One of my favorite views from any resort... Pyramid Peak and the Maroon Bells from Aspen Highlands
After COVID cancelled last year's Gathering at Aspen (though a handful of us still went), it was decided to keep things at Aspen for 2022. While prices were up, travel had gotten a bit easier, and Aspen is always a great destination. So a bunch of us headed off to hopefully ski, drink, eat, and have a great time. And it worked! I skied six days with a lot of ski friends (and a few snowboard friends) and really enjoyed the hell out of everything, as usual. Aspen is probably my favorite ski destination among all the places I've been, and even with a bit of a lean snow year, it didn't disappoint.
The schedule was to ski three of the mountains, and with a tweak during the Gathering, we did 3 days at Snowmass, 2 days at Highlands, and 1 day at Ajax. Things kicked off on Day 1 with the morning meetup at Snowmass.
The bridge to the Assay Hill lift from Woodbridge condos. An easy walk in the morning, and ski back.
First morning! @Brock Tice, @Dean, @P-Ute, @jimmy, @Tony S, @SKI-3PO, @theNitza, @SkiDB
@Rainbow Jenny hasn't been to a Gathering in a while, and got a warm welcome, L-to-R: on the edge is @Phelmut, @Dean, @Gary Stolt, @P-Ute, @jimmy, @Rainbow Jenny, @SKI-3PO, a bit of @Tony S, @Unpiste, and @theNitza
@Tony S, in the middle, with everyone chatting to start the day
Now I was there only to say hello to everyone, as my luggage (suitcase and bootbag) still hadn't arrived from my flight the prior morning. Oddly, I had my skis, but that didn't do me much good with no clothing, boots, helmet, etc. So I spent the day running to the airport to check on and eventually pick up my bags as they came in (on different flights). But around 1:00 I had everything and headed out to the slopes... I caught up with a few SkiTalkers and my roommates for a handful of runs. Not the greatest day, but I was thankful to be skiing!
First bump sighting under Elk Camp lift
My roommates! Steve would join us a little later in the week... me, @MattSmith, Whitney, and Jess
The view from Elk Camp... it's hard to beat the scenery among the various Aspen Mountains, IMO
That night, my roommates and I went to a Drive-By Truckers show at the Belly Up in Aspen. It's a neat venue and a great place to see a show. It's the right size, has tiered seating, and was a lot of fun. If you're interested in going, I'd recommend it.
Drive-By Truckers at The Belly-up in Aspen
Day 2 was the first at Aspen Highlands. It's typically a Gathering favorite, whether for hiking the Bowl, or lapping Deep Temerity, or a number of other tree, bump, and cruising runs. We started the morning skiing in the sun, with some fast laps off Loge lift, then after a short break (and some cornhole for the Minks) we headed to Thunder Bowl and Golden Horn. Huge open groomers that are usually in great shape... and were terrific both mornings at Highlands as they get morning sun too. I got a bunch of pics of SkiTalkers ripping the groomer below...
Aspen Highlands in the morning makes me smile
Lots of SkiTalkers... @Andy Mink, @P-Ute, @AKMINK 's back, @Brock Tice, @Dean, @KevinF, @Philpug, @theNitza, @Gary Stolt, @David Chaus, @Noodler, @SKI-3PO, @Rainbow Jenny, Lescek, @Unpiste
@jimmy, @AKMINK, and @Andy Mink on Golden Horn
Me and @David Chaus on the morning runs
@Unpiste and @Tony S
First view of Highland Bowl
Part of the morning crew... @Jim Kenney, @Rainbow Jenny, @TheArchitect (with @mdf behind I think), @Noodler (with @Phelmut behind), @jimmy, @SkiDB, @SKI-3PO
The view from the top of Face of Oly, off of Loge lift
Quick pit stop break after some runs... and cornhole!
Then back over to Thunder Bowl/Golden Horn...
@SkiDB
@MattSmith
@Rainbow Jenny
@theNitza
@Tony S
@Tony S, with @Unpiste, and @SKI-3PO following
@SKI-3PO with @Gary Stolt following
@Gary Stolt
@Philpug
@mdf
Of course, we also had to go out to the patrol deck at the top and take in the views, and get some pics...
Jess and Whitney with Highland Bowl
@Philpug, Whitney, Jess, @AKMINK, @Andy Mink, me, @Tricia, with @TheArchitect in front
Day 3 the next day was supposed to be Ajax, but we pivoted and did Snowmass again. Since it's larger than the others, it made sense to spend more time there. I spent a good amount of time in Big Burn, and then a few of us headed over to the Poma for the ride to the top. Some folks headed for the cirque, but I was heading for High Alpine, and then down to lunch. It's a bit of an adventure going that way, and I love the views up there (though didn't take too many pics this time).
The top of Big Burn and Powerline Glade... @MattSmith on the left
Matt was his typical dour, depressing self when skiing all week...
I love the easy trees and bumps in Powerline Glade... one of my favorite areas
And the snow stayed soft mostly - a pretty good storm a few days before we arrived really helped
Heading to the poma, we found a larger-than-usual line... but it moved OK without too many folks falling off...
Heading down the cat track past the top of the Cirque toward High Alpine
Whitney and Jess taking in the view... the poma is not always easy for snowboarders, but they both made it...
