Aspen
We can all agree that February is kiiinda the worst, right? It’s freezing, we’re told whether we get 6 more weeks of winter or not, and it ironically being the shortest month of the year — it. is. SLOW. But! This also makes it the perfect time to travel. Traveling, even for a few days, gave me something to look forward to this month. Which brings us to: Aspen, Colorado baby!
The destination was the result of a belated 30th birthday celebration of a dear friend so spending time with close pals filled my cup and was ultimately the best part of the whole trip. Experiencing somewhere new with them really made this extra special to me!
So, first thing’s first: SKIING. You can choose where you want to shred in Aspen from 4 different mountains: Aspen, Snowmass, Buttermilk, and Highlands. We chose to spend our 2 days on the slopes at Snowmass! It’s true that you can spend your entire vacation there — resorts, condos, restaurants, and plenty of mountain to ski and snowboard on. This one had more easy runs which made me feel more comfortable as I had only skied twice at this point.
The bluest skies made for the perfect few days in Aspen. Our AirBnB had a beautiful view of Sopris Mountain with a (frozen) pond and cozy fireplace. After flying over the snow-capped Rockies, we hit the town with a late lunch at White House Tavern. The shopping scene in Aspen is… as you would expect (expensive) — however, we still popped in places like Amber’s Consignment Shop, Sugar Sweet Clothing, Aspen T-Shirt Company, and Wyld Blue Aspen.
The following day was spent in Snowmass with a quick lunch at Elk Camp! What I loved about this place was the convenience of hopping on and off the slopes and how wide the runs were. I felt at total ease knowing there was a very small chance of running into anyone.
Taking a break from the all-day workout of skiing, we took the next day to relax our bodies at Iron Mountain Hot Springs. Like most places, this spot requires a reservation and those time slots fill up quick! We had a 2.5 hour time slot and a locker was provided along with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash when you shower off afterwards. A bar serving hot drinks near the pools made for a lovely morning.
A delicious lunch at Jalisco Grill and then a couple of beers from Aspen Brewing Company rounded out our afternoon. Finally, we ended the day with the birthday dinner at Ajax Tavern (please make note that the shareable parmesan truffle fries is enough to feed 9 people).
Our last full day was once again spent on Snowmass with more unbelievable views. A hearty lunch at Base Camp and finally indulging in Aprés Ski — our location of choice was Ranger Station. The lifts & gondolas stop at 3:30 p.m. every day so spending the rest of the afternoon with cocktails is my kinda culture.
We rented all of our gear from Four Mountain Sports (boots, helmet, skis, and poles) which has a couple of locations around Snowmass so it was easy to grab before hitting the slopes - they also let you take them home the day before so you don’t have to mess with standing in lines the day of!
Luckily we didn’t battle altitude sickness, but did have a few headaches here and there as the result of not hydrating enough and my skin has never been drier, but the cold temps didn’t keep us down! Aspen was simply fabulous and would definitely recommend to any ski lover. Let’s see what mountains I’ll hit next!
“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
