 Poster: A snowHead
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Two-centre trip for me and Cat skis, first in a motel at Glenwood Springs, second with 2 friends in a 2-bed apartment in Aspen.
Flights In/out of Aspen airport via Dallas (well that’s what we booked). Outward flight was delayed 2 hours due to low cloud at Aspen – so landed at 1930 and quite a late arrival at motel but no real problem. Our friends arrived the following week on schedule. Return all flights cancelled due to snow at Aspen, we had to take a taxi to Eagle/Vail airport, some of us managed to get on a flight from there that day, others had to stay in a hotel overnight before flight the next morning  The locals told us that this sort of thing happens a lot, and the US airlines do nothing to help out beyond re-booking you (though we should get taxi/hotel costs refunded because we booked through BA), so I’d think several times before booking flights into aspen again – flying into Eagle and picking up a taxi or one-way car hire would be safer.
Local transport Original plan was to hire a car for the Glenwood leg, but (wisely) decided not to drive straight after the outward flight and used bus for the first couple of days. Buses every 30 mins up/down the valley from Glenwood to Aspen ($7 e/w), takes about 60-80 mins depending on whether you can catch an express – so quite a long trip but scenic and relaxing. With the car we did day trips to Beaver Creek and to Glenwood’s local hill Sunlight – easy driving, they do a good job keeping the roads clear, though would be less fun in heavy snow.
In Aspen we used the free bus to get to Snowmass/Highlands/Buttermilk which worked very well, especially as the bus stopped right outside our apartment. The Snowmass bus goes via the airport which was handy for the car hire places too.
Accommodation
1. Cedar Lodge Motel, Glenwood Springs. Comfortable motel, equipped with microwave which we used for basic self-catering some nights, 20-min walk to town centre (Pullman restaurant was very good) – I’d choose to stay more central next time. Didn’t get round to trying out the hot springs in town.
2. Lift One apartment, Aspen. Spacious, well-equipped, ski-in (if you’re happy to ski on sidewalk), bus stop handy. We ate out most nights, Aspen has a great selection of bars and restaurants, particularly recommend Su Casa (Mexican) and Brunelleschi pizza. The City Market in town was well stocked too. The female half of our group complained that many of the clothes stores closed at 6pm.
Skiing
Conditions were only good, not brilliant as the locals expect. Some of them even getting worried about climate change. It had snowed quite a lot just before we arrived, and regular top-ups while we were there so we had plenty of nice powder and it kept well, especially in the trees. Generally not many people on the slopes, we did once have a lift-queue of over a minute 
The main attraction for us is all the ungroomed in-bounds terrain. Lots of lightly-treed glades and a wide range of moguls to play on. But the groomed runs were also fun, often empty. One interesting feature is that they don’t groom everything every day, so you might have some fast corduroy on one side of a trail, a day or two’s build-up of bumps on the other, all merging into gentle moguls on the side, and of course no markers to help you out – sometimes a challenge in poor light 
Aspen’s skiing is split over 4 mountains, Aspen mountain next to the town, Highlands & Buttermilk just outside, and Snowmass 30 minutes away. Good linking bus service, but it does mean you need to plan which mountain to ski on each day. One criticism, given the lift ticket prices, too many of the chairs were old/slow and none had covers.
Something for everyone on these hills.
Buttermilk the easiest, generally green/blue and with straightforward blacks down to Tiehack which were almost un-used – great day one terrain.
Aspen mountain has a good variety of blues and blacks, though we found that the ungroomed got tracked more quickly here. One day they had groomed the world cup downhill run which was nice and steep with iconic view over the town.
Highlands was maybe our favourite, even though it isn’t huge. The Bowl on the day after fresh snow was fabulous, well worth the hike up. Also nice steep runs either side of the ridge. And some fast greens (surely should be blues) lower down.
Snowmass is by the far the biggest area and you could happily spend a week here. Lots of cruisy blues and blacks, with nice rolling terrain to keep you on your toes. Plenty of trees to dabble in on the side. Long Shot (a long ungroomed blue reached by a 5 minute hike) was fun. Highlight for us was the Hanging Valley Wall – a bit rocky at the top then opening out into lovely powder.
Sunlight Mountain (Glenwood) Proof that you only need one or two lifts if you have about 100 ways of getting down a mountain. Lovely glades at skiers right. Empty, lift ticket half the price of Aspen or Vail. Recommended.
Beaver Creek A bit busier than Aspen but not a problem. Again, a nice combination of groomed/ungroomed trails. Great steep runs off Birds of Prey and Grouse Mountain. Would have been good to spend more than 1 day skiing there, but somehow it doesn’t seem an inviting place to stay.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sounds brilliant, we are booked for a week in Aspen and then a week in Telluride March 2014
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
The locals told us that this sort of thing happens a lot, and the US airlines do nothing to help out beyond re-booking you (though we should get taxi/hotel costs refunded because we booked through BA) |
Yes, it happened to me too 
While we didn't get our own transport and hotel refunded, we did get refunded for the segment of flight not taken (Aspen->Denver). And that was more than the out of pocket cost for the shared SUV.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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thunderer, I'm jealous!
abc, sounds like you didn't do too badly. It wasn't just the cost, it was the hassle and the lack of support - I had to sort out a taxi and travel to Eagle without knowing if there was a hotel room to be had there (I found one at the third attempt). Would have been surely more efficient for the airline to make some hotel bookings and arrange a bus!
Aspen is worth travelling to, but I'd be more careful about how I do it next time...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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In Europe there are regulations requiring airlines to help out if flights are cancelled - I didn't expect the same level of support in the US but I expected something.
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FAQ
does that make me old? )
