Ethan and Karen Rice's Hoedown/Elk Barbecue and Ghost Dance Save the Ridgeline from the Graspies ("Greedy Asinine Perversely Ignorant Egomaniacs", according to Karen Rice) was held in a howling blizzard last Wednesday, and yours truly, Tommi Knocker, braved both the elements and Political Correctness (Yukk!) to make the scene..And, my dears, it was well worth it.

Guests either schlepped in on the Rices's snowed-up access road on skis and snowshoes, dog-sledded in (Yukon Yaklitch and his huskies provided free shuttle service), or even (shudder) snowmobiled in, to be greeted by an impromptu quartet (Ethan Rice on cello, Karen Rice on recorder, Luanne Rice on dulcimer and Eric Banks banging two empty Foster's cans together which he had wired to a homemade amplifier (don't give up the Day Job, if you still have one, Big E!) playing Christmas carols and protest songs in the falling snow.

Still, it was charming, even if the Telluride A-list stayed away in droves (except for T. Knocker)-- I guess the political fervor scared 'em away. Celebs? Well, sometime Telluride visitor Grizzly Bear Guru Dough "Hayduke" Peacock showed up, and, you better believe it though you probably won't, Keith Richard along with Extreme Ski Goddess Barb Scheidegger and Super-Climber Charlie Fowler...who, rumor has it, has contracted to lead the Old Stone on a guided climb up Devils Tower in Wyoming, where Keith evidently hopes to meet Beelzebub face to face...

(Is all this true? What did they put in that elk stew anyhoo? All I know is, Tommi K. found him/herself dancing alone in the Rice atrium clad in a Wonderbra, longjohns and a pair of size 12 Sorels round about dawn.) The proverbial hat was passing during the evening, raising some $23,000 to help appeal the Clifftop Hotel project...some $22,780 of it contributed by an anonymous ski-masked figure who dumped an armload of cash into the chapeau and then disappeared into the night...)

Next week: a New Years Salute to the Starbuck Bash and other holiday hi-lites...