(Bon) Fire on the Mountain
Ullr Nights offers a taste of Colorado, ski town style
In Norse mythology, Ullr was the handsome, warlike god of winter—an excellent archer, hunter, skater and skier, son of the goddess Sif and stepson of the thunder-god, Thor.
For kids, the excitement of Ullr Nights begins with the gondola ride and the novelty of gliding up the mountain in the dark, the lights of Snowmass Village fading into the distance. Arriving at Elk Camp Meadows, it’s a winter fantasyland come to life: There’s an alpine coaster, a tubing park with multiple lanes, a snow slide and gentle slope for beginner snow bikers, bonfires for toasting s’mores, and more.
It’s not just the outdoor activities and amenities that set Ullr Nights apart. This weekly Friday ski-season tribute, named after the Norse god of snow, also offers some of the best on-mountain eats in ski country. Under the architecturally stunning curved roof of Elk Camp there’s a full bar, live music and dining options that run the gamut from a raw bar to DIY cheese and charcuterie boards boasting Colorado ingredients.
Rack of Crystal River Meats lamb, free-range rotisserie chicken, and porchetta made from a whole heritage pig from Zimmerman Pork Farm might be among your entrée choices. There are sides of roasted local root vegetables, savory soups and stews and homemade vegetarian chili. Pizzas and calzones are made to order, cooked in a wood-fired oven, while a center island features an expansive salad bar with even more local, seasonal items. Kid-friendly choices include grilled cheese, tomato soup, chili and rotisserie chicken.
Modeled after Whole Foods and New York City’s Eataly, Elk Camp, which opened for lunch service in 2012, was designed as an open marketplace that offered guests a diverse array of options. Each station lends itself to showcasing fresh, high-quality food; the paint and the white lighting were chosen for that very reason.
“It’s so much more than a cafeteria,” says Missy Klug of Snowmass Village, an Ullr Nights regular with her husband and two children. “The kids love the mac and cheese and s’mores, but we can get healthy salads and seafood, too. And it’s beautiful at night—we just like being outside and having fun.”
“Ullr Nights was started as an opportunity to expose more people to Elk Camp,” says Jim Butchart, culinary director of mountain dining for Aspen Skiing Company. “There was a need for an on-mountain event in Snowmass that would engage locals.”
SkiCo has long offered dinners at Snowmass’s Lynn Britt Cabin, a full-service, fine-dining affair that necessitates reservations and a Sno-Cat ride. Ullr Nights was an opportunity to open Elk Camp one night a week in a way that wasn’t as much of a commitment for diners, says Butchart. “We wanted something a la carte where guests could decide how much money and time they wanted to spend.”
SkiCo has built on its commitment to regional foods since it began purchasing local grassfed beef for all of its on-mountain restaurants in 2001. “Elk Camp has served as a catalyst in our platform to go even further,” says Butchart, noting that the company has since expanded on the range of Colorado products served and sold in the restaurant, including Ullr Nights and summer Farm-to-Table Tuesday dinner menus.
Black Welsh Mountain Sheep lamb shanks come from Paonia’s Desert Weyr farm, while Carbondale’s Crystal River Meats—SkiCo’s primary beef source these days—provides grassfed beef for chili, beef short ribs and rib roasts, as well as specific cuts of lamb. Chicken in all its permutations is supplied by Boulder Natural Meats. Always open to new local sources, Elk Camp Chef de Cuisine Brad Murphy plans to start working with The Other Side Ranch in Old Snowmass this winter as an additional source of lamb and pork.
Dairy products come from Colorado producers including MouCo Cheese Company, Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy and Rocking W Cheese; eggs are from Dayspring Farm. Bread is by Udi’s and Harvest Moon Baking Company in Denver and Aspen’s Louis Swiss Pastry.
Though the local network for vegetables decreases in winter, Murphy primarily relies on hard squashes and greens from Basalt’s Rock Bottom Ranch and Wild Mountain Seeds in Carbondale to supply Elk Camp well into the season. Farm Runners, a Hotchkiss-based distributor that works with Western Slope farmers, makes deliveries year-round.
Thanks to Murphy’s initiative, some unlikely ingredients find their way into the mix as well. In the fall, he preserves Western Slope tomatoes to use in soups and stews and puts up North Fork Valley orchard fruits like peaches and apples, which he’ll use in a mostarda for the charcuterie board and for fruit cobblers.
For Murphy, it all boils down to the local ethos.
“The main focus of Ullr Nights is to make it a community event, and that means pulling in as much community food as we can, even in winter.”
GO FIND IT!
Ullr Nights at Elk Camp, Snowmass
Top of the Elk Camp Gondola
Fridays December 21, 2018–April 5, 2019
970.923.0450 | AspenSnowmass.com
