Day 17 Aspen - Cardrona on steroids

Once again the snow gods chose to toy with us. It was snowing quite heavily during breakfast, and continued to do so as we drove through Aspen doing the school drop offs. Jamie to Aspen Highlands and Mason, Claire and myself to Snowmass.

Aspen ski resort is spread across four separate ski areas...Aspen Mountain (referred to as Ajax by the locals) is the closest to the town. In fact it towers above the town, the gondola is a couple of blocks from our condo. There is no beginner terrain at all on Aspen Mountain; Aspen Highlands on the edge of town provides a more balanced variety of terrain; Snowmass about 10km out of town is mostly green and blue terrain, with a few black runs thrown in; and finally Buttermilk, close to Highlands is small and flat, comprising mostly terrain parks for snowboarders and stunt skiers.

The one lift pass services all ski areas, but they are not interconnected by lifts. A free shuttle bus provides transportation between the areas.

By the time we'd parked the jeep at Snowmass and walked the short distance to the gondola the snowfall had eased dramatically and blue sky was beginning to peek through the clouds.

We did a couple of warm up runs together and then I peeled off to do my own thing while Mason gave Claire a lesson. The snow was spectacular. Once again a soft layer of perhaps 2 to 3 cms coated the groomed runs.

I found my way to a very secluded part of the mountain where only one other person had been down before me and had a wonderful 'powder' run. The snow was deep enough to leave tracks but that's about it. But it was fun.

On top of Snowmass

Snowmass is a fun area. It's largely ego terrain. Wide, rolling slopes with easy gradients and fun rollers. The blues are really greens, and the greens are totally flat. We decided that the colour coding had been done as such to make the guests feel good about themselves. There weren't too many great skiers around. Snowmass I decided is Cardrona on steroids.

Elk Camp restaurant halfway up Snowmass

After lunch I caught up with Mason and we took a couple of runs and did some filming. It was bright and sunny and hot when we knocked it on the head at 3.15pm.

Our customary apres ski stroll through the village lead us to Mezzaluna for dinner. Once again I was most surprised at the menu prices. It's fair to say that the cost of drinking and dining out in Perth is more expensive than anywhere that we've been in the US, including Aspen.

The plan for tomorrow is to hit Ajax early for the morning and then catch the shuttle across to Highlands. My last day with the kids so we better make it a good one.