Aspen, Colorado

Samsonite. There, we said it. Yes, Aspen is full of bear skin rugs, multi-million-dollar log cabins, and obscenely wealthy folks that like to play frontier, but it is also home to four ripping ski areas, miles of backcountry terrain, epic mountain bike parks & single track, world-renowned trout fishing on the Roaring Fork River, classic sport and trad climbing, and some of Colorado’s most picturesque Rocky Mountain vistas. The surrounding Sawatch Range and Elk Mountains provide the remote backdrop for year-round exploration. The four ski areas, Highlands (long, flowing groomers and steep trees), Snowmass (big and sprawling but not the steepest), Aspen Mountain or Ajax (steeps with great tree skiing), and Buttermilk (beginners and park rats) keep the crowds dispersed and the resort employees busy.

Like many remote Rocky Mountain towns, Aspen was originally a mining town. When the silver mines dried up, the town went through a brief depression before Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke decided to open the first ski area – Ajax – and use Aspen in his mission of cultural elevation by holding yearly conferences at the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit that still operates in Washington today. Paepcke’s utopian experiment helped shape the underlying culture of Aspen, the culture that can hardly afford to live there anymore. But, for all Aspen has to offer, it’s worth the effort.

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