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The ritzy resort of Aspen lies in the high valley of Roaring Fork River, 156 miles west of Denver. Once a weathered mining community, the town (population 5,245) offers an astonishing selection of cultural events and, of course, its year-round mountain resorts. Surrounded by sheared glacial peaks and a forest dense with billowing aspen, oak, and pine, Aspen seizes every opportunity to promote its natural features. It is the ultimate playground for the rich.
Since its renaissance as America’s golden ski resort, the town has lured many wealthy notables and celebrities into the valley. Its downtown area showcases razzle-dazzle at every turn, from its boutiques along Galena Street and Hyman Avenue to the Saabs driven by its own police force. Aspen is a mishmash of Victorian and 1970s-style architecture. However, it is the construction of multimillion-dollar mansions that leaves mouths gaping.
Aspen’s latest crop of migrating millionaires has contributed to a high-priced real estate boom—so high that many of the town’s workers cannot live there and now reside in secondary communities along US-82, the main artery that links Aspen to I-70. Although apr\350s-skiing is serious business to the town, Aspen also caters well to the general public by hosting a series of cultural events.
In summer, the town lines up an incredible choice of concerts, with everything from jazz to the classics. The Aspen Music Festival, which began in 1949, offers almost 160 concerts that run during high summer at the Aspen Music School.
The historic Wheeler Opera House on East Hyman Street hosts an array of operas during the summer season. Rebuilt in 1912 after being ravaged by fire, its interior reflects the height of Victorian fashion, complete with plush red chairs and a stage curtain featuring a mural of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Aspen Art Museum, which is reached by a 90-year-old trestle, showcases some of the best contemporary exhibits outside of Denver.
It is by far, though, the natural beauty that outstrips all other attractions and there are several trails that surround the town. One of the most popular is the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area in the White River National Forest off US-82. Casting a shadow over Maroon Lake, the twin peaks of Mt Maroon and North Maroon soar to over 14,000 feet. The main trail leads to prime glacial country where gossamer air and jagged slopes harbor elk, moose, and bighorn sheep in the meadows. As cars are prohibited from the area, regular scheduled buses depart from the Ruby Park Transit Center to transport hikers.
The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, on Hallam Lake Preserve, allows the visitor to delve into the Roaring Fork Valley’s natural habitat. A sanctuary to golden eagles, owls, and red-tail hawks, the center offers programs that create a greater understanding of the environment, including a self-guided trek around the preserve’s 25 acres. As well as providing conservation guides to Maroon Bells, the center also offers summer hikes and snowshoe excursions to the summit of Aspen Mountain on its gondola. The 20-minute ride on the Silver Queen Gondola brings into view the town’s fine Victorian architecture and a wondrous view of the soaring peaks. Check for the scheduled runs from May through September. In the winter, the Silver Queen Gondola runs daily.
The Aspen Historical Society offers excursions throughout the summer. Guides dressed in period costume give 2-hour tours through Aspen, covering the Victorian landmarks and the town’s illustrious mining history. The Aspen Historical Society Museum, once the estate of Aspen magnate Jerome Wheeler, houses a collection of the town’s artifacts. A partner in the famed Macy’s department store, Wheeler moved to Aspen and became the town’s benefactor. Along with the Wheeler Opera House, the silver baron also built the Jerome Hotel in 1889, still the town’s finest. He was also influential in convincing the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to extend its tracks to Aspen and invested heavily in several silver mines.
Aspen has always made its fortune from the ground. When businessman B. Clark Wheeler arrived on skis to develop a mining camp in 1880, never did he imagine that the town’s long-term success would be made from powder snow. Aspen’s silver mines produced in excess of $6 million a year until the market bottomed out 13 years later. The town’s population of 12,000 faded to a mere 700. It would take another 56 years for the town to emerge from its slumber and strike gold with the marketing of its fine mountain slopes. Elizabeth and Walter Paepcke became benefactors in the middle of the last century and they spearheaded the present-day Aspen Skiing Corporation. With the backing of investors, Paepcke started the Ajax Mountain chairlift in 1946 and completed his blueprint by hosting the prized Federation Internationale de Ski in 1950. It was this event alone that propelled Aspen’s reputation as a world-class resort. The couple also nurtured Aspen’s first music festival by attracting virtuosos such as Arthur Rubinstein and Dimitri Mitropoulos’ Minneapolis Symphony. Years later, John Denver founded the acclaimed Rocky Mountain Institute. The subsequent development, in 1967, of Snowmass Village, located 12 miles west on US-82, saw Aspen become a first-class resort.
There are four different ski areas at Aspen that offer superb downhill runs and cross-country tracks. The most advanced backcountry skiing is on the 10th Mountain Trail, where the famed US Army’s 10th Mountain Division trained. Snowmass and Aspen Mountain both offer advanced and intermediate terrain while Aspen Highlands offers every type of run, from beginner slopes to one of the steepest vertical drops in the country—for expert skiers only. Buttermilk/Tiehack is ideal for the uninitiated.
Aspen’s appeal flares in January with the five-day celebration of Winterskol. Using the mountains as a perfect crystal backdrop, the town unleashes a barrage of fireworks and hosts several fun-filled events, including the annual Bartender’s Drink Contest. There is also downhill night skiing by torchlight. Even by resort standards, Aspen dishes up an endless menu of recreational sports, such as hiking, cycling, fishing, and skiing, to name only a few. There are also plentiful restaurants and bars, which dot downtown’s star-studded streets.
The Aspen Chamber Resort Association provides entire listings of lodging facilities including budget motels and condominiums. They also provide seasonal maps and general information. The Aspen Skiing Company offers a reservation service at any of their resorts. Aspen’s Sardy Field Airport is just 4 miles from town. Buses connect Snowmass to most resorts. Buses also serve Aspen from Denver International Airport. To drive from Denver, the 208-mile journey along I-70/ US-82 takes approximately 4 hours, but be aware of slippery road conditions and traffic jams.
