Aspen Mar 24th to 27th

[jimk]

I thought your beardski was a lot more realistic than his. :grin:

 

[lerops]

I really didn't want to post that but it felt dishonest holding it back.


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:smile:

 

[Edd]

Aspen Highlands:

It snowed 7" overnight, still snowing lightly and heavily throughout the day. Snow was incredibly dense and felt deeper than the claimed accumulation. GF tweaked her back early in the day from the powder challenge so I skied alone all day.

I did not hike the bowl. Visibility sucked and I was a bit intimidated skiing alone in those conditions with the visibility being pretty bad. There was more than enough challenge for me on the main mountain. All that said, amazing day! My last ski day here and it dumped!







Oh yeah, my Kendos weren't getting it done with the conditions. The lady returned some Black Pearls she was trying out very early. They gave us a credit for the demo so I tried what they had at that point. Some 182 length ( I think) Kastle FX 104 skis. Pretty damn good for float but a bit burly to swing around for me when I got out of the pow.

I'm beat.


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[4aprice]

@ Aspen Highlands; Love Highlands but the pictures show the day Edd went was pretty stormy. That weather is exactly what I was talking about when I said don't sell Buttermilk short. Noticed one of the pictures is Golden Horn, pretty low on the mountain. Yes plenty of good skiing down there but the best is up high, its just the kind of day where Tiehack shines and nobody's ever there.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[skiNEwhere]

Was at aspen highlands for the first time yesterday. Don't blame you for not wanting to hike highland bowl, there's good 200-300 section of that part that's only 2-3 feet wide and icy at times, I wouldn't want to hike that in low visibility since a fall results in either a long inbounds slide down, or long out of bounds slide down.

Gotta say the vibe is pretty cool there, definitely doesn't match what you'd expect the stereotype of an aspen resort to be. They have duct tape handing like toilet paper in all the lodges, a elderly woman explained to me that a lot of highlands skiers will routinely fix their ski clothes with that.

Did you get a free hot dog from the lifties at the bottom of the deep temerity lift?

 

[Edd]

No, dang it. Didn't make it to the DT lift. I did notice they were giving free coffee away in the base area. I read somewhere that's a daily thing.

I really liked it there. Can't wait to go back and explore more.


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[jimk]

I've got four total days at Aspen Highlands; once in 1976, two days in 1991, and one day this winter. That's enough for me to rank it among my very top favorites among 80+ US ski areas I've visited. The experience there feels like a mix of about 75% MRG and 25% Stowe, except maybe stack them on top of each other and add Tuckerman Ravine on the side for an equivalent of Highland Bowl!! The place can challenge and wear out a true expert and a lot of it is over my head, which is part of its mystique for me. Deep Temerity trail pod is the real deal, think 3 or 4 bump runs like Outer Limits from Killington side by side and a big section of adjacent glades with same pitch and vertical. Add beautiful scenery like the Maroon Bells and a little bit of the party scene spilling over from nearby Aspen. Sorry for going on...it's special.

 

[Edd]

I agree with you. That's an intense mountain. The bowls aside, it appears to be built like a ridge with drop offs located everywhere. With the dense pow the day I went it was some heavy duty skiing. I was on ski day #4 and wasn't really up to the challenge but damn, it was fun. I only fell once, which was a miracle.


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[skiNEwhere]

The experience there feels like a mix of about 75% MRG and 25% Stowe, except maybe stack them on top of each other and add Tuckerman Ravine on the side for an equivalent of Highland Bowl!! The place can challenge and wear out a true expert and a lot of it is over my head, which is part of its mystique for me. Deep Temerity trail pod is the real deal, think 3 or 4 bump runs like Outer Limits from Killington side by side and a big section of adjacent glades with same pitch and vertical. Add beautiful scenery like the Maroon Bells and a little bit of the party scene spilling over from nearby Aspen. Sorry for going on...it's special.

That is an excellent description, I might need to steal that from you!

From the top of highlands bowl to the bottom, it's about 4400 ft of vert! It takes 17 minutes of riding 2 HSQ's just to get to the top, and that's excluding the time it takes to get from one lift to the other. I actually got a lesson for the first time in a couple years, which was cool cuz I paid the group rate but was the only one in my "group" so I essentially had a private guide who gave me some really useful tips. Sorry I'm rambling and hijacking Edds post, but I just cannot get this place out of my head, it was an amazing experience and this is with no recent snow on the hill either. Easily in my top 5, along with snowmass as well (Figures)