It's snowtime in Aspen

ASPEN's empty slopes over four ski areas on four mountains are extremely enticing, as is the shopping and food on offer too.

aspen dec 1 escape

SITTING on a chairlift drifting over pine trees with pretty epaulets of snow, I gaze over Colorado's Aspen Mountain, where I see a half-dozen pistes tumbling towards town.

There's a great deal of white but only a few speeding blobs of pink and blue as skiers descend among sprays of fresh powder.

I've marvelled all week at the lack of people on the slopes. Most of the time, I can count them on my fingers. Only once have I waited at the bottom of a chairlift, because I happened to arrive behind a group of 10 Germans more intent on talking than hopping aboard.

True, I'm here in the quiet period between New Year and Presidents Day in late February, but this is an uncrowded ski resort. Fervent Aspenites tell me it's always like this because there's so much mountain and Denver is too far for day-trippers.

It's only one of many surprises Aspen springs on me, proving that travel stereotypes sometimes don't match on-the-ground experience.

Aspen has four ski areas on four mountains. Another pleasant surprise is the great skiing on Buttermilk.

It is rated as the easiest of ski areas and often derided as a beginners' mountain.

I head there just to get my ski legs. Some people never go at all.

Buttermilk has seven lifts, but they serve 44 trails suitable for beginners and intermediates and ideal for families. Although I'm an advanced skier, I find the mountain thoroughly enjoyable. Well-groomed, gently rolling slopes raise ski confidence.

Last season, Buttermilk also got a new, seven-minute express chairlift to Tiehack, where the ride once took 18 minutes.

Tiehack has long been the ignored and somewhat steeper side of Buttermilk but I discover some lovely, rolling runs that provide a delightful downhill whoosh.

It even has some advanced runs, where the powder sticks around that bit longer, given the lack of serious skiers.

Thumbs up to relaxed, low-key Buttermilk. Next day, I'm on Snowmass, which claims 90 runs and more vertical feet than any ski resort in America.

Skiing ranges from wide-groomed cruisers and double-black runs to jarring slopes such as Hanging Valley Wall, the steepest of any in Aspen.

Snowmass has a sizeable purpose-built base town that, though less self-important than Aspen, lacks a bit in character.

However, it has many ski-in ski-out lodges, a family friendly orientation, and lots of options for snowboarding. The skiing variety encompasses easy lower slopes and more demanding runs on the mountaintop, including plenty of blacks.

My biggest surprise at Snowmass is the good-value eating.

Ski resorts are never cheap but, in comparison to Australia, eating out is reasonable.

On the mountain, lunch at Sam's Smokehouse features spectacular mountain views, very friendly service, and outstanding Texas and Carolina-style barbecued food. Ribs with an accompanying platter of corn muffin, Cajun fries and delicious barbecue beans cost me $US19 ($A18).

And when I rock up at the sleekly glamorous Viceroy Snowmass for some apres-ski drinks, I discover smoked salmon nibbles and tuna tacos at $US6 a plate. Happy-hour draft beer is $US3 and a glass of wine $US7.

Prices in Aspen are certainly the biggest surprise. Yes, you could spend plenty on Prada shopping, foie gras suppers and helicopter transfers.

At Matsuhisa, one of Nobu's famed Japanese diners, a main course of salmon fillet with rice and miso soup is $US32, while the combination sushi dinner is $US30 though small and pricey additional nibbles can really add to the bill.

Next day I hit Aspen Mountain early, as I've signed up for free First Tracks, which allows a small group of lucky skiers and boarders first go at the powder and corduroy. It's bliss on skis.

After breakfast on the slopes, I join another free activity, a ski tour with a guide who shares her knowledge of the mountain and gives a bit of background to its history and wildlife.

Aspen Mountain (commonly called Ajax) is the most famous of the four ski areas, and accessed directly from town. It has 76 trails, many of which are suited to those who like steep slopes and moguls. A third are ungroomed. Convention says Ajax isn't for beginners, but a confident learner could certainly take on the blue pistes.

Just one gondola and eight chairlifts suggest congestion during peak times, as does the fact that the runs funnel at the end of the day to the bottom of the mountain.

But as usual, I have the slopes almost to myself. Following the Women's World Cup downhill course to the bottom, I see only half a dozen other skiers.

And on one powder morning, as I head for the often-overlooked The Dumps, the tricky terrain is a personal playground in the morning sun for my ski partners and myself.

The only places that tend to get busy are the slope-side restaurants at lunchtime, which gather up more people than I ever suspected were around.

No wonder. At Bonnie's cafeteria, the pizza dough is made on the spot and the apple strudel is so good that even Saudi princes queue up with trays before bagging a spot on the outdoor terrace for some people watching.

And at Sundeck Restaurant, I take advantage of the Aspen Quickie, a $US10 neck and back massage soothing after a hard morning on the slopes.

I need all the help I can get. Next day I'm off to Highlands, said to be the locals' favourite.

It's the spot for some hard skiing, where trails (there are 118 in all) have intimidating names such as Kandahar and Thunderbowl.

Highland Bowl is a rite of passage involving a 30-minute uphill hike before plunging down into backcountry on slopes with 45-degree pitches.

Bring it on. I once imagined Aspen was all about genteel skiing followed by afternoon shopping and celebrity spotting. I haven't seen Jack Nicholson, Antonio Banderas or Brad Pitt yet, but I couldn't care less.

Glitz and glamour are the stereotypes but Aspen to me seems like a place of smiling, ordinary folk, ski bums and mad outdoor types, here to enjoy some of the world's best skiing.

The writer was a guest of Qantas and Aspen Ski Company.

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-- GO2

-- ASPEN

-- Getting there

Qantas flies from Sydney to Los Angeles, with well-timed, onward connections to Aspen on codeshare partner American Airlines, making this the quickest journey to any ski resort in North America.
See qantas.com.au, ph 13 13 13.

-- Eating there

Lobby Bar, Viceroy Snowmass, Snowmass, see viceroyhotels andresorts.com
Matsuhisa Aspen, 303 East Main St, see matsuhisaaspen.com