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Aspen Snowmass
Rating Details »
Categories: Active Life, Ski Resorts [Edit]
Snowmass VillageSnowmass Village, CO 81615
(970) 925-1220
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
11 reviews for Aspen Snowmass
I HEART SNOWMASS!!!!
Came here Valentines weekend 2009. This is my #1 spot so far!
So many lifts to choose from! It's endless!
My favorite: Elk Camp Gondala... and going down the funnel!
Makaha park was pretty cool too... lots of tables.
We were the first ones to bomb down the run we were on... It's fun when no one is on the path... So go early! Get there before they open!
Snowmass got it going on! The runs were nice and pretty. perfect packed powder!
Great place to eat on the top...
This is snowboarding heaven!
Snowmass, one of the four mountains in Aspen, is simply spectacular.
I must have had some good karma stored up, because the storm from last night cleared, and we hit the mountain early with a bright sun, and a solid dusting of soft champagne powder.
I couldn't have asked for a better first day on the mountain.
This mountain is massive. Runs scatter across the Rockies, creating the ultimate skier's paradise.
The snow glistened like beaded diamonds. Stunning and with limitless possibilities.
Gliding down the mountain was heavenly. Crowds were limited, so the 4 of us felt we had the entire mountain to ourselves.
The staff here are all downright friendly. Happy to not be stuck in a cubicle, they send you up the mountain with great spirit and while minor, it definitely adds to the day and whole Snowmass experience.
The runs are wide open, giving you ample space to carve, make fresh tracks even at noon, and endless at times.
Snowmass provides an array of runs, geared more towards the advanced skier, it is a angelic playground.
All dogs go to heaven?
Well die hard skiers go to Snowmass.
People thought this was:
- Useful (7)
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Snowmass Village is a great place to ski.
I usually get there at least once every couple of years. You can also find some pretty good pricing at places like the Snowmass Inn for like $189 per night which is great.
The mountain is very good and Aspen gets great snow every year.
They also have heated sidewalks and streets which is about as cool as you can get for a resort.
Cons,
Can get stuck really easily if you fly into the local airport if weather is bad.
A looooooong way from Denver 4.5 hours plus depending on the weather.
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My first impression of Snowmass was mixed, b/c we were there for the Grand Opening of the new Base Village (which I don't love). Though "the Sweet Life" was a cute candy shop, I didn't like that it was the only place with burgers & soup at the base, b/c they have wait staff & a hostess. (Really, now? At a base of a ski resort?) Sneaky's Tavern was even more intimidating - with a hostess AND a waiting area. And Liquid Sky wasn't quite yet open until the evening. More importantly, I couldn't find the bathrooms at the Base Village (they're not readily available, nor easy to find), and so I had to resort to going in the "Treehouse" kids club area to use theirs. Embarrassing.
Also, my feelings were mixed b/c my dad and I were the ONLY day skiiers on the hill that day (as in, we weren't staying overnight in Snowmass or Aspen, since we were saving money, staying in Glenwood for a few days), and we had much complications finding parking (i.e. the "Rodel lot" for those of you who may need it). Sure, I don't recommend staying in Glenwood, trekking to Snowmass for the day (it's a long drive), but since my dad was covering lodging, and lift tix are $96/day, I'd hope Aspen could at least give us a break and not make us feel like fools for not knowing where to park. (In conversations with locals, we learned later that there used to be an information booth explaining the parking situation to visitors. But, for some reason, it - and the corresponding signs - were removed/deemed obsolete.) Well, once we evaded the "residential parking only / no day-skiier parking" signs, and finally found the Rodeo lot, we tackled the mountain (though a nagging unwelcome feeling haunted me that first day - was I really that unwelcome to come here as a day-skiier? I know this is Aspen & all, but it's still Colorado - and we're a friendly lot, especially in the mountains!)
All this to say, let's get to the "sweet" in bittersweet (i.e. my mixed first impression). I LOVE the mountain!
I couldn't get enough of the gondola - it was warm, and fast. And it was easy to cross the whole mountain, going from run-to-run, lift-to-lift, with minimal catwalks, and easy to navigate trails. (It's not quite as easy to cross Vail, and Winter Park/Mary Jane is quite difficult - unless you want to take on the 3-ft moguls on "Outhouse".) The runs were challenging - the blues were definitely, really blues. The snow was amazing - fresh, powdery, and lots of it. And even though it was pretty busy, the mountain is so huge, that you can still make fresh tracks fairly easily. I didn't make it up the "Big Burn" lift as much as I would've liked, b/c it got to be really windy/snowy and white-out conditions up top, both days I went, but it was still fun, and I had great snow on "Sam's Knob". One more thing, I love that they posted trail maps on all the bars (e.g. "bar coming down" - to rest your skiis) on the lifts. Great for people new to the resort.
