Ski Report: Aspen Resorts
Aspen Lake
Aspen/Snowmass is an expansive winter resort complex located in Pitkin County in western Colorado in the United States. Owned and operated by the Aspen Skiing Company it comprises four skiing/snowboarding areas on four adjacent mountains in the vicinity of the towns of Aspen and Snowmass Village. The four areas collectively form one of the most famous winter resorts in the world and are annually the destination for visitors from all over the world.
The four ski areas of the complex are:
* Aspen Mountain, the oldest of the four areas, located on Bell Mountain and the Aspen Mountain above the town of Aspen.
* Aspen Highlands, located on Highland Peak and Loge Peak just north of Aspen.
* Buttermilk, a low altitude family-oriented ski area just north of Aspen Highlands.
* Snowmass, the largest of the four areas (bigger than the other three combined), located near Snowmass Village.
Aspen sits in the Roaring Fork Valley, a wide, U-shape cut of land created by glacial activity that lies in the heart of central Colorado’s 2-million-acre White River National Forest. The valley stretches for nearly 50 mi northwest from the town of Aspen to the community of Glenwood Springs, between the Sawatch Range to the east and the Elk Mountains on the south and west. These strapping glacier-topped mountains created more than 15 million years ago provide the melt that feeds the restless Roaring Fork River, which rushes northeast until it merges near Glenwood Springs with the mighty Colorado River. The valley’s original inhabitants, the Ute Indians, were supplanted in the mid-1800s by prospectors and miners who came to reap the region’s bounty of lead, zinc, copper, silver, and gold. By 1884 Aspen was a thriving frontier boomtown with more than 3,500 hardy souls; after the railroad was extended west over the Continental Divide, the once-obscure mining town flourished, and by 1892 it had become the third-largest city in the state, behind only Leadville and Ashcroft. Unfortunately, the mining mother lode that had financed the boom also ultimately created the bust when silver was demonetized in 1893 and prices hit rock bottom. Within just 30 days every mine in the area was forced to close. For the next 40-odd years the once-splendid brick and sandstone buildings lay virtually dormant, and by the early 1920s the population reached its nadir of just 350. In 1937, however, the town was resuscitated when a small ski area and winter sports center opened on Aspen Mountain. Later, during World War II, the illustrious 10th Mountain Division—America’s fighting skiers—trained here. Among those storied soldiers of the snow was Friedl Pfeifer, an Austrian-born, naturalized-American ski instructor who foresaw the skiing mecca that Aspen was to become. In partnership with Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke, Pfeifer formed the Aspen Skiing Corporation and in 1947 opened the world’s longest ski lift on Aspen Mountain. The evolution from abandoned mining town to thriving ski resort had begun, and in 1950 the staging of the Fédération Internationale du Ski (FIS) World Alpine Championships thrust Aspen into the skiing spotlight. This chapter contains a thorough description of the resort including how to get there, mountain statistics, trail profiles, lodging, dining, nightlife, and entertainment.
Anyplace else this would be four separate vacations. Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk – with over 5,300 acres of terrain and boundless dining and nightlife, there are more than enough reasons to visit the most exciting winter escape in the world. Four mountains, one lift ticket – experience The Power of Four.
With a vertical drop of 4,406 feet (boasting the most vertical in the USA) and 3,132 acres of terrain, the sheer volume of Snowmass demands repeat visits. After experiencing a slice of all the cruisers, glades, steeps, terrain parks and halfpipes, we guarantee you’ll be back for more.
Season dates: November 26, 2009 – April 11, 2010
Base elevation: 8,104 ft./2,473 m
Summit elevation: 12,510 ft./3,813 m
Vertical rise: 4,406 ft./1,343 m
Terrain: 3,132 acres/1,267 hectares
Number of trails: 91
Miles/km of trails: 147 miles/237 km
Longest run: 5.3 miles/8.5 km
Types of trails: easiest: 6%, more difficult: 50%, most difficult: 12%, expert: 32%
Parks and pipes: 3 terrain parks (Snowmass Park, Makaha and Lowdown), 1 superpipe (new this year, 22 feet high!) and 1 beginner pipe
Lifts: 21 Total: 19 primary: 1 eight-passenger gondola, 1 high-speed six-passenger lift,
1 six-passenger pulse gondola, 7 high-speed quads, 2 quads, 4 ski/snowboard school lifts (including magic carpets); 2 secondary: 2 platter pulls
Lift hours: The Sky Cab opens at 8 a.m.; the Cirque lift opens at 10 a.m.; the Village Express and Big Burn lifts open at 8:30 a.m.; all other lifts open at 9 a.m. Most lifts close at 3:30 p.m., weather permitting.
