Snow place on earth like Aspen
Fill your boots (warmed first) at the resort the stars love
AS a kid who grew up in Glasgow, I learned to ski on a dry slope in Edinburgh and then moved on to the dizzy heights of Aviemore.
I never thought I would have had the opportunity to discover the famous glamorous ski town Aspen until I covered the luxurious getaway for Good Morning Britain and Lorraine. Aspen has now become one of my favourite places in the world.
The town is filled with the friendliest, most unpretentious people you could meet, and there is very reasonably priced skiing and ski hire.
For anyone who has skied in Europe, once you try this Colorado gem, you will never ski anywhere else. Aspen was originally founded as a mining town in the late 19th Century during the silver boom in Colorado, but is now known as a glitzy playground for the stars. Country singer John Denver came for a holiday and ended up buying a place. He even wrote two songs about the town.
Aspen attracts a Who’s Who of Hollywood and walking down Main Street is like walking the red carpet at the Oscars. Jack Nicholson, Kevin Costner, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell all have homes here. Michael Douglas even proposed to Catherine ZetaJones at his ranch outside the town. Mariah Carey spends her Christmas breaks here with her family. Frequent visitor Elle Macpherson tells me why she’s a fan: “Aspen is special to me because it’s home away from home.
“I love the people, the lifestyle, the restaurants and the weather.
“The skiing is some of the best in the world and summer biking and hiking is magical.”
Four picturesque mountains make up the Aspen Ski resort area – Aspen Mountain, also known as Ajax, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk. You can enjoy more than 300 ski trails with varying degrees of difficulty and elevations of almost 13,000ft. There is a mountain for all levels. So get your ski clothes ready – no excuses. There are no lift queues and the pistes are wide open and crowd-free.
The Aspen Skiing Co. has
the best ski instructors that will guide you through all the beautiful scenic views and won’t let you get lost.
At the beginning of our trip, my wife Brianna and I had the pleasure of checking into the stunning and exclusive Viceroy Snowmass, a ski-in/ski-out resort just a few miles from downtown Aspen.
Perfect for couples, families and friends, it offers slope-side lodgings and has a ski concierge, where you can rent your equipment (they will even warm your boots). The staff are delightful and the rooms are beyond luxurious.
We also dined at Toro Kitchen & Lounge. The steak and fish are delightful and the menu is pan-latin inspired by acclaimed chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval.
The rest of our trip we stayed in downtown Aspen at the cozy Limelight Hotel, which offers a free continental breakfast every morning.
They also have live music in the lounge in the evenings. The rooms are spacious suites and have great views of the town and Ajax mountain.
While we were there, a new restaurant opened called Bosq. Talk about exquisite! There’s an Aspen saying: “Come for winter and stay for the summer.” We wish we could stay forever.