So, in terms of the mountain, I loved it! And once we talked to locals to realize it was the Grand Opening of the Base Village, and that the pretentiousness we encountered in the restaurants was new, we were much more forgiving. (I know it's Aspen, but still, even Aspen has a friendly, somewhat rustic mountain-town feel to it. I would hate for that entire vibe to go away, just b/c celebrities and mega-rich Europeans come to town.) ;)
P.S. If you're looking for a mountain ski lodge for lunch, try Ullrhof at the base of "Big Burn". We didn't get a chance to check it out, but we heard about it through locals.
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By far the best mountain and resort in Colorado. Amazing Skiing, and The Cirque is my favorite run of all times on a fresh powder day. The mountain is beautiful and well planned out with runs for every age and level, but mostly, Snowmass has incredible bowls and moguls (which I like and most people don't). The town of Snowmass is cute and well-equipped, but I prefer staying down in Aspen, where the real mountain life oozes.
Aspen is actually not as stuck-up as I would have thought, and even
though most of the home owners are wealthy, they are not stuck on
themselves and afraid of the middle class. The wealthy and haughty stereotype in my mind comes from the tourists, who venture from all over the world to come to one of the best mountains in the United States.
Every mountain around Aspen (And there are four different mountains to chose from) has a free bus and you can catch them all around town. The bus will shuffle you all the way to Snowmass, which is about 20-25 minutes away.
Aspen is a hippy town, with incredible environmental stewardship,
healthy food options and restaurants, and free public transportation.
Aspen is renowned for it's green mountain practices, such as having the snowcats run on Biodiesel, matching staff contributions to the
Environment Foundation, ISO certified, and the purchase of renewable
energy wind credits to offset pollution emissions among others.
Tickets are not cheap, over $80 for a day, but well worth the expense if you have high standards for mountains.
Strategy: Try to become friends with someone who lives in town, then at least the cost of staying somewhere can be offset?
* Star one is for a beautiful mountain
** Keep it clean star two is for the mean and green environmental practices
*** This is amazing star three is for The Cirque
**** What a town star four is for the incredible and fun town of
Aspen... Not as stuffy as you think!
***** Star five is a shout-out to Mother Nature for some of the best
ski days in my life
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Having trouble choosing:
Aspen or Vail?
It's a no brainer.
Snowmass and Aspen should be hand-in-hand with the definition of "skiing." It is truly amazing.
The mountain is gloriously setup and has a great variety of slopes, catering to skiers of all levels.
The mountain is well-kept and conveniently makes use of the great nestling spot it has in the Rockies.
This is one of those places where you'll find people ranging from true-to-the-heart Ski Bums who spend endless amounts of time making sweet love to the mountain to crazy Business Types seeking a getaway from their hectic lives back home.
The lodge is fabulous and can easily sweep you away from skiing.
Hot Chocolate? Mocha? Irish Coffee...?
;)
If I could be a Ski Bum... I so would- except I wouldn't appreciate skiing in Snowmass as much if I were because of all the Yuppies and families visiting.
That's another thing- if you are going with little kids there's fun for all. Stick the kids into a ski lesson for a day and they're off! It's especially nice because they do a fantastic job on making the kids have a good time, which is important so they don't feel discouraged from skiing in the future.
Here I am going on about skiing (well, because I ski), and what about my fellow boarders? They can have their fun too. Specifically- there is a pretty savvy skate park and the slopes appear just as friendly to boarders as they are to skiers!
Are you one of those people who is being dragged along for the ride? The ride being a trip in which you don't plan on skiing. You are the minority of the group... possibly? haha. Well, there's some delightful saunas and such in the condo area (if that's where you're staying). Also, downtown Aspen is but a sweet drive through the snow away (There may be some sort of bus or shittle/car service as well).
Prepare to drop a buck or two (I'd put a legend here but it's not going to work so I'll translate.. by buck I mean like, in thousands? haha, or hundreds). Well, not all places but the majority.
But it's a ton of fun to window shop if you aren't prepared to drop moolah like that. There are also cafes and restaurants that offer a variation of prices (a great way to spend an evening after a day of skiing etc).
Snowmass can become one of those places that you go back every season. It's welcoming like that and fun to be familiar with.
If you're looking for a new ski/board getaway I couldn't reccomend Snowmass highly enough!
Oh, and please don't be one of those stupid Skiers/Boarders who wears white on the slope-- it is dangerous! And c'mon, there are so many better choices!
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It's tough to review "Aspen/Snowmass" as one entity since there's 4 distinct mountains with distinctly different flairs. However, I'll give it a try...
Let's start with the best and work our way down.
