Legendary. This mountain has something for everyone. It's big, lots of runs. This is my second visit to Snowmass. Both trips were I. March, 2 years ago I got some fresh powder this year it was spring conditions. I was able to hit all 4 resorts in 1 day, Snowmass, Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, and Ajax. Snowmass is amazing. I will be coming back. read more

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We enjoyed our time at snowmass. We came at the end of the season & the weather was pretty good. All of the employees that we came in contact with were helpful and nice. Trying to figure out where to go for our lessons was a little confusing but we found it with assistance. Our instructor, Cyndi, was very friendly and helpful in teaching us how to ski. We enjoyed our lunch at the cafeteria. It was packed but we found seats and got our food quickly. read more

Lots of terrain for everyone in the family. We're mostly a blue run family that likes a little thrill of a black here and there. This resort offered that and kept us plenty busy exploring all over. There was a blue run at the top that required quite a bit of hiking that we ditched, but otherwise we were pleased by everything. People were nice and helpful. Update: went back and did note blues that hike to the blacks and tree skiing. Excellent family mountain for all. read more

I had an opportunity to meet my son-in-law Joe who was attending a conference in Snowmass. The lift network was very good. The on hill lodges were great. Up 4 Pizza at the top of Big Burn chair is great little warming hut with gourmet pizza by the slice, and craft beer on tap. One day 26K vertical even with stopping to introduce skiing to Joe at the base. 1:55 direct flight from LAX & 20 minute shuttle to the Viewline resort. Great 3 day trip. Totally would go again. read more

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Had a great experience on our recent trip! Was doing a Colorado tour and decided to ride here for a day. It had just snowed the day before so the conditions were great! The mountain is huge! Lots of different runs. Many different lifts and gondola. There's variety for all different skill levels. It was very pleasant and the mountain is beautiful and the resort is super modern and nice. read more

This was mine and my group first time visiting Colorado and I must say this place was not a good start; even calling to get directions was impossible, so I should've known from there it was going to be bad. The Gondola ride was very rocky, the customer service provider at desk was extremely short and rude, and the tubing ride was the shortest ride in history. This place is definitely not worth the money nor visit! read more

I used to take private snowboarding lessons here in the winter and I recently found pictures of myself in the ski resort. I loved my instructor Kevin Byford and I loved the ease of gliding down the mountains each day with the instructions and support provided. I loved how kind, supportive, reliable, and trustworthy he was and how he made my stay in Aspen unforgettable. Aspen Snowmass also has great restaurants with food that's always delicious with heaters that keep you warm outside and inside. I also love how on top of some mountains right when you get off the chair lifts they give out free hot chocolate and cookies. I would love to come here again even though the events of that happening are unlikely but I have nothing but good things to say about the area and want to honor my time there with the great people I have met who work there. read more

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My middle child and I traveled to Colorado to visit my youngest, who is teaching snowboarding at Snowmass. We took the time to hit Snowmass, a day split between Aspen and Aspen Highlands, a day at Buttermilk and a final day back at Snowmass. Day one at Snowmass was a beautiful February day with sun and a light breeze. The final day had a bit of snow overnight and while we were there; just enough so you floated just above the base but it wasn't what you'd call a pow day. With their location and altitude the snow was great both days. It's a large mountain with great lift options and varied terrain. This doesn't make you stand out in Colorado, though. What I appreciated was the staff and their positive attitudes. We felt welcome (yes, even when we weren't with a family member who's an employee). read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

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Snowmass is definitely my definition of a winter wonderland! Colossal mountains, enormous pine trees, a beautiful ski village and everything blanketed in beautiful white snow. We arrived on a Friday and made it to the village to rent our ski gear. I skiid as a kid (on small man made hills in Minnesota) but had not gone in over 20 years so I was a little prettified, but decided why not go for it #yolo. I put on my helmet and hit the slopes. It was actually snowing that day so that was a really cool experience. We also bought tickets for a day of tubing and the alpine snow rollercoaster. Tubing wasn't great bc it had just snowed, but man that snow rollercoaster was the ultimate thrill ride! It starts out by taking you up the beautiful mountain side, through the pine trees and then takes you on one hell of a thrill ride. Personally, I do not care for rollercoasters, but the phenomenal views and experience are worth it! Skiing ended up being so much fun! I totally recommend snowmass and can't wait to hit the slopes again read more

