Aspen Makes National geographic’S Best Ski Towns!
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Hype aside, Aspen is still the ski town all North American ski towns compare themselves to—and one of the few places that manages to be both hip and classic at the same time. Riddled with galleries and boutiques and coffeehouses and gourmet restaurants, this is where movie stars mingle with Olympic athletes and where full-length fur coats never go out of style. It’s undeniably ostentatious—and enough to make a dirtbag ski bum barf on his duck-taped Gore-Tex—but it may also be the world’s most sophisticated mountain town outside of Europe.
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The skiing and snowboarding’s not bad either. In fact, it’s as good as anywhere in Colorado, with four separate ski areas within a ten-mile radius catering to all abilities and tastes. Aspen Mountain is an expert’s playground—it literally has zero green runs—and one of the most consistently steep areas in Colorado. Its runs spill right into downtown. Snowmass is the mega-mountain with the second most vertical in the U.S. (though not skiable continuously) and terrain for everyone. Aspen Highlands is the local favorite and features the steepest terrain of the four. Buttermilk, with its ample greens and innovative ski school, is perfect for beginners. Lift tickets are good for all four mountains, which are easily reached from Aspen and each other by free shuttle buses.
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