Aspen, Colorado:
The Ins and Outs of Ski Season
Aspen is a serene little town tucked into the Colorado Mountains. This blog post is for you to get an understanding of the ins and outs of the town. Myself and many other South Africans stayed and worked in Aspen town for 3 1/2 months during the winter ski season.
Seasons:
Winter (Dec-May)
I've only been over the winter months and it was amazing being in the snow. I arrived in the beginning of December and left mid-March. I found that from mid-January to mid-March the weather is a lot warmer with sunnier skies. The crowds calm down a bit after new year, but they pick up again, soon after, with the X-Games taking place in Aspen.
Summer (Jun-Sept)
The summer has gorgeous warm days in beautiful green surroundings. It is apparently beautiful for picnics, hiking, cycling, swimming in lakes and outdoor events. I would have loved to have visited Aspen over this time. It is one of the peak seasons for Aspen.
Tips:
Get ski insurance in case you injure yourself. Everyone thinks it’s never. Going to happen to them but most accidents happen in the simplest and most ridiculous ways.REPLAY for 2nd hand ski stuffCity Market is cheaper than Clark’s and still has good quality food.NB Must pack Antibiotics!!!!Pack Snow bootsIf you love photography then definitely take your camera
The Ins and Outs of Ski Season
The Journey
We caught a shuttle from Denver to Aspen which took 5 hours. It was beautiful watching the scenery around us slowly get whiter and whiter as we got closer to Aspen. It is such a beautiful road trip, with some music and sunnies. I strongly recommend catching a shuttle during the day to see the incredible scenery, and to avoid any road delays in the dark if snowing.
Transport
We caught a shuttle service called the Epic Mountain Express. We were in a pretty spacious shuttle with free wifi for the trip. It cost us around $200 each. This is a great form of transport when you first arrive and don't know your way around or the roads.
On our return trip, two of us hired a car. We got a big, premium car with a LOT of room for around $200 which we split. This is a great alternative, if you are comfortable with driving on the right side of the road, as you can plan your journey to site-see along the way.
The Town
If you go to Aspen in the winter, the town is covered in snow 80% of the time. The streets are quaint with restaurant signs, benches and beautifully lit with fairy lights in the trees. We attended an amazing church called Crossroads. We felt extremely welcome and arrived every Sunday with a different crew of South Africans, depending on work schedules.
Meal Spots & Coffee shops
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The Big Wrap: Amazing Mexican wraps and bowls. Each is $10 and can be split if you're not starving - they're pretty big!
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Michola: It’s a great vibe to go for drinks with friends. Go for happy hour - the nachos are amazing <3
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The Aspen Art Museum: The artwork inside is apparently beautiful. I never ended up checking out the artworks (I wish I had), but I loved the little café that they have upstairs. (I'm more of a foodie). Their menu offers a few select items and changes regularly so I think it’s safe to say that all options are delicious.
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Local: A cute little coffee shop that offers sweet treats and toasties, bagels etc. It is a very sociable spot, making it a great spot to have a work break, meetings or a post-ski coffee/snack.
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Paradise Bakery: Paradise Bakery is THE spot to go for a sweet treat. They have muffins, brownies, cookies, ice-cream, Chelsea buns, cinnamon rolls etc. Their coffee is apparently good too (I'm not a coffee drinker).
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7908: I worked at this supper club. It is a vibey place to have a meal or just to have drinks. The dinner is very good but can be pretty pricey for South Africans. Their bar menu is cheaper and the food is just as good quality. The supper club is a restaurant with a classy bar, and becomes a night club from around 10pm with great DJs and dancers.
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Kenichi: This restaurant was my favourite. I only got their food twice but it was definitely my best meal in Aspen. They have amazing ribs, sushi, dim-sums, prawns etc. They are also an upmarket restaurant so their prices are pretty high.
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Jus: Jus is a health bar. Its meals can be quite pricey but they are really wholesome and healthy. It's a good spend and has smoothies and juices, date balls and other sweet snacks, and you can buy vitamin shots to keep you healthy (greens, ginger etc.)
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Rynos: Rynos serves deliiicious pizzas and is a really nice spot for a "chilled one". It is quite a dingy restaurant but is a fun place to go for drinks and a cheap night out.
Bars and Clubs
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Belly Up: Belly up is a 'must-go' for at least one concert. The South African’s LOVED Goldfish and it was so worth the money. Goldfish has performed at Belly Up for the last few years and is one of the cheaper events.