Rental/Retail: Four-Mountain Sports/D&E Ski and Snowboard Shop on the Snowmass Village Mall, Four-Mountain Sports at Two Creeks, Beginner’s Magic at base village and Four-Mountain Kids at The Treehouse Kids’ Adventure Center
On-Mountain Restaurants: 9 total: Sneaky’s Tavern, Sam’s Smokehouse, Up 4 Pizza, Two Creeks Mexican Cafe, Lynn Britt Cabin (lunches and snowcat dinner rides), Burlingame Cabin (snowcat dinner rides, Ullrhof, Gwyn’s High Alpine and Cafe Suzanne.
Aspen Mountain and its famous black-diamond terrain has kept the town of Aspen on the map since 1947, serving up great groomers, glades, bumps and steeps for anyone who dares step off the lift.
Season dates: November 26, 2009 – April 11, 2010
Base elevation: 7,945 ft./2,422 m
Summit elevation: 11,212 ft./3,418 m
Vertical rise: 3,267 ft./996 m
Terrain: 673 acres/272 hectares
Number of trails: 76
Miles/km of trails: 64 miles/103 km
Longest run: 3 miles/4.83 km
Types of trails: easiest: 0%, more difficult: 48%, most difficult: 26%, expert: 26%
Lifts: 8: 6 primary – 1 gondola (14-minute ride), 1 high-speed quad, 1 high-speed double, 1 quad, 2 doubles; 2 secondary – 1 quad (Little Nell), 1 double (Bell Mountain)
Lift hours: All lifts open at 9 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m.
Rental/Retail: Four-Mountain Sports/D&E Ski and Snowboard Shop/D&E Women across the street from the Silver Queen Gondola
On-Mountain Restaurants: 4: Sundeck, Bonnie’s, Ajax Tavern, Montagna Restaurant and Bar in The Little Nell
Aspen Highlands boasts breathtaking vistas of the surrounding Maroon Bells and an abundance of expert terrain and groomed cruisers. Hike to the 12,392-feet summit of Highland Bowl for Colorado’s ultimate in-bounds backcountry rush.
Season dates: December 12, 2009 – April 4, 2010
Base elevation: 8,040 ft./2,451 m.
Summit elevation: 11,675 ft./3,559 m. (top of Highland Bowl 12,392 ft.)
Vertical rise: 3,635 ft./1,108 m.
Terrain: 1,028 acres/416 hectares
Number of trails: 118
Miles/km of trails: 84 miles/135 km
Longest run: 3.5 miles/5.6 km
Types of trails: easiest: 18%, more difficult: 30%, most difficult: 16%, expert: 36%
Lifts: 5: 3 high-speed quads, 2 triples
Lift hours: All lifts open at 9 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m.
Rental/Retail: Four-Mountain Sports at the base of the mountain
On-Mountain Restaurants: 2 total: Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro and Merry-Go-Round
Famous as the home of the ESPN Winter X Games through 2012 and voted #1 by Transworld Snowboarding Magazine Reader’s Poll for best park and pipe and #3 in overall resorts, Buttermilk built its 50-year legacy on wide-open and gently rolling trails that cater to beginners and families.
Season dates: December 12, 2009 – April 4, 2010
Base elevation: 7,870 ft./2,399 m
Summit elevation: 9,900 ft./3,018 m
Vertical rise: 2,030 ft./619 m
Terrain: 470 acres/190 hectares
Number of trails: 44
Miles/km of trails: 21 miles/34 km
Longest run: 3 miles/4.83 km
Types of trails: easiest: 35%, more difficult: 39%, most difficult: 26%, expert: 0%
Parks and pipes: 2 terrain parks: Buttermilk Park has over 100 features including a 22-foot superpipe and an X Games slopestyle course. For the beginner: Panda Pipe and Ski & Snowboard Schools Park (S3 Park)
Lifts: 9: 2 high-speed quads, 3 doubles, 2 handle tows, 2 ski/snowboard school lifts
Lift hours: All lifts open at 9 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m.
Rental/Retail: Four-Mountain Sports at the base of the mountain
On-Mountain Restaurants: 2: Bumps and The Cliffhouse
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