As an avid skier and snowboarder and having lived in Aspen/Snowmass, I am always asked by visiting friends and family where they should ski, eat and shop, and what else they should do while in town. Knowing how much those local tips improved their time here, I decided to pull all of that information together to share with other winter vacationers. So, above and beyond the usual guide-book basics – how to get here, where to stay and where to partake of a few adult beverages – I provide the kind of insider knowledge you would have to spend hours searching the web to find. Think of me as your virtual tour guide, ready to help you find the right ski areas for your skill level; the most amazing views; the best restaurants and cafes – on and off the mountain; the finest ski tuning shop; the best tree skiing; where to head on a powder day; and the most reliable snow and weather reports. This e-guide gives you the inside scoop to the perfect ski vacation in Aspen/Snowmass.

One of the world’s top winter sports destinations, Aspen/Snowmass also offers visitors plenty of history, culture and shopping. And then there’s the glamour ­– what was originally a ranching and silver mining town is now renowned for its glitz, private jets and the occasional celebrity sighting. (An apparent security problem for Aspen Airport is passengers disembarking from their private jets and walking straight across the tarmac to the grass so their precious pet can relieve itself. Not an issue many airports would have to contend with!) What I have found though is that there is a strong and unaffected sense of community in both Aspen and Snowmass Village, full of locals who moved here years ago, fell in love with the place and hold down two or more jobs just so they can stay here. And local legend has it that visitors will never be able to leave for good, thanks to a curse placed by the Ute Indians on the white men who banished them from their land here in the 1880s. As for the skiing, riding and snow conditions, Aspen/Snowmass averages 300 inches of snow each season and more than 300 days of sunshine a year. The snow is typically lighter and drier than in other places in North America because it is nowhere near the ocean. Also, one lift ticket gives you access to all four mountains of Aspen/Snowmass – Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass – with a huge variety of terrain across more than 5,300 acres. The Aspen Skiing Company runs all four mountains and the Aspen Ski and Snowboard School. The company is privately owned and renowned for being one of the best ski employers in North America. More than 1,200 instructors from all over the world work across the four mountains and they are the best-paid in the industry. That clearly helps morale, and many locals say it’s like a large family. The ski and snowboard lessons are 100 per cent guaranteed. If you are not satisfied, the company will enroll you in a new lesson at no charge. Aspen/Snowmass is a very environmentally conscious community. Seventy-five per cent of Aspen’s energy comes from wind and hydroelectric sources and it is on track to be carbon-neutral by 2015. The Aspen Police patrol on foot or bicycle on “green days”, rather than in vehicles. Aspen supermarkets have recently become plastic bag-free. There are free shuttle buses around town and between the mountains and you are more likely to be hit by a cyclist than a car. The locals don’t let a bit of snow or ice put them off riding around in winter, and the fat-tire snow bikes are quite amusing. The Aspen Skiing Company is an industry leader in environmental and community initiatives, including using local and pasture-raised beef at all of the restaurants. Energy-efficiency improvements reduced its carbon emissions by 3.5 per cent in 2011. The lifts might not be as fast or modern as somewhere like Vail, but it’s a small price to pay for short lines throughout the season. I’m sure you’ll agree that long lift lines are the bane of skiing and I recall waiting in lift lines at Vail and Breckenridge, Colorado, for more than 30 minutes on some days. Yet the only long wait I can recall at Aspen/Snowmass was at the base of the Silver Queen Gondola at Aspen Mountain on the Martin Luther King long weekend in January, 2012. Most other days, particularly at Snowmass and Aspen Highlands, you can cruise around the mountain all day and never wait more than a few minutes. The lift tickets are certainly not cheap (the 2011-12 daily adult price was $108 plus tax) and you have to weigh this up against the infrastructure and feel. I am ever impressed with the grooming on all four mountains through the season. Even in the 2011-12 season, hardly an epic one, with average temperatures through March in the 60s Fahrenheit (the high teens in Celsius), the snowcat drivers kept the mountains on life support through closing on April 15. If you are not keen on skiing and riding every day, there are many other activities and events. Aspen is home to the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company (aspensantafeballet.com); the Aspen Art Museum (aspenartmuseum.org); a huge variety of restaurants and bars; upmarket and souvenir shopping; and a movie theater. There are also walking tours with the Aspen Historical Society (aspenhistorysociety.com); and concerts, films and opera at the historic Wheeler Opera House (wheeleroperahouse.com). Aspen/Snowmass consists of four mountain resorts, all run by the Aspen Skiing Company – Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands. Snowmass is 12 miles from Aspen Mountain, with Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands in-between. Aspen Skiing Company ambassadors give free daily mountain tours, which usually run for about two hours, from 10.30am. They are restricted to blue and green runs, but I highly recommend these tours on all four mountains, as they really help with orientation. Because the ambassadors are locals, their knowledge is fantastic. Ask any and all questions. Ambassadors are also stationed around the mountains offering free hot cider, water and sunscreen. They even let you leave your spare bits and pieces with them. What the ambassadors may also show you are some of the secret shrines. Started by locals many years ago, there are more 56 shrines honoring celebrities and local heroes across the four mountains. The honorees range from Marilyn Monroe to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to the cartoon character Snoopy. Aspen Mountain has the most shrines (25), including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia. For those who like adventure, the hardest shrine to find is supposedly the Valentines Shrine, a red and white wooden swing with a Shakespeare quote carved in the seat (The course of true love never did run smooth). This shrine is most likely the least visited, as it is in a double black diamond area on Aspen Mountain and very difficult to get in and out of. So there’s a challenge. The shrines include pictures, license plates, flags, old skis and boots, and other memorabilia, all of which is nailed to tree trunks. Local custom dictates that shrine locations are kept vague. In fact, the only shrine marked on the Kids’ Mountain Trail Map is the one to Elvis Presley, on Aspen Mountain, which is thought to be the first shrine erected, in the 1970s.

Georgia Strickland has been a passionate skier and snowboarder for over thirty years. She has skied in North America, Australia, Europe, Canada and New Zealand and holds a Level 2 ski instructing certification with the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Georgia grew up in Melbourne, Australia and has lived in Sydney, London, New York and Snowmass Village. She was a financial services executive in Australia and holds a Master of Business Administration from Melbourne Business School. Georgia lives in the US with her husband, Raymond.