1. Snowmass Mountain.
This place is probably my favorite resort in Colorado. It has it all. Except a decent lift system to the advanced/expert terrain. However, the terrain here is better and more varied then at the other mountains. There's abundant long groomers for the beginners and intermediate skiers. The kids will love the large, well maintained terrain parks. There's also enough cliffs and hairy steep stuff to keep the best skiers occupied. Few people know it, but there is some serious, serious spincter-puckering terrain if you know where to go. It's steeper and more technical then anything you have at the other mountains. If you think I'm wrong, try taking a left at the top of Rock Island, and see what sort of beautiful nastiness you can get yourself into!
2. Aspen Highlands
This is my second favorite resort out the four. This place is great for an intermediate skier. The runs are very, very long and well groomed. There's abundant advanced terrain, but it falls short with the beginner and expert terrain. Highlands Bowl is a huff, but worth the effort. There's some great terrain here, but the steepest run (downt the gullet of the top of Highlands bowl) isn't terribly technical or steep. Also, I don't believe there's many cliffs or rocks to jump off of.
3. Aspen Mountain (Ajax)
This is a fun mountain, with abundant terrain for the intermediate and advanced skier. The mountain is well laid out, and there's huge areas to explore. It has more expert terrain then Highlands (yes, that's right, it does), although no open bowls, which I love. It's more technical than any of the other mountains, with more steep terrain in tight glades, and funkier terrain, often with double fall lines. It gets bumped out quick after a powder day, where Highlands lasts longer, and Snowmass even longer. However, if you can rip it up at Ajax, you can rip it up anywhere. It'll hone your skills such that you can tackle any mountain anywhere with style. It's also more posh and foofy then the other mountains.
4. Tiehack (Buttermilk)
The marketers at Aspen seem to want to change the name of this place every couple of years, but the mountain still stays the same... sort of. In the last several years, they've ramped up the parks, so this is a spinny-flippy jibber's paradise. Often overlooked is the eastern Tiehack side, where the powder lasts longer then any of the other mountains. Unfortunately, orographics make this mountain receive substantailly less snow then its neighbors, and the terrain isn't nearly as steep or interesting as the other mountains. Still, there can be some great hero snow conditions here while the other mountains are getting quickly diced up.
The big downfall of Aspen is the prices. The lift tickets are exhorbant. Lodging around the area is crazy, and out of my league. Fortunately, I've got some friends down valley, or I'd never get to ski these great mountains.
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Gotta love Snowmass. I love the fact that this place is NEVER crowded and there are some serious steeps to it. Hike back into Hanging Valley Wall and it's a powder paradise.
Great mountain to take a varied group of skill levels too. We had our "guys ski trip" there recently and we all enjoyed it.
Ah Snowmass.....how I miss thee.
It's hard to find any faults with this resort. The skiing just goes on and on, allowing you to continue to challenge yourself in so many ways. I haven't been back in many years (having kids will do that to you) but we used to make this an annual trip. There are plenty of ski in/ski out options to make the experience that much smoother.
I agree with Alexandra that Aspen is the place to be at night, but I like to stay in Snowmass and make the drive to Aspen for the night life. I have yet to ski any of the other mountains that the Snowmass lift ticket gives you access to (Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, Aspen) because I've yet to exhaust the options at Snowmass.
This review is purely for Snowmass mountain, because it's massive enough to merit five stars all on its own! It's the largest of the four resorts and the one that seems to suck me back most frequently. It has runs wider than a California freeway, which means it is pure HEAVEN on a powder day. You can spend hours doing laps on the Big Burn lift and find a different route down every time... really, it's some sort of magic, but I won't question these things. High Alpine lift is another favorite, despite that it is likely older than I am and ridiculously slow, it does enable you to access some great terrain (the powder there one on trip was honestly orgasmic... I think all of us STILL can't help but smile when we think about it!).
The staff here is consistently friendly and professional too... unfortunately my dad broke his collarbone here a couple years ago (during the brief period I had left him alone- OOPS. Yes, I am still living down the guilt) and while just about everything about that afternoon sucked for him, he has nothing but good things to say about the people that helped him.
There are multiple options for apres ski that offer the opportunity to drink overpriced beers next to goofy tourists.
It is well worth the extra distance to get to Snowmass (and Aspen). Snowmass is small, quaint, and uncrowded. If you want to go upscale, go into Aspen for the evening where there is an unbelievable selection of restaurants and activities. For skiing, it always seems to have plenty of nice snow. The place is so snowboarder friendly that I meet the top operations guy on the lift and he was using a board, so they are really serious about welcoming everyone. Snowmass does not have much nightlife, assuming you have any energy left after skiing, but there are plenty of nearby options.