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Well, I'm officially ruined for easily accessible east coast skiing. NJ, CT, PA...even Hunter...oh boy. I learned to ski on you and spent several years perfecting my approach to your icy slopes, completely unaware of the joys of fresh powder without a crystal of ice to be found. I only started skiing 4 years ago and have probably gone a dozen or so times, never skiing for more than a full day. Five days at Snowmass with three days completely dedicated to skiing not only took my skill to another level, but allowed me to confidently tackle some Colorado blues, which is definitely something I couldn't have done at home. I loved every second of the challenge, and I definitely learned a thing or two about improving my form in the process. Skiing here is a total 180 in almost every single way, and Snowmass is a fantastic mountain* that I can't wait to get back to. *actual mountain, not a hill disguised as a mountain. Conditions? They speak for themselves. I'm not saying every day will be perfect, but it'll be pretty close. Crowds? Snowmass offers a wide variety of options with runs so wide that I rarely came remotely close to anyone else, save for the end of the run by the lifts. This thinner crowd also helps control the lift lines - I spent 95% of my time going up the Village Express and I think I waited 10 minutes just two or three different times. People? Everyone that works here is incredibly nice, knowledgeable, and helpful. The skiers are great too - respectful of distance and differences in skill and comfort. I fell once on a blue (very minor); I lost my balance on a bump and couldn't recover. One person stopped to grab my ski that came off (even though it was just a foot or two away) and another stopped to grab my pole, which was even closer. Both asked if I was okay before continuing on. Trails? So many options. Even though only 5% is rated as "easy" I didn't find myself getting bored of any of the green runs. Greens let me fine tune my approach, get faster, and eventually move on to some of the blue runs, which went from intimidating to fun in less than one run. Lifts? Plenty. Speedy. 6 people on each chair help with the lines, even more fit on the gondolas. Base Camp? THIS is what a base camp should be like. Not a hot dog cart or cafeteria tray in sight. There's nothing better that sitting outside in 15 degree weather having a cold IPA and some lunch by a fire. I can't wait to come back, but that's not until next winter...now I think I'm going to have to drive to VT or ME to ski for the rest of the season because I'm spoiled and anything conveniently located just isn't going to be the same. read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

Well its not 5 stars because I was expecting it was going to be better than Vail, Northstar, and Park City in service. Thought the mountain terrain was about the same but service was not. Signage wasn't the best. Example 6 person lifts should say 6 people just before you get on the chairlift. Can't remember at the last second. Vail has so many high end lift options like the magic carpet to get you on the chairlift, monitoring you progress on the slopes via each chairlift, orange bubble chairlifts. Can't believe you have to walk to Long shot. Food was good but not as good as Vail. I think Vail does a better job grooming the runs. Since its out of the way the crowds are not as big as the Epic mountains. Northstar has the champagne toast on the mountain, that would have been nice. I kept on reading that Snowmass and Aspen were high end and I didn't see it. Compared to the Village at Northstar. still had a good time skiing. read more

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Why 5 stars? Because it's hard not to enjoy this place, even when you aren't a good skiier. --- --- --- I only have Breckenridge to compare it to, and to be honest, I have things I liked more about both. Breckenridge seemed to have more of a gradual increase in difficulty of hills. The bunny hills were absolutely necessary for myself and my brother who were skiing for the first time in our lives. Snowmass had a very small bunny hill, and then a pretty big jump up to the next level. But Aspen Snowmass was light years ahead of Breck in terms of places to eat/drink in town. Aspen was like the downtown of a mid-sized city - full of places restaurants, bars, and shops. As far as the views go - I think any ski resort in Colorado possesses scenery that will make you re-evaluate what's important in life. One of my favorite things about skiing is just taking the lifts up, and enjoying the breath-taking views that we do not get in Florida. If you're an experienced skier, I'm sure my review is laughable. I really don't know what the main things are to evaluate in a ski resort. But if you're a total novice like me, here's what I'd say: -Just want to ski at a decent place for beginners? Go to Breckenridge, or somewhere else on the closer side to Denver. -Skiing is not the main event, or you have people in your group that don't ski at all, and want things to do while you're on the slopes? Aspen is awesome for such adventures! read more

We travelled to Snowmass for Spring Break skiing for a week as a family of 5...all intermediate/advanced skiers. We stayed next to the base of the mountain in the ski-in-ski-out condos at Woodrun. Our entire trip was excellent and Snowmass is one of our all-around favorite ski resorts in the US. It was a 5-star experience and we recommend it highly. The mountain is very large with a wide assortment of long runs from green to double-black. The terrain is varied and there is a wide assortment of groomed vs. un-groomed runs. The chairlifts and gondolas are numerous, rapidly moving, and lines were very short. The mountain is not crowded, the skiers and staff were all friendly and polite and our entire experience was fun. The views are truly spectacular...gorgeous views in all directions and a pleasure to ski challenging runs while looking at the gorgeous surroundings. Food on the mountain is varied and tasty! Many great restaurants to choose from...and our favorite was Gwyns! We also enrolled in ski school and found the customer support for ski school to be excellent, friendly and helpful and we loved our ski instructor (Lara) who was outstanding, fun and talented and helped all of us improve our skiing considerably! We loved Snowmass and hope to return soon! read more

