Twenty minutes up · Heated snowcoach · 21 and over
The Snowcoach Dinner at Alpino Vino, Telluride
Alpino Vino is one of the few restaurants in Telluride you cannot drive or walk to. Dinner guests board a heated snowcoach in Mountain Village at the bottom of Lift 4 in Mountain Village and climb roughly twenty minutes up Gold Hill in the dark, to one small dining room at 11,966 feet.
The ride
The Snowcoach Dinner at Alpino Vino, Explained
Dinner at Alpino Vino is reached by heated snowcoach, not by car and not on skis. Guests meet in Mountain Village at the bottom of Lift 4 and ride roughly twenty minutes up Gold Hill in the dark.
The resort calls the vehicle a snowcoach; most guests call it a snowcoach. It is the only way in and out after dark, which is why the evening is reservation-only and why the number of seats is finite.
Meet at the bottom of Lift 4
In Mountain Village, at 5:15pm or 7:30pm.
Climb Gold Hill
Roughly twenty minutes, heated, headlights on snow.
Arrive at 11,966 feet
The fire is lit and the room is candlelit.
Four-course dinner
Northern Italian, optional wine pairing per course.
Ride back down
The snowcoach takes guests back to the gondola at the end of service.
Why it matters
Why the Snowcoach Ride Is Part of the Dinner
Because the journey is half of what people describe afterwards. Almost every published account of dinner here spends as long on the ride up as on the food.
It is also the practical reason the room stays small and the evening stays quiet. One intimate dining room, reached only by snowcoach after dark.
The ride
The same snowcoach carries wedding and private-event parties up the mountain.
Common questions
The Snowcoach Dinner: Common Questions
Is there a restaurant in Telluride you can only reach by snowcoach?
Yes. Alpino Vino serves dinner only to guests who ride a heated snowcoach up Gold Hill from Mountain Village at the bottom of Lift 4. There is no road and no ski access after dark.
Is the snowcoach the same thing as a snowcat?
Yes. Telluride Ski Resort calls the vehicle a snowcoach; guests and reviewers often call it a snowcat. It is the same heated, tracked vehicle that carries dinner guests up Gold Hill to Alpino Vino.
How long is the snowcoach ride?
Roughly twenty minutes from the bottom of Lift 4 in Mountain Village to the restaurant, in a heated cabin.
Is the snowcoach ride included with dinner?
The snowcoach is how dinner guests arrive — it is part of the evening rather than a separate transfer you arrange yourself.
Do you need a reservation for the snowcoach dinner?
Yes. Dinner at Alpino Vino is reservation-only and guests must be 21 or over.