Snow, Boys Looking Good for Telluride Gay Ski Week 2014

Telluride, Colo. is a beautiful place to ski or snowboard, but when you add fun-loving gay men and lesbians to the mix, the result is hard to beat.

Telluride Gay Ski Week, named the top gay ski week by Gay.com, kicks off this weekend and lasts for 10 days, wrapping on Sunday, March 2. Aside from a great place to ski and mingle, TGSW raises money for the Telluride AIDS Benefit. Host lodging is at the gorgeous Hotel Madeleine, which has tons of places to eat and shop nearby, while the Telluride Ski Resort is accessed via an approximately eight-minute gondola ride. The ski resort, which has well-manicured trails for all levels of expertise, is the focal point of Telluride. A former mining town with a beautifully-maintained 19th-century-era downtown, Telluride has shops, coffee joints, hotels, restaurants, and even a cannabis shop (this is Colorado) easily accessed by foot. Make sure to get breakfast at The Butcher & Baker, dinner at the New Sheridan Chop House (located in a beautiful 1895 hotel) or Allred's (literally on a peak), and apres-ski at Bon Vivant (a French eatery on a mountain in the ski resort). If you want a more adrenaline-inducing adventure, try snowmobiling with the folks at Telluride Outside.

For TGSW itself, events a-plenty are planned, including a wedding-themed party with the event's honorary chairs, Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami — the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case against California's Prop. 8. There is also be a screening on Tuesday, Feb. 25 of award-winning documentary Bridegroom, with producer Shane Bitney Crone honored at a reception on Saturday, March 1. For a listing of all the planned events click here, see a promo video below, and check out pics from past years below.