Snowmass is a cute "little" snow village. Although it's not really little, it gives you that "close" feeling that a cute village would. Plenty of places to check out, even if you're not planning to hit the slopes. The vibe is really nice; very excitable, yet serene. And absolutely breathtaking scenery. read more

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1 star just becuz of limited dates of Alpine Coaster. I was excited to try the coaster and tubing while in Aspen in Dec but apparently on the website it shows they are only operating certain dates read more

I simply love this place. Long runs, lots of trails at ALL different levels, fast lifts, and best of all amazing conditions and people. To avoid crowds and less experienced skiers avoid the week between Xmas and NYE. Outside of that week it is paradise on earth. If you get the chance, a visit is well worth it. read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - View of Maroon Bells from the top of Elk Camp - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

So they changed the hrs of group lesson from 10am to 12 pm, it takes about 1hr to get your gear , by the time you get to your group lesson 1:30 hrs went by , because of covid they say . Although if you pay double you can do all day , private lesson at $799 & they do offer full day . So no covid inconvenience there , (seriously) This information on only 2 hrs group lesson was not listed while booking , this is my 4th time here & Is very inconvenient, I'm very disappointed on the way they did this not letting us know at the time of booking 2 weeks ago. read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

I was in Aspen for 5 days, and I came to Snowmass for three full days! The resort is huge and has a great variety of slopes as well as lifts. The snow quality was really good too every day I came, and I really enjoyed my time here. I'm a snowboarder, and one of the more common headaches is flat areas. There are very few flat areas where I had to walk, but there were still some which was annoying. I would definitely recommend Snowmass though, as it was my favorite resort out of the Aspen ones! read more

Snowmass, one of the four mountains in Aspen, is simply spectacular. I must have had some good karma stored up, because the storm from last night cleared, and we hit the mountain early with a bright sun, and a solid dusting of soft champagne powder. I couldn't have asked for a better first day on the mountain. This mountain is massive. Runs scatter across the Rockies, creating the ultimate skier's paradise. The snow glistened like beaded diamonds. Stunning and with limitless possibilities. Gliding down the mountain was heavenly. Crowds were limited, so the 4 of us felt we had the entire mountain to ourselves. The staff here are all downright friendly. Happy to not be stuck in a cubicle, they send you up the mountain with great spirit and while minor, it definitely adds to the day and whole Snowmass experience. The runs are wide open, giving you ample space to carve, make fresh tracks even at noon, and endless at times. Snowmass provides an array of runs, geared more towards the advanced skier, it is a angelic playground. All dogs go to heaven? Well die hard skiers go to Snowmass. read more

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Took a low level 7 lesson with Sam Cordi with my husband. Had a blast!! The Snowmass Mountain is huge with all different types or levels of runs. Sam was one of the best instructions we had since we start skiing. He accurately pointed out a wired ski problem I had. He simplified the explanations. Lots of theories we heard from different instructors and he made them "making sense". Over Aspen, they separate the ski schools and ski clinics. It did make senses to polish our ski techniques and make us better skiers. Would highly recommend the ski clinic. read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Beautiful mountains- view point of maroon bells - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

By far the best mountain and resort in Colorado. Amazing Skiing, and The Cirque is my favorite run of all times on a fresh powder day. The mountain is beautiful and well planned out with runs for every age and level, but mostly, Snowmass has incredible bowls and moguls (which I like and most people don't). The town of Snowmass is cute and well-equipped, but I prefer staying down in Aspen, where the real mountain life oozes. Aspen is actually not as stuck-up as I would have thought, and even though most of the home owners are wealthy, they are not stuck on themselves and afraid of the middle class. The wealthy and haughty stereotype in my mind comes from the tourists, who venture from all over the world to come to one of the best mountains in the United States. Every mountain around Aspen (And there are four different mountains to chose from) has a free bus and you can catch them all around town. The bus will shuffle you all the way to Snowmass, which is about 20-25 minutes away. Aspen is a hippy town, with incredible environmental stewardship, healthy food options and restaurants, and free public transportation. Aspen is renowned for it's green mountain practices, such as having the snowcats run on Biodiesel, matching staff contributions to the Environment Foundation, ISO certified, and the purchase of renewable energy wind credits to offset pollution emissions among others. Tickets are not cheap, over $80 for a day, but well worth the expense if you have high standards for mountains. Strategy: Try to become friends with someone who lives in town, then at least the cost of staying somewhere can be offset? * Star one is for a beautiful mountain ** Keep it clean star two is for the mean and green environmental practices *** This is amazing star three is for The Cirque **** What a town star four is for the incredible and fun town of Aspen... Not as stuffy as you think! ***** Star five is a shout-out to Mother Nature for some of the best ski days in my life read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

