mentoring Program.  Michael would like to be able to add other local/regional nonprofits into the mix.

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's interview with Adrian Quesada]Hey, Telluride: Get ready to shake your tail feathers to a Latin beat when 2009 Grammy-nominated   Grupo Fantasma – Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album, "Sonidos Gold" – performs twice this week...

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's interview with Elisabeth Gick]

Fear-emai[1] As part of Telluride's week-long "Phenomenal Woman" Celebrations" Telluride Inside...and Out honors longtime local Elisabeth Gick and her crusade for Tibet.

Elisabeth is bit like Alice of Wonderland fame: her native curiosity always gets the better of her. She falls down holes and meets amazing people in exotic places. She also tries to make a difference.

For several years now, Elisabeth has been traveling in Asia, particularly in Tibet, where she has made friends and made a difference. For example, she is doing what she can for 82 young girls, all orphans, whom she met with daughter Lesley in October 2008, while visiting the town of Ganzi in upper Kham. Thanks to her efforts and the generosity of family and friends such as the Lifton-Zolines, the girls now have two solar hot water showers and will soon have a library. A third initiative involves raising funds for traditional outfits. Elisabeth is $800 short of that goal.


Capella Telluride's GM, John Volponi, donates to online auction for Med Center's FEAST. See Susan's videocast with John at the end of this article.

It really did take a village – in this case, Telluride's sister city, The Mountain Village, to get the job done. But with two visionaries – architect/developer Robert A. Levine, and hotelier Horst Schulze, former president of Ritz-Carlton – driving the train, plus a cast of thousands willing to do the grunt work, the Telluride region's newest hotel is likely to become its crown jewel. Capella opened triumphantly on February 12, 2009.

Aptly named for the alpha star of the constellation Auriga, Capella Telluride is a tour de force. The complex of 100 hotel rooms and about 50 condominiums should transform its new address from a launch pad for intermediate skiing and hang-out for the Prada brigade into a go-to spot for food, drink and events, even for townies. The spa and the restaurants have the welcome mat out for the entire community.

Dirk DePagter talks to Kate Wadley about Hotel Columbia's donation to Telluride Medical Center's Feast. See the videocast at the end of this article.


Dirk DePagter remembers Telluride's wild and wooly days of the 1970s. A  master carpenter/contractor back when, he was hired to do the remodel that transformed a shed owned by the Idarado Mining Company into the building that is now the Telluride Medical Center. What remains of his handiwork is the eastern part of today's structure.

Dirk, who became a developer, is now the proud owner of his first hotel: he and his partners purchased the Hotel Columbia from close friends Jim Lincoln and Jeff Campbell in January 2008.

Just in time for festival season in Telluride, the provider of our commenting tool has announced the availability of Intense Debate Plugins - new features that make blog discussions even better.  Here at Telluride Inside...