One ranking speaks volumes about this underdog locals’ mountain: No. 5 in Overall Satisfaction. It ranks just three slots behind the grande dame Aspen Mountain, but to understand what Aspen Highlands is really all about, you’ll need to remember another number: 717. That’s the vertical feet you need to hike (“Be in shape!” warns a reader) to the summit of Highlands Bowl, where some of skiing’s best inbounds terrain (“awesome steeps!”) stretch out beneath a panorama of the striated Maroon Bells. Highlands is Aspen’s un-resort, and the Bowl its beating heart. The mountain is small, friendly, hardcore and, with a limited village and no lodging, refreshingly rough around the edges. Signature runs include the killer bumps off Steeplechase and the roller-blues of Grand Prix to Golden Horn to Thunderbowl. Make tracks down G3 on a bluebird day and you’ll only be thinking about one thing: 717 more feet for another lap.
/ What’s New / No-hands digital lift-ticket checking at all lift mazes; ski/ride April 5–11 for less than $29 per day; book four or more days of equipment rentals at Four-Mountain Sports and get a seven-day lift ticket for $199.
/ Mandatory Run / A freshly groomed high-speed flight down Golden Horn to Thunderbowl
/ Don’t Miss / Ride up the moonlit mountain on a snowcat for a romantic dinner at Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro, an Aspen classic.
