by Trent Lorcher

Created on: October 02, 2008   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Snow combined with mountains means great skiing and snowboarding. It also means other fun winter activities: dog-sledding, sleigh rides, ice skating, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, checking out ski babes, and hanging out with friends making rhymes. So whether you ski or not, Telluride, Colorado is a great winter vacation spot.

DOG SLEDDING

Remember when you whacked your neighbor's poodle across the forehead for taking a dump in your freshly mowed lawn? I wouldn't recommend doing that to an Alaskan Husky, especially when he and nine of his buddies are flying through the Colorado wilderness attached to a sled carrying you and your family. Half day rides for 4-6 passengers provide the most fun you can have with 10 hairy dogs, a wife, and three kids.

SLEIGH RIDES

Kids love horses. Men love giant tractors. You can get both in Telluride. Take a sleigh ride through the mountain wilderness pulled by horses or take a sleigh ride up a mountain pulled by a giant snow-cat. If your kids prefer horses, but you prefer horsepower, don't tell them what a snow-cat really is. When they realize it's not an actual giant cat, play dumb. Sleighs depart in the evening and include a western style dinner.

ICE SKATING

Bring the entire family ice skating and maybe no one will realize you're there because you fear being humiliated again by hippy-looking snowboarders on the half pipe. The Town Park in Telluride features recreational skating for all levels, hockey for ruffians and non-ruffians, and broom ball for dorks who think there's a remote similarity between slapping a puck with a stick and whacking a ball with a broom. The ice pond in the center of Mountain Village offers day and evening skating with music. During love songs, I recommend either covering your children's eyes or making out with your wife, which will cause them to cover their own eyes.

SNOWSHOEING

Although snowshoeing is akin to screaming at the top of your lungs that you're afraid to ski, it's still a fun activity. You can use the, "I'm just enjoying the 10 kilometers of groomed trails, warming huts, and guided tours featuring wildlife forest ecology, geology and history before I head back up the mountain for some really fast skiing" excuse. Equipment rental and tours are available at the Mountain Village Golf Course and other outfitters in Telluride.

SNOWMOBILING

After you embarrass your teenage children while ice skating the night before by repeatedly falling on your way to the restroom, peeing your pants, and

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