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I have skied from east to west. From Mt Tremblant and St Saveur, to Banff, Lake Louise, Sunshine, Whistler and Blackcomb. Nothing compares, even remotely - to Aspen. The scenery, the service, the food, restaurants, those beautiful trees that line some of the runs.....its a level above in every respect. Renting skis? About 100 ft from the snow, top equipment, tons of options and very, very convenient, timely and friendly. They even store your boots overnight in dryers so you can leave everything there for the night, then just walk leisurely to the mountain the next day without carrying any boots, skis, poles or anything else. And while the east is icey, and the Whistler/Banff snow made of powder - the snow in Aspen has a texture all its own. Its a great surface to ski on. Mix that with great service, well planned services, runs and lifts - you can go from incredibly hard, cold, rough and high in the mountains with the goats and mental patients - to leisurely coasting by beautiful scenery, watching the trees and views go by on a run that takes you into a ski in, ski out village with great food, beers and a clip in, sit down outdoor patio on most. I will be back every year. Love it. read more

I liked the variety of terrain, the cool trestles that allow you ski over roads, the many lifts (and the gondola!) to get you back up to the top. Lots of wide blue groomers, including the "Big Burn" which is literally a mile wide. I never felt lost at Snowmass even though it's such a huge resort. I had the little pocket map of the ski runs with me. Maps of the runs are also conveniently located on the pull down guards on the lift chairs. Watch your head, in case someone yanks that guard down before you're ready. There is a much bigger ski village than I am accustomed to at Alta, UT. Lots of shops and restaurants at the base. A real night life. Some would call it "too built up" but not being from around there, I found it convenient to have so many choices. I have skied there in my dreams. Would not mind going back! read more

BBBB, EEEE, AAAA, UUUtiful. Read the other reviews, because they sum up Snowmass up really well. Thank the great Yahweh for the incredible gift of eye balls and a brain to interpret light because you will see brilliancy. BRILLIANCY, I SAY! Come here if you want to make all your fb and instygram friends peanut butter and jealous of your summit photo at 14,000ft with the caption, "just hopped off a heli (again). Time to draw long lines in the powder with my skiis down the mountain. Can't wait to get down and dine with mountain lions and Bear Grylls tonight". Of course, all you did was hop off a ski lift, but nobody will know that with your picture, because your picture is just too brilliant! TLDR: worth. read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - BRILLIANCY - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

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Great family friendly resort. The tree house school has a great day care program. The ullr nights on Friday is great event for families. Ullr nights has the roller coaster (breathtaker), snow tubing and s'mores and fire show on Friday evenings from 5-8pm. Bundle up and go enjoy! read more

I wish I would've just skied here both days instead of trying aspen mountain. This is on par with squaw valley with terrain and lift access. I love how wide the runs are which make it nice for us advanced skiers so we can whizz past superfast without worrying too much about everyone else. Also their double blacks I tried are more like blacks at kirkwood, squaw, and sugarbowl here in california but the farther you go off trail the more crazy stuff you can find. I'm guessing they just label it double blacks to keep people from going far off trail. The mountain is huge and easy to get lost on if it's your first time there. So keep in mind what run you want to do while you are on the lift and work from the left side of the mountain to the right. Stay away from the base since there are so many people there. Usually beginners and families. Compared with paying $129 at aspen mountain or snowmass go to snowmass! The other 3 are not worth the price. read more

Great fun and we loved our instructor, Rex S., who has been guiding skiers for 46 years. We only fell a total of three times. read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Going up the lift to the double diamonds - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

Even though they have expanded the trails recently, Snowmass is still a poor excuse for a mountain bike park. The lifts don't start running until 10am and there is only one lift for bikes on weekdays. They used to have a discounted one-lift-ride ticket last summer, but now it's only the more expensive full day pass. And, forget about riding over at the main Aspen mountain -- they don't allow bikes on the gondola and the main trail down is in disrepair. read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Snowmas Mountain Bike Park (photo courtesy of TRAILSOURCE.COM) - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

