At the end of the 19th century the young boomtown Aspen counted already over 12 thousands of habitants.
All of them came there in the pursuit of silver deposits hidden in the surrounding mountains.
The silver price crash in year 1893 swept out almost the whole population.
Aspen avoided the fate of ghost town thanks to the same mountain, which even before the WWII witnessed first skiers.
Aspen snow fun, photo courtesy of aspensnowmass.com
Pristine atmosphere with the nice views ( including famous Maroon Bells peaks) and powder snow helped the area to be recognized by American middle and then upper class.
Today Aspen draws attention of thousands of skiers who want to enjoy perfect skiing conditions, and also the paparazzi, who want to find the famous head hiding somewhere in the street labyrinth of classy, 19th century town.
The ski lifts are located on three mountains surrounding Aspen, and there is another area ( Snowmass ) just several miles from the town.
All four ski areas are covered by single lift pass, and there are free bus connections between.
The first ski lift has been opened in 1947 on Aspen Mountain, which offers rather demanding slopes, 23 slopes there feature double-diamond labels, for experts only.
For the less advanced skiers perfect are the runs of Buttermilk, which is considered the best American ski area for the beginers.
Aspen Highlands offers the spectacular views on the surrounding area with famous Maroon Bells. Snowmass has the downhill runs for every level of advance, and due to number of established ski schools and children facilities, like The Treehouse Kids’ Adventure Center is the perfect spot for winter family vacations.
Aspen Mountain
76 runs
of total length 64 miles/103 km
Served by 8 lifts
Snowmass
91 runs
of total length 147 miles/237 km
21 lifts
3 terrain parks (Snowmass Park, Makaha and Lowdown), 1 superpipe (new this year, 22 feet high!) and 1 beginner pipe
Aspen Highlands
118 runs
of total length 84 miles/135 km
Served by 5 lifts
Buttermilk
44 runs
of total length 21 miles/34 km
Served by 9 lifts
2 terrain parks: Buttermilk Park has over 100 features including a 22-foot superpipe and an X Games slopestyle course. For the beginner: Panda Pipe and Ski & Snowboard Schools Park (S3 Park)
