Dining at 10,882 feet

There is a great dining experience outside of Leadville, Colorado and although it is open year around I would recommend the winter experience as it is quite unique and exciting. The restaurant is the "Tennessee Pass Cookhouse" sitting up at nearly 11,000 feet where all of the US Army 10th Mountain Division Troops did their training during WWII



Being the training ground for the Armies 10th Mountain Division it brought the founders of the world famous ski areas like Aspen and Vail to the area. Having trained and skied in the fantastic terrain they saw the future of skiing for the public in the USA, coming back and opening Colorado as the heart of skiing.



To have dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse you first need to make a reservation well in advance as they are booked up much of the time. Certainly don't go on the chance that you might get in. When you make your reservation you will need to place your dinner order so go to their web site: http://www.tennesseecookhouse.com/ (719.486.1751) and select from their offerings. I had the Elk, my wife had the Lamb and my brother and wife had the Chicken - Elk. The food and the preparations were excellent. You can also have wine but remember you are at nearly 11,000 feet and alcohol hits you real quick and sometimes, hard.

The restaurant is in a Yurt, which is round with canvas walls but the wood pot bellied stove kicks out a lot of heat and you will be toasty warm. The only really cold experience is going out to the toilet (outhouse) as the only heat source in each little building is a light bulb and the night we were there it was 9 degrees F outside. Be quick!!

Getting to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse means getting to Denver and then up toward Vail Ski Area and off to the South to the town of Leadville, Colorado. Leadville is a neat town sitting at over 10,000 feet with spectacular views of the Rocky Mountain high country. Leadville was an old gold mining town and spawned the story about the Unsinkable Molly Brown but today it is the base for the largest Molybdonum mine in the world and is well set up as a tourist town. Be sure to research the story about the Ice Palace Hotel that was built there in 1897 as it was built with a wood frame and then encased in blocks of ice. Was quite a place and was quite a failure.

There are a number of B&B's in Leadville plus a hotel and several motels but we stayed at the Ice Palace B&B on Spruce Street and found it delightful. The hosts were most accommodating and it was reasonably priced.

For dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse you need to drive about 12 miles out of town on highway 24 to Ski Cooper and to their equipment / rental building. And you need to be there by 5:30 pm so try to be on time as you have more to do before sitting down to dinner.

The people at Ski Cooper will issue you "head lamps" to see where you are walking and snowshoes if you want to try them, however, the trail to the restaurant is groomed and walking in snow boots or hiking boots works fine.

It is a one (1) mile walk (or hike) to the Yurt and you go up another 300+ feet so it gets your appetite worked up for a dinner. We had a moon lite night and although we needed the headlamps we could almost make our way by moonlight. It was a beautiful night with a temperature of 9 degrees F. When we thought we were getting tired we started seeing lights peeking through the pine trees and knew we were close and then we were there. Light seeping through the canvas walls of the Yurt gave a cozy glow as we climbed the steps up to the deck and entered through double doors. Inside was delightful, well set tables, candle light, a roaring pot bellied stove and nice servers.

Some families came by snowmobiles so that they could bring their children but it is really a place for a quiet and enjoyable meal and not for kids running around the tables. Fortunately they came late and left early.

After a 4 course meal and a cup of tea we bundled back up and headed back down to our car. The walk back was of course easier as we were heading downhill and with the moonlight on crisp snow it was "magic."

My recommendation = it is a must to do.