We arrived at Aspen over a three day holiday. Little did I know that the Aspen resort is pretty huge with about 3 mountain resorts to explore. As a Mountain Collective pass holder, we spent our time at Aspen Snowmass (the largest resort in Aspen area). Thankfully, the weather worked in our favor because it was snowing earlier in the week prior to our arrival. Disclaimer: This review is coming from a beginner/intermediate snowboarder. The breakdown: - During my most recent visit, Aspen Snowmass was about 80% skiers and snowboarders were the minority. Despite being the minority, the skiers were very friendly to us! The mountain runs were still great for snowboarders! - Huge Mountain - This mountain is huge with a lot of runs! A day here is definitely not enough. Most of the runs here are blue/black. I initially went on the green runs and found it way too flat and kept getting stuck as it definitely caters towards skiers. I spent most of the day on blue runs. Surprisingly, the mountain wasn't too crowded where you could run into people. - The Runs - LONG!! The runs are pretty long. After a couple runs, I had to take a break. If you're a newbie, you might be intimated with the long runs and would not recommend coming to this mountain. Apparently, Buttermilk Mountain (10 minutes away) is great for newbies!! - Terrain - Beautiful and massive!! It helped that it snowed earlier in the week, because the conditions were ideal. I wasn't afraid of falling because I would be falling in fluff! - Food - Food on the mountain is very pricey!! Be prepared to spend $15+ for lunch! To save money, I recommend eating a large breakfast beforehand or getting lunch in the Village. Definitely will come back! read more

We went in off season and did the Alpine Coaster. This is an experience that takes your safety during Covid seriously. In the course of many different experiences over six states, this one has it on lockdown and we highly recommend. read more

Most of the reviews are for winter time, but summertime is also an awesome time to visit Snowmass. The Elk gondola takes you up to a newly renovated play area for the kids, including a massive rock wall, Alpine coaster and stock fishing pond full of trout. There are zip line areas, ropes courses and hiking, not to mention all levels of downhill mountain biking. A highlight of our month long stay was dining at the elk camp restaurant at the top - they have a Tuesday night farm to table dinner that is outstanding. And their every day offerings for lunch - the make your own Caesar with smoked salmon was our fav - very fresh. Pro tip: they offer a season pass that pays for itself after a few rides up; kids combos at the restaurant include a nice lunch and two sides, for $13. read more

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What a winter wonderland!! A stunning view of the mountains, The skiers and slopes. I am on vacation and a first time skier, everyone has been so helpful from recommendations to assisting you with your gear. For first timers Snowmass is recommended being that Aspen mountain is a lot steeper. Snowmass also has free gondola rides unless you are a pro going all the way up the mountain. I will definitely return one day! read more

Snowmass Ski Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Snowmass Village, Colorado

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As far as just Snowmass Mountain, I feel like the Skiing is AWESOME, and love the vastness of the terrain, how it's not crowded, how fast the lifts are, and how you can take a T-bar lift to the Peak at 12,510 Feet. But...I'm not a huge fan of the 'corporate ski village' feeling (like Vail's fake Disneyland-like Swiss village), so I prefer to stay in Downtown Aspen as that's where all the action is - best restaurants, apres ski, bars, clubs, etc. Just my opinion. ----------------------------------- As far as Aspen as a Whole, everyone knows Aspen is 5-Stars...the town, the restaurants, the nightlife, the people, all 4 mountains. It's all Top Notch, and the best Ski Resort Town in the Americas (both North and South), in my opinion. Even skiers in Europe, South America and Japan know Aspen. Most skiers rate ski resorts on just the mountain (extreme level) and snow. I'm different. I rate ski resorts as an Overall Package...the mountains, snow, amenities (lifts, rentals, food on mountain), apres ski, crowds and what the people are like, nice restaurants, bars/clubs/nightlife, higher-end lodging with outdoor hot tubs, etc. I'll admit, I don't go skiing just to ski, I go for the food and nightlife too, and well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like to be pampered while I'm at it, lol. Going up and down the mountain to just ski, packing my own lunch, and just having a few beers back at the room while smoking pot is not my thing, as it is with most skiers, especially ski bums, lol. So, given that, for me, the Best Ski Resorts in the World are: 1. Verbier, Switzerland 2. Aspen, Colorado 3. Chamonix, France 4. St. Anton/Lech, Austria 5. Cortina, Italy 6. Zermatt, Switzerland 7. Ischgl, Austria 8. Whistler, Canada 9. Bariloche, Argentina 10. Niseko, Japan And Yes, I've been to almost every major ski resort in the World - 22 West Coast, 17 East Coast, 9 in Europe, 6 in Canada, 4 in South America and 2 in Japan. So, as you can see, I love Aspen! And if there's any place you should ski at least once in your lifetime, it should be here! Just my opinion. read more

