Aspen Snowmass

At Aspen, one ticket allows you to experience four mountains—Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, and Buttermilk—each with its own personality. That’s 5,206 acres (2,107 ha) of terrain, 44 lifts, 339 trails, thousands of feet of vertical drop, hundreds of inches of fresh snow and endless blue skies—all within a 12-mile (20 km) radius and accessible by free shuttle. And the sky really is blue: if you ski powder you really need brilliant sunshine and this resort has plenty of both: temperatures average 30°F (-1°C) during the day and around 18°F (-7°C) at night, while spring temperatures can reach an enjoyable 50°F (10°C) and higher during the day.

The slopes are graded—easiest to hardest—green, blue, black diamond and double black diamond. Around 10 percent are graded beginner, 48 percent intermediate, 21 percent advanced, and 21 percent “strictly for the experts.” Buttermilk is the best place to learn, indeed there is no expert terrain there. Conversely, Aspen Mountain has no beginner terrain. Know your limits and take your choice.

Suing and being sued in the U.S. is an occupational hazard so it is not surprising that safety is paramount in the area, with a ski patrol on each mountain, and a surfeit of ropes, signs, poles, avalanche safety measures and speed controls.

Aspen Mountain
The flagship Aspen Mountain rises imposingly out of the heart of downtown Aspen to 11,212 feet (3,147 m) and covers 673 acres (272 ha). Now open to snowboarding, the mountain is known for steeps and bumps and is a favorite among many upper-intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders. Intermediate cruising is a delight on the wide open Ruthie’s Run, accessing the world’s only high-speed double chair. The Silver Queen Gondola transports skiers to the summit in only 14 minutes, providing access to a number of activities, including world-class skiing, guided snowshoe tours and paragliding.

Buttermilk
Buttermilk is located just three miles (5 km) outside Aspen, and most of the mountain is groomed each night. It is virtually impossible to define. First it’s the quintessential beginner’s mountain known for smooth, rolling trails. But if that’s Buttermilk, then why do all the locals pound down “Tiehack Parkway” when there’s a foot (30 cm) of fresh snow? Well, the Tiehack trail has steep left-handed funnels and glades that make it anything but beginner’s country, even if the main fall lines are easy (and what is wrong with that?) And how about the freeriders’ Buttermilk? It’s home to a superpipe and one of the world’s longest terrain parks from the top of the mountain to the base, Crazy T’rain, nearly two miles (3 km) long and features dozens of hits and over 30 rails. The Crazy T’rain Park has also been home to ESPN Winter X Games since 2002. A sound system has been installed near the superpipe and the X Games Slopestyle Course constructed for all to ride. There is also a new beginner terrain park S3 on Larkspur.

Highlands
Located just three miles (5 km) from downtown Aspen and accessible by free shuttle, Highlands’ 970 acres (393 ha) feature stunning views of the world-famous Maroon Bells, and the new Highlands Village offers affordable lodgings, dining and shopping.

Highlands is where the locals go to get humble. At Highlands, there are wide-open trails and killer views—enough to keep an intermediate happy for a month, even greens you could send your mother down. But experience its hike-accessible terrain just once, and you’ll be amazed. Beyond the lift network and a short hike from the top of the Loge Peak lift, Highland Bowl features some of the steepest terrain in the United States.

The Highland Bowl
For years Highland Bowl stood grand and empty, an enticing, snowy siren, inviting, but off limits. The bowl is divided into four zones; the south-facing R(ed) zone which receives the greatest amount of sun exposure, with Y(ellow) zone following, then B(lue) zone and finally, the coolest north-facing G(reen) zone.

The bowl has a rich history. In 1981 the Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol was allowed to open the bowl for guided hiking tours and for the next three years backcountry skiers gained access to the bowl, but this all ended when three ski patrollers were killed in 1984. For the next 13 years the bowl remained closed except for the gladed trails in the Temerity area off the lower ridge.

The R-zone remains closed but the lower Y-zone was reopened in 1997 and gradually since then the patrol has opened the B-zone (allowing descents from the 12,392 foot/3,777 m peak) and a small part of the G-zone in 2001. From the peak the fall line has pitches of up to 48 degrees and is prime avalanche terrain. To safely open the area the ski patrol and local volunteers descend into the bowl (sometimes clipped into a belay!) and compress the snow step by step as they walk down and back up the mountain. The patrol does this with each new snowfall for the first few months of the winter to ensure that the weak Colorado snowpack forms a firm base. In the absence of these safety measures the bowl would be far too dangerous.

Snowmass
Snowmass has had its problems in the past, not least of which were having a mess of a base area, and a slightly soulless feel. Now Snowmass is getting back on top and offering the whole gamut of downhill experiences from gentle cruisers to scary steeps. In fact you’ll find the greatest diversity of terrain among the four mountains here on Snowmass, with hundreds of acres of beginner trails, steep and deeps, wide open cruisers, endless moguls, terrain parks, half-pipes and more.

Snowmass is the second largest mountain resort in Colorado and with 3,128 acres (1,266 ha), including glades, cruisers and bumps as well as three terrain parks and a halfpipe, it would be hard not find a perfect trail. And for getting up the slopes Snowmass has the longest lift-served vertical rise in the United States.

Snowmass is family-friendly skiing and more improvements are being made to the Family Zone on Snowmass. New interactive kids’ trails will be added to the current kids’ facilities that include a picnic shelter, training gates and sculpted moguls. The Trenchtown terrain park at Snowmass will also double in size, running from top to bottom of the Coney Glade lift. Tube Town at Snowmass offers tubing seven days a week, and tubing on Snowmass is open until 8:00 pm.  

Accessible by free shuttle from anywhere in the Aspen/Snowmass area, Snowmass is located just nine miles (15 km) from downtown Aspen and 95 percent of Snowmass’s accommodations are ski-in, ski-out.  

The whole ski area and the award-winning Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen are operated by the Aspen Skiing Company. Contact 800-525-6200 or 970-925-1220, or you can visit the websites at www.skiaspen.com and www.aspensnowmass.com.