Aspen Snowmass 12/22 to 12/28

[Tonyr]

Resort or Ski Area

Aspen Snowmass

Date

Dec 22, 2023

Snow Conditions

1. Powder
2. Packed Powder
3. Cord
4. Moguls

After being burnt a number of times skiing the East over the Christmas/New Years holiday we've spent the past 5 seasons out west during that timeframe and have had great luck with snow conditions every time including this experience so far.

A resort with high altitude and 5k acres of skiing 50% open still gives you tons of great skiing. I'd say on average the past 5 seasons (4 in Colorado and 1 in Utah) we've had atleast 70% of the mountain open during Christmas time. In any event, we drove from Denver to Snowmass on Friday morning and skied about 2 hours of 30 degrees, bluebird day, groomers and some trees in the afternoon. The conditions were firm and chalky but still really enjoyable. Snowmass was about 50% open at the time. Our run of the day was Cookies into the Hanging Valley Glades but otherwise pretty uneventful. Here are some of my better photos from the day...

 

[Tonyr]

On the Saturday the 23rd we headed over to the Highlands for our second time skiing it ever. While I was somewhat underwhelmed the first time, we went late in the season our first vist and didn't get a chance to ski any of the terrain off of the Temerity lift.

While the conditions here were the same as Snowmass yesterday, the Highlands had 85% of it's terrain open. We lapped the Temerity area and got a real good feel for the rest of mountain overall aside from doing the Highland bowl hike which I had no interest in trying coming from sea level.

While the tree skiing off the Temerity lift is amazing, I'd still rank the Highlands behind Snowmass and Ajax as far as my favorite Aspen mountains go. Snowmass is the most well rounded, and Ajax feels most special of the three. My son ranks them the same as I do. Here are some of my better photos from the day...

 

[jaytrem]

Very nice, always enjoy your trip reports!

 

[Tonyr]

Christmas Eve was the best day of skiing so far. It snowed 6 to 8 inches over night, we got out to the Snowmass lifts at 9am with no lines in front of us and lapped powder filled trees all morning. We hit all the sidecountry glades at Sam's knob then did laps off of the Big Burn lift in the Sneaky Glades and Powerline glades which were both amazing. The only downside of the day was that we couldn't ski in the afternoon as we had to do an airport pick up. Here are my better photos from the day....

 

[Tonyr]

Christmas day was also fantastic. While it didn't snow very much overnight. There was still tons of leftover powder at Snowmass and ZERO lines. I skied with the family for a few hours then had a chance to ski on my own after they went in. I headed straight over to the High Alpine lift and lapped all of the sidecountry trees which were incredible. The Grinder woods in particular had powder stashes up to my knees. Here are some of my better photos from the day...

 

[Tonyr]

I had to work the majority of the day on the 26th and only got a chance to get out for an hour an a half or so. The conditions were solid but I will say the area in general is due for a refill. We headed up to the top of Elk Camp to do the hike into Snowmass's on the map backcountry but they had the gate closed so we hit the sidecountry trees instead coming down the Elk Camp area which were great. From there we skied some groomers and I did one lap in the Powerline glades, which again, could use a refill. Here are my better photos from the day...

 

[jimk]

Looks pretty darn snowy. Snowpack seems to be somewhat meager all around the USA right now, but you did well!

 

[Tonyr]

Thanks Jim! I've learned at this point that if your looking for the best odds at solid Christmas/New Years snow conditions at a major ski resort you need to bet on Mammoth, Alta, Snowbird, Aspen Snowmass, or Vail.

I was looking at Big Sky and Jackson Hole next holiday season and noticed on Christmas Day this year, Jackson Hole with 125 inches of snow year to date was only 45% open and Big Sky had 35% of their terrain open. It's hard to book those places during this time of year knowing you'll have to be really lucky with early season snow fall. It's kind of like rolling the dice on an east coast Christmas break trip. Conditions will still probably be better at JH and Big Sky but the cost is much higher.

 

[ss20]

Looks great! I'll be going to Aspen/Snowmass or Jackson for a few days next month and looking sooooo forward to it. Ski vacations as a FT instructor hit so much better. So fun just being somewhere... else! I'm also leaning towards Snowmass as the base depth Jackson needs to be decently skiable is still just not there *sigh*.

 

[Tonyr]

Well, Aspen Snowmass and Alta Snowbird are probably my two favorite places to ski all things considered but I'd imagine even if you're skiing the best terrain on earth, like you do, it's still good to mix things up a little bit!

Im not sure when in January you may head to Jackson Hole but if its early January this season it could be pretty lackluster. Late January will be a different story I'd bet. Ajax has that new Hero lift terrain that I'm looking forward to trying out. Then you have all the great stuff open at the Highlands and the rest of the great terrain at Ajax for that matter which is over 80% open.

