‘It is wonderful in every way’: the world’s best ski resort
It is wonderful in every way. Perfect terrain for all abilities; from gentle, condo-lined bunny slopes to double black diamond cliffs, chutes and cornices. And you won’t even have to visit in winter.
It’s no secret Aspen has a reputation for exclusivity, but even by the Colorado ski resort’s opulent standards the scene before us seems excessive. It’s early April and we’re perched at the top of an immaculately groomed but unfathomably empty ski run, which flows like spilt milk down the mountain to a distant vanishing point somewhere in the Roaring Fork Valley.
This doesn’t seem right. We’re in one of the world’s most famous ski resorts, on a perfect bluebird day, and there’s not a single other skier in sight. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t realise we had booked exclusive use of the mountain,” I quip to our ski guide, Jenn Gibbons, idly wondering what such an arrangement might cost. Jenn laughs. “Oh, this is normal for spring,” she says. “It’s mostly just workers and locals up here.”
Any fears we were leaving it too late in the season had been banished over breakfast at our hotel earlier, hearing other guests gush about having just had the greatest ski day of their lives. Half a metre of snow fell the previous week. There was talk of the temperature hitting the 60s soon. I have no idea how warm that is in logical measurements, but it sounded rather pleasant.
So this is April in Aspen. Except we’re not in Aspen. Well, we are and we aren’t. We’re actually skiing at Snowmass, 20 minutes’ out of town. The ski area is one of four mountains that together make up Aspen Snowmass ski resort. It’s bigger than the other three combined, and for a multitude of reasons that we’ll come to, the best. But of course you say you went to Aspen.
Aspen itself is more a place to be seen than be skied, due in no small part to the fact that for many visitors Aspen Mountain is unskiable. It has no beginner terrain. Nada. Zilch. But it has history. Costumed “ski gangs” of long-time locals who arrived as ski bums in the 1970s still haunt its hallowed slopes, and its forested flanks are sprinkled with shrines paying homage to hippy heroes such as Jerry Garcia and Jimi Hendrix. Purists won’t ski anywhere else.
Next along is Aspen Highlands, home to two infamous landmarks: Highland Bowl, a stupidly steep alpine bowl accessible only by slinging your skis over your shoulder and hoofing it along a knife-edge ridge, and – perhaps just as extreme – Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro, an unapologetically debauched bonfire of money and decorum that operates on a “Spray the Veuve, drink the Dom” dictum, where music pumps and table-dancing girls shed their clothes but keep their ski goggles on, because apparently Champagne burns the eyes.
Then there’s the beginners haven of Buttermilk, where you can find your ski legs without fear of being scuttled by speedsters or scantily clad drunks.
They are all wonderful in their own way, but Snowmass is wonderful in every way. It has terrain for all abilities, from the gentle, condo-lined bunny slopes of Fanny’s Hill to double black diamond cliffs, chutes and cornices in the Cirque Headwall or the Hanging Valley. The tree skiing off the Big Burn chairlift is just phenomenal, and if your legs are up for it you can ski the longest continuous run in Colorado, a thigh-burning 8km from top to bottom.
For families seeking ski-in, ski-out convenience, Snowmass isn’t just the smart choice, it’s the only choice. We’re staying at Limelight Snowmass, a casual but elegant four-star property a snowball’s throw from the chairlifts, with an outdoor hot tub adjacent to an ice skating rink, a classy, convivial lounge lobby and a friendly ski concierge who gets us fitted out for the slopes each morning (“Don’t forget sunscreen, y’all. There’s a lot of folk getting around with racoon eyes…”).
Our friends love Snowmass because they can get a reasonably priced self-contained condo and cook their own meals, saving a fortune on eating out. We venture into the village one night, following the nose of a local tabby cat that’s clearly enthralled by the scents wafting out of Rock Island Oyster Bar & Grill. Moggy is on the money: the seafood is superb.
We wash up one afternoon at the après ski hotspot Venga Venga, stashing our skis and setting up camp on the slope-side deck to sip spicy margaritas and watch a procession of skiers and snowboarders – some stripped down to singlets or bikinis – sashay past with the carefree swagger of kids on spring break. Probably, they are.
Snowmass isn’t known for its glamour or nightlife, but that’s precisely what Aspen is for.
The town has a fascinating history. Well before it became a playground for the rich and famous, it was a gathering place for artists, intellectuals and assorted counter-culture misfits. The embryo of that harks back to the 1940s, when industrialists Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke arrived from Chicago and founded not only the ski company but the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, coining the slightly intangible but lofty-sounding “Aspen Idea”, a sort of civic-minded, holistic blueprint for good living. In 1970, gonzo writer Hunter S. Thompson ran for sheriff under the “Freak Power” ticket. The town became an epicentre for idealists looking to escape the homogenisation of middle America.
Along the way it also became, as the Aspen Daily News reported last year, “a town where the hyper-wealthy can go mental on hedonism”, which is perhaps not quite the edifying endgame the Paepckes envisioned. But even that element is ephemeral. The last time I visited it was mid-winter and the glitterati were promenading snowy sidewalks tethered to designer dogs – human and mutt clad in matching Moncler ski jackets, popping into exhibition openings at the fine art Hexton Gallery, or picking out pairs of bedazzled python skin cowboy boots at luxury western wear store Kemo Sabe.
The concentration of A-listers could rival a Vanity Fair Oscars party. Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Goldie Hawn all rolled up this winter. Justin and Hailey Bieber came at Christmas with their baby Jack, and the Kardashians crashed at Kevin Costner’s sprawling ranch just out of town (which you can rent for a mere $US50,000 a night).
But come spring the celebrity sideshow has moved on. The whole place feels different. The Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton boutiques look oddly out of place without snowbanks climbing the windows or crowds spilling out the doors. The town’s eponymous Aspen trees sprout fuzzy flower buds. Rivers blow out and turn brown with snowmelt. Locals love it because you can walk into a restaurant without a reservation. Stripped of its gloss, Aspen reveals itself as a gorgeous mountain town in an idyllic setting. You can see why the hippies have held on so long.
So you must spend at least a day in town. We do just this, lazily strolling sunny streets lined with handsome old homes, visiting the excellent Aspen Art Museum and watching fly fishermen pluck fat trout from the river. We decamp for dinner at Hotel Jerome, built in 1889 at the height of the silver boom, before taking the free public bus back to Snowmass for a nightcap in the hotel lounge, knowing that one of the world’s great ski resorts is waiting in the morning. It feels like we’ve cracked a code, figured out a way to have it all in a place that has it all. Maybe that’s the Aspen Idea?
Checklist
Getting there: Aspen is a simple, two-hop flight from Australia – three if you go through Denver, where flights are more frequent. A US ski trip will never be cheap but there are competitive packages out there. Travelplan has a variety that include discounted lift tickets, accommodation and airfares. travelplanski.com
Stay: Limelight Snowmass (limelighthotels.com) has 99 guest rooms and 11 private residences. Rates from $US298 ($457).
Eat: Aspen must have the best restaurant scene of any ski town in North America. Meat & Cheese is an all-day deli that champions locally sourced farmhouse cuisine (think golden-roasted rotisserie chicken served on an oven tray). Or flop into an oversized leather dining chair at Hotel Jerome’s excellent Prospect restaurant (one of three Aspen restaurants that have made the Michelin Guide), saving room for an “Aspen crud”, a dessert milkshake made with ice cream and bourbon. The sprawling breakfast buffet at Limelight is legendary, and sets you up for a day on the slopes (tip: stuff your pockets with pastries for a mid-morning mountain snack).
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