The afternoon was spent in the Alpine Springs area, and Elk Camp with some groomers, and some trees, and a few bumps, and more nice runs.
Some afternoon crew... @KevinF, @SkiDB, @P-Ute, and @David Chaus
Day 4 we were back at Highlands, and we started with Golden Horn/Thunder Bowl again... awesome as usual. Then back up for some more groomer runs. The day was absolutely beautiful though it was warming up, and would be pretty warm by lunchtime. A bunch of folks hiked the bowl on this day... and everyone loved it by all accounts. (I didn't do it yet - one of these days! I'm kind of regretting not doing it this time.) But it was a typically great day at Highlands.
@Unpiste, and @dovski (Attending his first Gathering for a couple of days)
I know Stockli is popular on here... but this random chair meeting was a bit ridiculous...
Groomer zoomer crew... @David Chaus, @dovski, @Dean, @theNitza, @Unpiste, @Tony S
Hard to not take pics of Highland Bowl
@Gary Stolt and @jimmy following
@jimmy
Sticker shot... with a bunch of them....
The bump run is Scarlett's... I've skied it quite a lot, but never very much of it before bailing. This time I made it about 2/3rds of the way, which was pretty good for me...
Day 5 was our one day at Ajax (Aspen Mountain). It was another pretty warm one, and just beautiful. The views over to Highlands and into town are great. Things were frozen up early, but softened later in that day. And I hit a bunch of fun runs. And saw a few interesting characters, as you sometimes do in Aspen.
The view of Highlands Bowl and Deep Temerity areas from the top of Ajax
Part of the Silver Queen gondola on Ajax, and some of the high groomers
@SkiDB, @Tony S, @SKI-3PO, and me
We made a bit of a wrong turn and wound up at the very slow Shadow Mountain lift... @Philpug and me
Lunch at Ajax... Steve here getting his inner Squirrel on...
Near table... @Gary Stolt, @mdf, @SkiDB... back table, Whitney, @dovski, @MattSmith, Steve
@MattSmith and @ChunderBlunder somewhere on Ajax
Whitney!
Steve!
The view down Spar Gulch to town from FIS lift
@MattSmith and Steve getting off FIS while we're on Ruthie's lift
The view from Ruthies of the airport and town, with Steve and Whitney
One of the local characters... I had to snap a pic... leopard onesie, aviator helmet, and a monoski!!
Heading for the bus stop after après... @MattSmith and me ... seems like a very Aspen-y pic
Finally, Day 6 was my last ski day, and back at Snowmass. For some reason, all my other Snowmass days (including prior trips) started on the right of the trail map, and moved to the left... so today we reversed that and skied Elk Camp first. It was a grey, re-frozen day, and early the runs in Elk Camp were foggy/flat-light, and hard as a rock if you went off the groomers. But things started to soften and were getting nice on some runs in Alpine Springs area a couple of runs later. We skied a few runs there, and a few off High Alpine. I completed all of Showcase bump run for the first time, and with only a couple of stops - which isn't that difficult for some but is a lot for me. The Taos Ski Weeks are paying off!
@TheArchitect heading for Showcase
@mdf heading for Showcase
Taking Green Cabin down past the Cirque
@MattSmith and Steve in some bumps
We skied back at the end of the last day, and Matt decided to make it the whole way to the building, grass and all....
après
Of course one of the most important parts of skiing is... not skiing... Because you're drinking... After skiing... Or if you want to be all French about it (as we often do)... après! Going to the various mountains also gives you various options for hanging out afterward.... In Snowmass, we hit the Ranger Station at Snowmass mall, happy hour at The Edge, and the sofas at Base Camp in the main village. At Highlands, not really having a village, the hangout is Highlands Alehouse, just off the snow at the base. And at Aspen, there's always the Ajax Tavern just next to the gondola which can be great people watching... but unfortunately was very crowded by the time we stopped. So we hoofed it a bit to Aspen Brewing Company which is a cool little spot to hangout along the street in town.
Highlands Alehouse - Front-to-Back... Steve, me, Jess, @MattSmith, Whitney, @SkiDB
Aspen Brewing - Whitney, Steve, @MattSmith, me
Flights
I prefer flying in to Aspen rather than Denver, to avoid the long drive. And in this case avoid getting a rental car. Others may choose to fly into Denver, or Eagle, and drive - especially since Aspen isn't particularly reliable. But I've gotten in just fine three times now - except for the delay with my bags this time. That was a bit inexplicable, since my bags were stuck in Dallas, and there are 4 or 5 American flights a day from there in the winter. But I got things eventually and everything worked out fine.
Lodging
We stayed at Woodbridge condos near Snowmass Village. It was a good spot - a bit away from the mountain, so it's a little cheaper, but still walkable to the lifts in the morning, and almost ski-in. Lodging everywhere around Aspen (and much of the west) was really up in price this year, so it wasn't exactly a good value... but it wasn't too bad to share the cost.
Thanks!!
Last, I'd like to thank @Philpug and @Tricia, everyone who came and I skied with (not going to attempt to name everyone), and especially my roommates @MattSmith, Whitney, Steve, and Jess... Thanks for a fantastic trip, and looking forward to seeing you all soon!
View of Snowmass from the plane... until next time...
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