Snowmass currently is good for sidecountry untouched powder stashes in the trees where most of the visitors don't go. I'd say if your time off is early January go to Aspen, late January Jackson. If it's mid January the safe bet is Aspen Snowmass conditions wise.

I want to go back to Jackson but my only opening next season is during Christmas break and I'm not sure skiing less than 2000 acres of actual lift served terrain is worth it if the resort is only 45% open. I'd probably pair it with an Alta Snowbird stop so I'm guaranteed not to get skunked!

 

[Tonyr]

We went over to Ajax around noon mountain time today. I was really looking forward to trying out the new Hero terrain that opened up for the first time this season. We did one warm up lap off the gondola then headed straight over to the Hero pod, the snow overall was nice and chalky, the groomers were perfect, and the sun was out.

All I can say is wow, this new Hero pod has outstanding expert terrain. Reminded me a lot of the Deep Temerity pod over at the Highlands. The vert is a little less at Hero but I thought the drop ins at the top are steeper overall. This is really a fantastic edition to Ajax if your an expert skier and love trees.

With that being I only got to do two runs down the Hero section. My wife was with us, and while she was a trooper and got all the way down from the top, it was a one and done for her so it was a one and done for us. We did go down the intermediate run that cuts through the terrain pod but that was nothing special.

After we were done with Hero, we skied a hand full of groomers, jumped into some sidecountry trees, then finished the day off skiing down the Bingo Glades which is one of my favorite runs on the mountain. Here are some of my better photos of the day...

 

[jimk]

I think I only have four days lifetime at Aspen Mtn (aka Ajax), but my impression was that it was sneaky-challenging. Forget the reputation of the town for glamorous posers. The mountain rising right above the edge of town has quite a few bump runs and some steep glades. It's a rare set up in that you can easily lap the gondola (and the 3000' of vertical it serves) all day long. This big vert lapping phenomenon is facilitated by typically small lines at the gondola. It's not a very crowded mtn at any time of the season. That new Hero trail pod just adds to the expert orientation of Aspen/Ajax!

 

[Edd]

I’ll never have the $ to live there but, if I did, that’d be my choice of home base in CO. Although I’ve never been to Telluride or Crested Butte.

 

[jimk]

I’ll never have the $ to live there but, if I did, that’d be my choice of home base in CO. Although I’ve never been to Telluride or Crested Butte.

Agree.

Crested Butte is relatively small, but has a nice vibe. I've been there twice and caught great conditions both times, which as you can imagine - made a very favorable impression

Telluride is pretty big, but still smaller than Snowmass alone and much smaller than Snowmass/Ajax/Highlands combined. Telluride is very special with regard to scenery. I'd rank it in my top 3 or 4 in North America for gorgeous mountain scenery.

 

[Tonyr]

The 28th was our last day at Aspen Snowmass. It was our 7th day in a row skiing and while I only skied around 2 hours a day each day, my legs where shot. With that being said, of the 4 Aspen mountains, Buttermilk was the only one we haven't skied and I knew it was mellow terrain so we gave it a shot for the day.

My expectations were low coming in but we were all pleasantly surprised with Buttermilk. The facilities are very nice, it felt like a mini Deer Valley or Beaver Creek type of experience. The terrain is mild as expected but we had a ton of fun skiing in the sidecountry glades, it felt very much like the tree skiing does at Mt Snow with lots of low angle glades.

There were also a bunch of pockets of untouched snow 5 days after the last storm. I would definitely come back here a day or two after a storm. Here are some of my better photos from the day, the scenery here is beautiful...

 

[Tonyr]

I think I only have four days lifetime at Aspen Mtn (aka Ajax), but my impression was that it was sneaky-challenging. Forget the reputation of the town for glamorous posers. The mountain rising right above the edge of town has quite a few bump runs and some steep glades. It's a rare set up in that you can easily lap the gondola (and the 3000' of vertical it serves) all day long. This big vert lapping phenomenon is facilitated by typically small lines at the gondola. It's not a very crowded mtn at any time of the season. That new Hero trail pod just adds to the expert orientation of Aspen/Ajax!

Yes the new Hero pod is outstanding and has turned Ajax into a legit expert mountain.

 

[Tonyr]

Agree.

Crested Butte is relatively small, but has a nice vibe. I've been there twice and caught great conditions both times, which as you can imagine - made a very favorable impression

Telluride is pretty big, but still smaller than Snowmass alone and much smaller than Snowmass/Ajax/Highlands combined. Telluride is very special with regard to scenery. I'd rank it in my top 3 or 4 in North America for gorgeous mountain scenery.

Agreed, I think Telluride has the best scenery of any mountain town in the US in my opinion, with Big Sky and Aspen Snowmass in the conversation as well. Crested Butte is beautiful too and much more lower key than Telluride and Aspen.