Spring-break snowbirds will fly straight to sea level this month, but we suggest heading in the opposite direction: up. Like more than 12,000 feet up, to Telluride Ski Resort’s Tempter House. At 12,200 feet, the mountaintop escape is one of the highest-elevation rentals in Colorado. There are only two ways to access this two-bedroom beaut (which sleeps up to six): on skis or on the back of a ski patrol snowmobile. We suggest the snowmobile route. After all, how often do you get to fly straight up a mountain at night? If you opt to get there under your own steam, you’ll simply hop on the Gold Hill Express lift and cruise down the blue-rated See Forever run. Ski patrol will ensure your bags are in your room when you arrive and that you’re greeted with a roaring fire. And for $5,000 per night…they should. Of course, that price tag also includes a steam shower and Jacuzzi, an on-call chef, a massage therapist, and fluffed feather beds. Giant windows wrap the five-level house, providing omnipresent panoramas of the Bear Creek Preserve and the namesake Tempter Chute (a steep sidecountry section of the resort that should be accessed with caution)—but for a limited time. The Tempter House only stays open until the end of the Telluride ski season, and this year, closing day is April 3.

(Discover three more high-elevation getaways)

5280 March 2016
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