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Eric’s: Great spot for drinks with pool tables and shuffle tables
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7908 Supper Club: Great music, dancers, exotic cocktails, and "boujie" people. The bar and dance floor are separate, which allows for socialising at the bar, out of the way of people dancing. There is a lounge area next to the dance floor, but to sit in the lounge, you have to pay a 'minimum spend' upfront.
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Escobar: This is a small, and often packed, nightclub. It is a good spot to go if you are looking for a tight dance floor.
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Red Onion: An old pub atmosphere. Great to sit down at a table, have some drinks and snacks, and listen to live music.
Shopping
The clothing shops in town are extremely expensive for a South African student and so the only clothes shopping we did was online. There were big sales online for majority of the brands that we wanted throughout our stay.
Grocery shopping can be done at City Market and Clark's Market. Both grocery stores are on different ends of the small town and are stocked with the same sort of products. Clark's is slightly more up-market and a bit more expensive.
Activities
Skiing
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Aspen/Ajax: close by, therefore very convenient and can be quick if you don’t have long. Lots of blues and quite a few blacks
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Snowmass: variety in slopes. 3 different mountains to ski down and a cute little village on the slope with shops.
+- 20 minute drive from Aspen tow, +- 30 minute bus ride from the main station.
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Buttermilk: A lot of easier slopes for beginners and people trying to improve their technique. Areas for tricks and playing around.
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Highlands: A fun place to ski. I really enjoyed the Highlands slopes and LOVED to have an apres ski drink and burger/pizza from Ale House at the bottom of the slope. They have lots of options of what to eat but the chicken burger (Chicken sandwich) was my favourite. And the hot choc and cool drinks are bottomless which is always a score.
Snowmobiling to Maroon Bells
Myself and three friends went snowmobiling on new years day to a series of mountain peaks called Maroon Bells. The peaks are wine coloured and shaped like bells but we saw them when covered completely in snow, making them look like any other large mountain in the area.
The snowmobiling is worth the money as it is a long trip but DRESS WARMLY. We went out on a very cold day and my fingers felt like they were frozen solid (very painful). You receive hot chocolate on the trip, which helped warm me up, as well as ski suits, boots, and helmets.
Avalanche Ranch Hot Springs
There are a few hot springs to visit but I only visited one: the Avalanche Ranch Hot Springs. These springs are a very relaxing place to visit with gorgeous views of the snowy surroundings from warm and rocky tubs. There are several pools and tubs to try, each at a slightly different temperature.
Only a certain number of people can go in a day so make sure to book in advance. It was around $16 per person.
We stopped at such a cute spot in Carbondale for lunch. It's nice to stop for a pit stop on the way home.
Full Moon Hike/Ski
The full moon hike is the absolute best experience I had in Aspen. It was so incredible getting to sit up on the slope having dinner, while sitting around a fire and listening to music with friends. I booked this for three of us to go together and it was a lovely little bonding trip. Skiing down in the dark is incredible, looking down over the valley and Aspen town's lights. Keep your appetite for a good dinner on the top of the slope as the food is delisious. It cost between $30-$45 for a good meal and a drink. Wait for a good evening if you have to opportunity to choose from a few dates. There are around 2 a month and March was the perfect time to go as it was a warmer. Take a Flash light for the route down and snow boots for the top to make it easier to move around in the small restaurant. My last tip would be to get there earlier to get a nice table outside while it’s still light - The views are AMAZING.
XGames
We didn’t have the absolute best artists but we went to Allesso and out of all aspects of the concert, I loved the atmosphere. The visual effects were amazing and …
The Sunday night for us was apparently pretty empty even though it’s the act that all of the South Africans wanted to go to as it’s at the end of the weekend so many of the visitors who come for the games leave Sunday for home.
Burton Snowboarding Festival (in Vail)
This is such a fun weekend to visit the beautiful Ski Village of Vail to watch top international snowboarders snowboard down Vail mountain. Vail seems to offer plenty of ski routes and would be a fun place to be able to ski a few different slopes. We visited for two nights and although we didn't ski we loved our visit! We walked around the whimsical village and went for a trip up the gondola to watch the sunset from the top of the slope. A concert took place in the village square where Big Wild performed while fireworks lit up the sky. This weekend if definitely a worth while one to get out of town for.
Saffa Day
SAFFA Day is one day around mid January that every South African should attend. It is a day when all South Africans get out of their day's duties, get dressed up in their South African attire and head up the slopes for a fun day at a cabin with music and drinks. Don't miss out on this as it is loads of fun but be careful on the way back down the slope after as it has been known to cause a few hospital visits.