Many moons ago, the idea of on-mountain cuisine called to
mind overpriced foil-wrapped hamburgers and bowls of chili.
Luckily, though, this has changed over the past few years, thanks
to a movement toward high-quality food on the mountains, and
especially for dinner, after the ski slopes close. Added bonus? The
appealing mode of transportation: Most of the restaurants are
reached by gondolas, snowcats, and even open-air sleighs. In our
opinion, no matter how good the
skiing is, a visit to Vail without
eating at the Game Creek Club, or a weekend spent in Beaver Creek
without experiencing a sleigh-ride dinner at Zach's Cabin, is a
trip wasted.
- Larry Olmsted
California
The
United States ski industry only recently realized that a
gondola or a horse-drawn-sleigh ride is a nice gimmick but not
enough to compete with the many fine-dining options in today's ski
towns. Suddenly the emphasis is on a high-quality high-altitude
experience at restaurants such as Parallax (760-934-2571), now in
its third winter of offering Friday and Saturday snowcat dinners
midway up
California's Mammoth Mountain (
www.mammothmountain.com). They even pour a glass of
Champagne for the ride, which is followed by a five-course
wine-pairing dinner.
Colorado
When it comes to peak dining experiences,
Colorado has a veritable
gold rush. Swank
Beaver Creek offers two choices, Zach's Cabin
(970-845-6575) and Beano's Cabin (970-949-9090; begins serving
dinner December 1). Both are private clubs by day and public by
night, with motorized sled rides available to all diners. Along
with an à la carte menu and white-glove service, Zach's has a 2007
Wine Spectator "Best Of" Award of Excellence (the magazine's top
honor). Nearby Vail has a similar mountaintop
private-club-cum-gourmet restaurant, the fabulous Game Creek Club
(970-479-4275), which you reach via gondola and a customized
snowcat limo. A bit of
Switzerland comes to
Aspen Highlands every
Thursday night, when the Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro (970-923-8715), a
European alpine-style hut, offers snowcat dinners, serving classic
gourmet dishes at nearly 11,000 feet.
SwitzerlandFor some real Swiss mountaintop dining, visit the classic Refuge de Frience, above the Swiss ski resort of Villars (
www.villars.ch/en/gastro_altitude.cfm). Reached via a cog railway, the restaurant serves local wines and regional dishes such as fondue and raclette.
WyomingA world-class ski resort, Jackson Hole has long been famous for just about everything — its steep runs, deep snowfalls, classic Wild West town — except food. That changes this
Christmas, with the opening of the $10 million Bridger Restaurant complex (
www.jacksonhole.com). The stone-and-wood building fits the mountain’s frontier image and houses multiple eateries, most notably the gourmet deli Couloir, Jackson’s first on-mountain restaurant open for dinner. (Complimentary gondola rides are included.) The focus is regional fine dining — think porcini-and-cornmeal-dusted
Snake River trout or slow-roasted prime rib of buffalo.