Snowmass / Aspen Colorado Snowboarding

Snowmass is located 165 miles west of Denver on I-70 then 40 miles south on Hwy 82, 10 miles from Aspen. Snowmass is served by a local airport from Aspen. Other airports include Eagle/Vail, Grand Junction, Denver. From Glenwood Springs, Highway 82 can be taken to Snowmass.

Winter activities include skiing, snowboarding, tubing, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, 10th Mountain Division hut tours, sledding, dogsled rides, sleigh rides, snowmobiling, fly fishing, balloon rides, fine dining, shopping, and, of course, relaxing.

Snowmass is one of four different mountains that offer excellent choices for all ability levels. Come ski Aspen Mountain (Ajax), Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass.

Some say that Snowmass is the best skiing mountain in the United States. It is relatively uncrowded; it has great snow conditions with powder often and sun almost incessantly. Snowmass has a truly amazing trail system with interesting and varied runs. Arguably, Snowmass has a genius overall design with convenient and well-placed lifts.

Snowmass is the place for a family with kids, because it doesn't have as much expert terrain as other mountains. Snowmass devotes a lot of its trails to blue cruisers or green beginners. So bring your kids to Snowmass.

Skiing and snowboarding Snowmass means satisfaction for ability levels ranging from Beginner (even to never having skied before) to Expert (those who only ski off-piste and backcountry).

Runs to die for include Long Shot, a long and wide run situated on Elk Camp and offering varied terrain, especially if it is not groomed; Bull run, adjacent to Long Shot, offers great intermediate bowl skiing with incredible views; and all runs on The Cirque area are excellent fun. Steep, interesting and challenging for most skiers, they are accessed by a poma surface lift.

Snowmass in short:
Endless cruisers, inbounds backcountry, parks, pipes, yee-haw steeps. Not to mention the longest lift-served vertical rise in the United States!
Season: November through April 14
Base elevation: 8,104 ft./2,473 m.
Summit elevation: 12,510 ft./3,813 m.
Vertical rise: 4,406 ft./1,343 m.
Terrain: 3,010 acres/1,218 hectares
Number of trails: 84
Miles/km of trails: 137 miles/220 km
Longest run: 5.05 miles/8.2 km
Trails: easiest 7%, more difficult 55%, most difficult 18%, expert20%.
Annual snowfall: 300 inches/762 cm
Snowmaking: 180 acres/73 hectares
Lifts: 20 Total: 18 primary; 7 high-speed quad chairs, 5 double chairs, 2 triple chairs, 2 platter pulls, 2 magic carpets; 2 secondary, 1 double (Naked Lady), 1 platter pull (Cirque).
Lift capacity: 27,978 riders/hour
Pipes and Parks: 2 halfpipes and 3 terrain parks.
Uncrowded slopes: On average 2 people per acre/5 people per hectare.
Best known for: A family-friendly area with long, groomed cruising runs.
Best-kept secret: Two Creeks base area (three miles east of Village Mall) houses a lift ticket office and rental shop, and offers easy, uncrowded access to the mountain. Snowmass is a snowboarders' haven with a Super Dragon halfpipe and acres of terrain-park riding.

Contact: 800-SNOWMASS (766-9627)