On my drive in to Aspen Mountain on Thursday morning, the traffic was a bit much, so I cut the drive short and skied Snowmass instead, which is out of town a bit. I got a parking spot in the garage with no problem (more on that at the end).
Not knowing the mountain that well, I decided to just mix it up. I started on the far left (looking up). That terrain was too easy, so I moved over to more difficult trails, ending finally at the High Alpine lift and its double blacks. A local recommended getting off the chair lift and hiking up to the left, so that's what I did, dropping through what was basically cliff bands on Headwall. After carefully navigating about 100 feet of rocks, it was all powder, some of which had apparently not been skied this season.
This is my second trip down, in a snow storm, below the rocks:
For me the upper part required single turn, stop, single turn stop. Then I could start linking turns near the trees. Pretty good depth here, maybe 15" to 20" in spots:
After the cliffs, there are various ways through the woods on rolling, steep terrain that seem to last forever. I meandered between Cassidy's and Willy's. On the map most of that is rated double black but below the wall, it's more like single. What a great time.
OK, maybe it's a little steep:
After a few trips down I tried another local's suggestion of Sneaky's Glades on the far right of the resort (looking up). Since it's easier, it was more skied out, but was still fun. I then took a left at Powderhorn, possibly the longest single trail I've ever skied. It descends almost the entire height of the resort along the northern boundary. Down, down, down, down into the valley.
Driving down from Snowmass Village:
So, the parking. I did a little research online before visiting, and the whole situation had not gelled completely. I'm a bit like Monk, in that I don't like crowds, or waiting or being subjected to other peoples' behavior for that matter, so I drove my car rather than using an RFTA bus. I was worried that the parking lots would be full, but they weren't. This isn't The Front Range, after all. I'm also finding that getting a one-day parking pass for residential areas is also a good idea, it's $8, and allows you to park all day anywhere in town that is outside the center commercial area. The downtown is within a short walk, so that's not a big deal.
After skiing two areas in Aspen (a post on Highlands is to follow), I can say that this area has more vertical drop than I'm used to skiing, and is pretty impressive. I ski at Mary Jane quite a bit, and this is definitely tougher regarding length. OK, maybe a toss-up.
Distance was 31.69 miles, time 4:39 (moving 3:31), elevation gain/loss 15,704 feet, avg. speed 6.8 mph, and max speed roughly 30 mph.
