The Real Magic of Aspen Lives Just Beneath the Surface

Featured Image: Craig Turpin, Rising Sun Photography

As part of our Volume 28 People & Places issue, we curated a list of the Top 10 Ski Resorts in North America. Each resort on this list is here for a reason and who better to explain than the people who know the resort best. Every article is penned by journalists who have lived in the ski towns they’re writing about. They know these mountains inside and out, and their love for them shines through every word. From terrain, atmosphere and accessibility, to pure, unfiltered badass-ery—consider this your bucket list for the season. Of course this list wouldn't be complete without Aspen and its famous four mountains.

It’s 3:00 p.m. on a Tuesday in April. The Aspen Snowmass snow stake reported 16 inches in the last 24 hours and my friends and I find ourselves at the top of Highland Bowl with untouched powder waiting below. Our strands are frosted over and the visibility is next to nothing but the sounds of hoots and hollers echo through the air. This is one of my favorite things about living in Aspen: joy heard ‘round the world, or at least the Bowl, on every single powder day. 

By my fourth hike up the bootpack that day, I was reminded about the first time I ever climbed it. I was in college and visiting for a concert at Belly Up. I had my backpack on, skis strapped awkwardly to the back with the Highland Ski Patrol straps they hand out to tourists. When I reached the only rock band on the hike, I was convinced I was going to slip and tumble out of bounds, down Maroon Bowl on my right. The air felt thin and by the time I skied down to the Temerity lift, my legs were burning so badly I thought they might catch on fire.

Now I hike the bowl with skis resting on my shoulder. I don’t think twice about the rock band and my legs and lungs have grown accustomed to the suffering it takes to get to the prayer flags that mark  the top.

Photo: Sam Ferguson| Skier: Matt Walker | Location: Aspen Snowmass, CO

That change in perspective is a metaphor for Aspen itself. On the surface, when people think of Aspen, they immediately think private jets, champagne at Cloud Nine and influencers on vacation. But when you spend more time here and dig past the glitz and glamour, you’ll find a community that’s built on pure love for the mountains. One that has the grit and determination to find a way to live in the Roaring Fork Valley. 

I moved here for the access and the community and I continue to stay for both of those reasons. I love hiking the Highland Bowl four times on a random Tuesday, hot-lapping Ajax with all my friends and going to an après DJ set at the Art Museum on a Saturday. Skiing in Aspen feels like being a kid at recess again—you see all your friends, the laps are fast and your wildest ski imaginations run free.

Aspen has range—in its ski terrain, its people and its culture. Some say variety is the spice of life, and while the tourist clientele might prefer things a little less zesty, the locals sure don’t. The deeper I root myself in the Elk Mountains, the more I realize the spark of this place lies just beneath the surface—waiting for anyone who’s willing to walk up a bootpack a few times to uncover it.