I only get to ski once a year and the first few hours I need to reacquaint myself with the sport! I love the green retraining area, (it's what I call it) then I'm off for the bigger and better mountains! read more

We enrolled my 3 yo son in ski school for his first experience skiing. I was very excited for him and was sure he would enjoy. His instructor seemed very nice and although the desk staff was not very friendly and the first HOUR of his lesson (half or full day) was spent familiarizing him with his boots and skis (seemed reasonable). It all began to fall apart at end of day when they couldn't find his "report card" or his "Aspen RF card". Even with this experience We decided a second day was appropriate given our sons enthusiasm. That was a mistake Second day and they want to put him in day one class because they can't find his report card (duh see above!). Then they want to charge for a new Aspen RF card that THEY lost?! When discussing his day they say he will still start with an hour inside..why?!? Then I observed him with a group of 20 Kids with multiple disinterested instructors. Essentially this looks like day care with a couple hours of skiing. Totally a waste of Money unless you want to get your skiing in while someone watches you kids. As SkiCo has the entire market they can charge what they want. Summary: Rip-Off read more

Snowmass Mountain is what every mountain should be. As a little lady I was shuffled from elementary school into ski school for a week. Instead of learning my world history I learned how to place my skis in pizza and french fries and hold my lunch tray. I can proudly say I have progressed a little bit since then although pizza and french fries always go along with skiing! After coming to Snowmass for 18 years straight, I can honestly say I have had only one bad day on the mountain. And the mountain is not to blame. A blizzard and my scatterbrain resulted in incredibly watery eyes and a coupe spills. Snowflake after snowflake pelting my face and eyes could have been avoided if I had remembered goggles. First and last time I made that mistake. Goggles are essential for skiing domination. Location: Snowmass is an ideal location. Not only is it far enough from Denver to hinder the amount of weekend visitors, it is easily accessible by air. A 20 minute flight from Denver lands you at Aspen Airport, a mere 20 minute shuttle ride to Snowmass Mountain. Daily shuttles run between Snowmass, Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, and Ajax. Lift passes cover all four mountains so be sure to spend at least a half day at a sister mountain. Runs/Terrain: Snowmass is able to challenge the most advanced skiers/boarders while still providing adequate runs for intermediates and novices. The runs are clearly marked and hazards are easy to identify. Each night, the snowcats do quite a bit of grooming. Check out the signs provided at the bottom of lifts if you are looking for freshly groomed runs. During my last visit, grooming was essential for many of the runs which were becoming icy. Snow was greatly needed but scarcity of it did not make for steep ice skating rinks either. Lifts: A gondola lifts mountain goers up the mountain which is perfect for those frigid days. There is a plethora of high-speed four seat lifts along with a six person. I have never experienced long lift lines, ESPECIALLY after comparing them to the lines I've stood in at Copper and Breck. The chairlift employees are always friendly, and even offer to help with loading your equipment on the gondola at times. What service! Dining: Snowmass is keeping up with Jones. Each year new slopeside restaurants pop up. The new Elk Camp restaurant offers seating perfect for basking under the sun and enjoying a hot chocolate. Beware, prices are offensively high ($10 for hot chocolate and cookie) so plan on bringing your lunch if you don't want to dig deep in your pockets. There are many other pit stops on the mountain as well. Nice touches: Being a skier, I have minimal appreciation for the benches sitting at the top of almost every lift. However, my snowboarder buddy took advantage of them and commented on how handy they are. Besides that, I was greeted at the top of the Village Express Lift three separate mornings with FREE cider, cliff bars, and sunscreen. Lastly, a little not so hidden gem sits under the Elk Camp Lift. The Pitkin County Wildlife Museum offers FREE hot chocolate and allows you to spend a few minutes learning about the vast, breathtaking wilderness that surrounds you. Is my review biased? Possibly. All my good family memories do affect what I chose to see through my goggles. However, having visited many other mountains in Colorado, I most look forward to my trips to Snowmass. Try out your ski legs and live the high life at Snowmass Mountain, elevation 14,000 feet. read more

