Located adjacent to the ski resort in Telluride, Colorado, the rental is one of only a few homes in the United States at an altitude higher than 11,000-feet! This picturesque cabin is nestled underneath the 13,000-foot Palmyra and Silver Peaks of the San Juan Mountains.

The History of the cabin.

Jim Russell came to Telluride in the fall of 1972 after finishing a tour of Vietnam with the Navy. He wanted to build a place similar to something he had seen in Breckenridge. After buying a Silver Mountain Mining Company mining claim with a partner, Russell designed this gorgeous rental on a bar napkin at the Sheridan Bar. George Greenbank, a new architect in Telluride, drew up the plans and construction began in 1975.

It took Russell and his self-proclaimed hippie crew three summers to build the cabin. Due to the remoteness of the site and the character of the crew, they all lived in the ghost town of Alta during the summers. A cook was onsite and they had generators because none of the homes had electricity.

This unique cabin was built to last. It is made of stone from the nearby talus fields, concrete, and timber. The foundation is attached to the bedrock, the walls are composed of 12-foot logs, the interior is constructed of cedar and Douglas fir and the exterior logs are from the Wilson Mesa, with trees that had been killed by beetles, not chopped down keeping the rental ecologically friendly.

When you visit the cabin today, you turn right at the 1941 Army truck that was used to haul whatever materials that were needed that Russell could not find onsite. It is still there, marking the “driveway” to the rental, although it is slowly sinking into the ground.

When you visit the cabin, there are many details that will catch your eye. One thing that is immediately noticeable is the custom ironwork throughout, hand-forged on site during construction. Another example is the window frame over the agate-lined hot tub. It is actually a bull wheel from a mining tram that operated above the rental many years ago. The handcrafted stain glass windows, which are even more beautiful with the sunshine streaming through them, definitely are one of the features of the cabin that contribute to its uniqueness.

It did not take long for the locals to catch onto the heart and soul of the cabin. By the early to mid-1980s, the rental had been rented out for weddings, full moon parties, end of ski season celebrations, workshops and retreats. Being at 11,300 feet, this unique cabin puts guests so close to the moon and stars!