Benedict's - At The Sundeck On Aspen Mountain

it's fun to ski Aspen on a day trip, or stay 45 min away in Glenwood Springs. Doable even if you aren't a millionaire. The scenery is amazing, and not just the nature, pay attention and you might see a Kardashian. The fashion in town is something you don't see every day... Lots of fur and high fashion outfits just walking down the street. My last trip was 2022, and before that 30+ years ago when I was a kid, it's still a bizarre place, $2000 a night hotel rooms, 20+ million dollar homes. The biggest changes from 30 years ago is the traffic in town is worse, but the road to Aspen is safer and much improved. Parking can be a struggle, but we splurged and parked for 4 hours $22 bucks but right at the base of the gondola. The skiing is great and the Gondola gives you like 3500 feet of vertical in 13 min. Good hard expert Aspen glades. And I must say the instructors I saw seemed to be some of the most technically good instructors I've seen in the United States. Surprisingly, food at the mid mountain lodge we visited was less expensive than other big resorts. There are 3 other mountains in town, but we only skied Aspen, next time I'll try Highlands.

Aspen Mountain is my absolute favorite place to ski. I've skied at most of the premier resorts in the United States and Aspen offers the best overall experience. The snow, the skill variety of the runs, the exceptional quality of the facilities and equipment, the personality of the locals, the charm of the City, the choices and quality of the restaurants, and the class of the shopping taken together is unrivaled. One of the coolest things about Aspen is the instant and spontaneous relationships that form when you're on the Mountain or around town. Aspen is a special place.

Aspen is probably my favorite place to ski in the US. Not because it has the best terrain, although the terrain is very good, but because of how magical the town is. Aspen really is a special place and I'd highly recommend anyone going there for the first time to stay in town. As far as the skiing goes, Ajax as it's known, is not for beginners. You need to be a solid intermediate to ski that mountain and I'd say the same thing for the Highlands. Buttermilk and Snowmass are better for beginners but they are outside of town where Ajax resides. Snowmass is a good 20 minutes away. Just keep that in mind as your planning the trip. Otherwise I couldn't recommend a visit to Aspen highly enough!