It's tough to review "Aspen/Snowmass" as one entity since there's 4 distinct mountains with distinctly different flairs. However, I'll give it a try... Let's start with the best and work our way down. 1. Snowmass Mountain. This place is probably my favorite resort in Colorado. It has it all. Except a decent lift system to the advanced/expert terrain. However, the terrain here is better and more varied then at the other mountains. There's abundant long groomers for the beginners and intermediate skiers. The kids will love the large, well maintained terrain parks. There's also enough cliffs and hairy steep stuff to keep the best skiers occupied. Few people know it, but there is some serious, serious spincter-puckering terrain if you know where to go. It's steeper and more technical then anything you have at the other mountains. If you think I'm wrong, try taking a left at the top of Rock Island, and see what sort of beautiful nastiness you can get yourself into! 2. Aspen Highlands This is my second favorite resort out the four. This place is great for an intermediate skier. The runs are very, very long and well groomed. There's abundant advanced terrain, but it falls short with the beginner and expert terrain. Highlands Bowl is a huff, but worth the effort. There's some great terrain here, but the steepest run (downt the gullet of the top of Highlands bowl) isn't terribly technical or steep. Also, I don't believe there's many cliffs or rocks to jump off of. 3. Aspen Mountain (Ajax) This is a fun mountain, with abundant terrain for the intermediate and advanced skier. The mountain is well laid out, and there's huge areas to explore. It has more expert terrain then Highlands (yes, that's right, it does), although no open bowls, which I love. It's more technical than any of the other mountains, with more steep terrain in tight glades, and funkier terrain, often with double fall lines. It gets bumped out quick after a powder day, where Highlands lasts longer, and Snowmass even longer. However, if you can rip it up at Ajax, you can rip it up anywhere. It'll hone your skills such that you can tackle any mountain anywhere with style. It's also more posh and foofy then the other mountains. 4. Tiehack (Buttermilk) The marketers at Aspen seem to want to change the name of this place every couple of years, but the mountain still stays the same... sort of. In the last several years, they've ramped up the parks, so this is a spinny-flippy jibber's paradise. Often overlooked is the eastern Tiehack side, where the powder lasts longer then any of the other mountains. Unfortunately, orographics make this mountain receive substantailly less snow then its neighbors, and the terrain isn't nearly as steep or interesting as the other mountains. Still, there can be some great hero snow conditions here while the other mountains are getting quickly diced up. The big downfall of Aspen is the prices. The lift tickets are exhorbant. Lodging around the area is crazy, and out of my league. Fortunately, I've got some friends down valley, or I'd never get to ski these great mountains. read more

Motherf-r this is an awesome mountain! I came as part of the Yelp Winter Break 2014 event. Unlike many people who were part of this event, I was surprisingly one of the few who went for the purpose of shredding (or skiing). And, this mountain did not disappoint. It actually exceeded my expectations. How did it exceed my expectations? I suppose that I thought it would be like Vail, which I don't like because I think it's too flat for snowboarders and better for skiers. I was very wrong! This mountain does not have many traverses - the greens are steep enough, but easy to ride, and the blues are varied, but challenging. The nice thing about the blues here is that they range from easy to difficult. So you can actually progress within the same mountain. I went in December - early season - and the conditions were accurate to that time of season when they hadn't received any snow in three weeks. Most of the snow was man-made, but it was great conditions considering that was the case. By the afternoon, there were some bare patches. The runs also had some brush and a rock, which the tip of my board hit and caused me to flip over! wtf?! I was fine because I'm experienced, but watch early-season conditions, newbies! Every single run was a great run! In comparison to Whistler (which is the mega mountain of all mountains), this mountain is noticeably smaller. So, where Whistler requires a 20-25 minute ride on the gondola to get to the summit (but not to the glaciers which requires another lift and a t-bar), this mountain is an easy 10-12 minute ride on the gondola. I also took two of the chair lifts, and they also reached the summit in about 10 minutes or so. Whistler shred down = maybe 30-40 minutes. Snowmass shred down = 15-20 minutes. The village is spread out between the base village and the mall. There is plenty to do, but not too much or overwhelming like Vail. I only went to Aspen at night - I didn't shred the mountain. Maybe next time. If it wasn't such a PIA to get in/out from NYC, I would definitely visit again. read more

