Telluride’s Alpino Vino can step down because Arapahoe Basin Ski Area has the highest restaurant in North America now. With A-Basin opening a European-style bistro last month, the new restaurant exists as a safe haven at 12,456 feet elevation, making it the highest restaurant in the U.S. as far as A-Basin’s staff can tell. Like a lookout tower high up in the mountains, Il Rifugio rewards anyone who ventures up there with a breathtaking, wraparound view of the surrounding terrain and nearby mountain ranges.