Telluride Characters Lee Zeller

Lee Zeller and her late husband, Dennis, were fresh out of college in Ashland, Ore., when they heard about the skiing in Telluride. Says Zeller, “A friend told us, ‘If you like the skiing in Ashland, but want something twice as big, go to Telluride’.”

But when they arrived in town in 1978, the couple faced the same problem that many newcomers face: a shortage of housing. “Even back then,” Zeller says, “there weren’t many houses to

be found. The mine had closed, opening up the miners’ cabins at the end of the valley, but housing was still really tight.”

Eventually, the Zellers heard of a place for rent out by the mine in the east end of the box canyon. When they called the owner, longtime local George Cappis, he explained that there was someone coming by to inquire about the house at 8:30 the following morning. Determined to beat out the other potential renters, Zeller showed up at 8:15, checkbook in hand: “I ended up paying him several months’ rent, just so we’d have something through the winter.”

She adds, referencing a well-known group of colorful local skiers, “We beat the Flying Epoxy Sisters by 15 minutes to get that house.”

That began the next 14 years of their life out by the mine, before they had to leave because of impending mitigation work. “We lived there until the town forced us out. I tried to buy the plot of land where we’d lived. I loved it out there — the views, the sound of the wind, watching the avalanches in the spring with neighbors, while sipping gin and tonics. Idarado, the operators of the mine, refused to sell it.”

Like most longtime Telluride residents, Zeller worked many jobs before starting, in 2004, the property management company that she still owns and runs today, Accommodations in Telluride. “My jobs evolved with the town. I worked in ski shops, Lannings and Pacific Street Skis; the Roma, Sofio’s Mexican Restaurant and the Buck; and was advertising manager for the Telluride

Times under Catherine Otto and Rudy Davidson.”

Eventually she and Dennis built a house Down Valley and had two children. “I already loved this town, but having children bumped it up to a whole other level. This is without a doubt one of the best places on earth to raise kids.” Reflecting on her favorite things about Telluride, Zeller confesses that her list isn’t surprising. “After all these years, I still love the skiing in the winter and the hiking in the summer. And when it’s all said and done, a drink with friends at Oak.”

Zeller has a hard time listening to people gripe about the changes that have come to Telluride. To her, those changes don’t undermine what she still loves best about the town: its people. “There are so many layers to this town and to this community. All you have to do is find your pocket of people to call it home.”

And, Zeller says, she is always amazed by how Telluride’s influence spans the globe and by how many people maintain a bond with this place. The town’s popularity has even translated into her approach with her children and their friends, who are now in their twenties.

“Wherever I go, I invariably bump into someone who knows and loves Telluride,” she explains.

“Of course, I give a little advice when any of the Telluride kids head to some place new. Before they leave, I always remind them that they’re only a phone call away from Telluride. It’s the truth. You could be in Istanbul and there’s bound to be someone who knows Telluride, in case they get in a pinch. The town’s ripples run wide.”

A LONGTIME LOVE FOR TELLURIDE

Lee Zeller reflects on 40-plus years in her favorite place

By Emily Shoff

ZELLER’S JOBS EVOLVED WITH THE TOWN

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