Having trouble choosing: Aspen or Vail? It's a no brainer. Snowmass and Aspen should be hand-in-hand with the definition of "skiing." It is truly amazing. The mountain is gloriously setup and has a great variety of slopes, catering to skiers of all levels. The mountain is well-kept and conveniently makes use of the great nestling spot it has in the Rockies. This is one of those places where you'll find people ranging from true-to-the-heart Ski Bums who spend endless amounts of time making sweet love to the mountain to crazy Business Types seeking a getaway from their hectic lives back home. The lodge is fabulous and can easily sweep you away from skiing. Hot Chocolate? Mocha? Irish Coffee...? ;) If I could be a Ski Bum... I so would- except I wouldn't appreciate skiing in Snowmass as much if I were because of all the Yuppies and families visiting. That's another thing- if you are going with little kids there's fun for all. Stick the kids into a ski lesson for a day and they're off! It's especially nice because they do a fantastic job on making the kids have a good time, which is important so they don't feel discouraged from skiing in the future. Here I am going on about skiing (well, because I ski), and what about my fellow boarders? They can have their fun too. Specifically- there is a pretty savvy skate park and the slopes appear just as friendly to boarders as they are to skiers! Are you one of those people who is being dragged along for the ride? The ride being a trip in which you don't plan on skiing. You are the minority of the group... possibly? haha. Well, there's some delightful saunas and such in the condo area (if that's where you're staying). Also, downtown Aspen is but a sweet drive through the snow away (There may be some sort of bus or shittle/car service as well). Prepare to drop a buck or two (I'd put a legend here but it's not going to work so I'll translate.. by buck I mean like, in thousands? haha, or hundreds). Well, not all places but the majority. But it's a ton of fun to window shop if you aren't prepared to drop moolah like that. There are also cafes and restaurants that offer a variation of prices (a great way to spend an evening after a day of skiing etc). Snowmass can become one of those places that you go back every season. It's welcoming like that and fun to be familiar with. If you're looking for a new ski/board getaway I couldn't reccomend Snowmass highly enough! Oh, and please don't be one of those stupid Skiers/Boarders who wears white on the slope-- it is dangerous! And c'mon, there are so many better choices! read more

My first impression of Snowmass was mixed, b/c we were there for the Grand Opening of the new Base Village (which I don't love). Though "the Sweet Life" was a cute candy shop, I didn't like that it was the only place with burgers & soup at the base, b/c they have wait staff & a hostess. (Really, now? At a base of a ski resort?) Sneaky's Tavern was even more intimidating - with a hostess AND a waiting area. And Liquid Sky wasn't quite yet open until the evening. More importantly, I couldn't find the bathrooms at the Base Village (they're not readily available, nor easy to find), and so I had to resort to going in the "Treehouse" kids club area to use theirs. Embarrassing. Also, my feelings were mixed b/c my dad and I were the ONLY day skiiers on the hill that day (as in, we weren't staying overnight in Snowmass or Aspen, since we were saving money, staying in Glenwood for a few days), and we had much complications finding parking (i.e. the "Rodel lot" for those of you who may need it). Sure, I don't recommend staying in Glenwood, trekking to Snowmass for the day (it's a long drive), but since my dad was covering lodging, and lift tix are $96/day, I'd hope Aspen could at least give us a break and not make us feel like fools for not knowing where to park. (In conversations with locals, we learned later that there used to be an information booth explaining the parking situation to visitors. But, for some reason, it - and the corresponding signs - were removed/deemed obsolete.) Well, once we evaded the "residential parking only / no day-skiier parking" signs, and finally found the Rodeo lot, we tackled the mountain (though a nagging unwelcome feeling haunted me that first day - was I really that unwelcome to come here as a day-skiier? I know this is Aspen & all, but it's still Colorado - and we're a friendly lot, especially in the mountains!) All this to say, let's get to the "sweet" in bittersweet (i.e. my mixed first impression). I LOVE the mountain! I couldn't get enough of the gondola - it was warm, and fast. And it was easy to cross the whole mountain, going from run-to-run, lift-to-lift, with minimal catwalks, and easy to navigate trails. (It's not quite as easy to cross Vail, and Winter Park/Mary Jane is quite difficult - unless you want to take on the 3-ft moguls on "Outhouse".) The runs were challenging - the blues were definitely, really blues. The snow was amazing - fresh, powdery, and lots of it. And even though it was pretty busy, the mountain is so huge, that you can still make fresh tracks fairly easily. I didn't make it up the "Big Burn" lift as much as I would've liked, b/c it got to be really windy/snowy and white-out conditions up top, both days I went, but it was still fun, and I had great snow on "Sam's Knob". One more thing, I love that they posted trail maps on all the bars (e.g. "bar coming down" - to rest your skiis) on the lifts. Great for people new to the resort. So, in terms of the mountain, I loved it! And once we talked to locals to realize it was the Grand Opening of the Base Village, and that the pretentiousness we encountered in the restaurants was new, we were much more forgiving. (I know it's Aspen, but still, even Aspen has a friendly, somewhat rustic mountain-town feel to it. I would hate for that entire vibe to go away, just b/c celebrities and mega-rich Europeans come to town.) ;) P.S. If you're looking for a mountain ski lodge for lunch, try Ullrhof at the base of "Big Burn". We didn't get a chance to check it out, but we heard about it through locals. read more