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Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro Restaurant
Maximizing time on the snow is my goal on a ski trip since I only ski a few days each year. When I stop for lunch, I try to choose a restaurant that allows me to get in and out as quickly as possible. That’s usually pretty easy since most on-the-mountain
dining establishments offer few incentives to extend the lunch break. That is not necessarily the case with the Cloud Nine Alpine Restaurant on Aspen Highlands Mountain near Aspen, Colorado. Everything about the Cloud Nine setting is conducive to a long, leisurely lunch break.
Cloud Nine’s setting is inviting, cozy, unpretentious, and intended to entice you to linger, talk about old times, plan your next ski Photo Credit Hal Williams
adventure, talk trash
about that double black
you skied last week or
rehash the latest unplanned acrobatic ski maneuver that your buddy survived without a scratch or broken bones.
The staff is friendly and attentive, the food, definitely not your standard American ski resort fare, is delicious and beautifully presented. The international wine selection is small but adequate. You can order a bottle of fine champagne or a drink from the full service bar. But more than anything else, it is the view that will make you think twice about just how much more
skiing you want to do for the rest of the day.
The rustic ski hut that houses the Cloud Nine restaurant is located at a heady altitude of 10,740 feet at the Aspen Highland ski area. Once you’re comfortably seated inside, you’ll notice that the large window with casual checkered curtains provides the perfect frame for the snow covered 14,000 feet high peaks and forests of the Maroon Bells wilderness. The spectular Maroon Bells are the most photographed peaks in the United States.
Photo Credit Stoney Knight
This is about the time when you’ll become a victim of the Cloud Nine lure. You’ll take a casual look at the wine list and think about how your meal would be enhanced with a nice glass of wine. By now though, the decision is not whether to order wine, but which wine to order. If you’re not sure, the wait staff will be glad to make a recommendation.
Photo Credit Stoney Knight
Your final decision is to choose one of the daily specials from the prix fixe menu. Be forewarned, the menu does not include typical ski fare like burgers and fries. Instead selections include elk osso bucco with ratatouille and oven roasted garlic-rosemary potatoes, seared ruby trout fillet with potato strudel, gruyere stuffed pheasant sausages wrapped in pancetta with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and other selections with a definite European flair.
The restaurant is relatively small with just over 50 seats for inside dining. And because of its limited seating, not everyone will be lucky enough to grab a table. But not to worry! The Cloud Nine deck can seat another 100 or so skiers who can take advantage of a limited but equally tasty, self service menu including soup, salad, desert and beverages. From the wooden deck’s picnic tables, outdoor
sofas and deck style reclining chairs, skiers can wine and dine alfresco while enjoying both the sun and the panoramic view. Photo Credit Stoney Knight
Dining at the Cloud Nine is not for penny pinchers. A lunch of soup or salad, a meat or vegetarian entrée, a glass of moderately priced wine and tip will cost upwards of US$50. So if you’re the typical skier on a budget, you may want to save the full dining experience as the perfect end of trip treat.
The Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro offers a 4 – 5 star dining experience from a time when people took the time to truly enjoy a meal. Andreas Fischbacher, the Austrian Alpine trained chef, knows the logistics of running a ski area restaurant. He ensures that all meals are prepared using the locally available products including meat from a local ranch and produce - peaches, tomatoes, plums – canned for winter use. His wait staff serves each meal with an efficient, upbeat here-to-serve-you attitude. And if you do decide to take a few runs after lunch, be careful! You wouldn’t want to ruin a perfectly good end of vacation treat.
If you go
During peak skiing periods, reservations are highly recommended for indoor seating especially for groups of five or more. Access to the restaurant is via the Cloud Nine high speed quad or Loge Peak lifts. To get from the lift to the restaurant then down the mountain after lunch, all skiers in the party must ski at least at the intermediate level. The restaurant is open every day for lunch from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM. The Cloud Nine is also open on select Thursday nights throughout the winter for public and private dinners. Snow cat rides up the mountain are included in the dinner price.
http://www.aspensnowmass.com/onmountain/dining/default.cfm?id=1288
For Reservations - 970-923-8715 or 970-544-3063
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