Tips & Advice

The Skiing/Riding:

• Aspen ski area is actually made up of 4 Mountains - Aspen (in town), Buttermilk (beginners and terrain parks), Aspen Highlands (the best advanced terrain) and Snowmass (Miles of Groomers!). The key to this area is it is never busy on the slopes - a relatively small bed base, lots of ski terrain, modern lift system and no major cities nearby mean it is a great place to avoid the crowds.

• Aspen Highlands is the second largest mountain and is the real local’s hang as it offers steeper terrain with some cracking groomer’s to warm up on and is definitely the place for advanced skiers to head on a powder day. Highlands Bowl offers some amazing skiing for and well worth the grueling 30 to 45 minutes hike.

• Buttermilk - this is where the majority of the Green runs are for beginners and has some really nice groomers to find your ski legs again. You can easily do a morning here and take a 2 minute shuttle ride to the base of Highlands in the afternoon

• Aspen Mountain - this has a great intermediate to advanced mountain with long runs from the top of the gondola to burn the thighs. Bear in mind there are no green runs on this mountain.

• Snowmass - the largest of the areas and an intermediates paradise. As it offers truly ski in/out accommodation families often prefer to stay here. The area is so large it does offer something for everyone but the progression from groomed blues to single black diamonds is pretty easy meaning it will tend to be the main resort you will ski. 20 mins shuttle ride for the centre of Aspen.

Getting There:

• The easiest way to get to resort is to fly direct to Aspen Airport, via Chicago. This saves the 4 hour transfer from Denver Airport that will get you to resort quite late in the evening.

• Many of our regular guests who go for longer periods may instead stay at Denver Airport the first night and hire a car for the one day to take a leisurely drive to resort the next day - perhaps stopping at the factory outlets in Silverthorne or even ski at Vail or Copper which are en-route.

Where to stay:

• Aspen is an exclusive resort with quite a small bed base, so you will generally find accommodation in the resort to be 20% - 40% more expensive than Whistler or Breckenridge, for example. This is a unique area and definitely worth pushing the budget for, as most customers that do, go again and again. In general we do say this is not an option to do on a budget as 10 night holidays will start around £1200pp in mid-season. Early Season, January and Easter are great times to go as the snow is good and there are a lot of better rates and special offers.

• Ski-in ski-out – many people ask us for ski in/out in Aspen. Aspen Mountain itself is relatively small compared to Highlands or Snowmass where you will ski the majority of your days, so realistically everyone staying in Aspen will be using their complimentary and very efficient shuttle bus. As most of the hotels and condos follow the shuttle routes it only involves a 50yd walk to the nearest bus stop. A stay is Aspen is about the town. If you truly want ski in/out why not look at Snowmass.

Winter X Games - the ESPN Winter X Games take place in Aspen January 22-25 2009 featuring athletes from across the globe competing in skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling.

Great for Honeymoons - Aspen is a unique experience.  The selection of romantic, luxury hotels coupled with the pretty ski area and atmospheric resort town, will make it a holiday to remember.