Post: #1

Right now I’m sitting on a bunch of Ski Town datasheets. I was going to do a big thread including all of them, but it would be too long so I’m just going to break it down by town over the next couple weeks.

For the purpose of this data sheet, I’m going to assume the reader is planning on skiing/snowboarding during their visit. Traveling to Aspen solely to run game is something I simply can't recommend.

ASPEN:

Aspen is a world class, high end ski town without counterpart in North America (even Lake Louise/Banff, Vail, Sun Valley and Whistler don’t measure up) and has a reputation on par with the likes of Chamonix and St. Moritz. Like many high end ski towns, you’re likely to see a wide range of the ultra rich, tourists of all types, blue collar workers, and ski bums (half of which are trustifarians, half of which are actually poor ski bums).

Although small, Aspen is a great blend of people, one of the only places you’ll encounter full length fur coats and full length beards regularly. Personally I think the reputation Aspen has as an uppity, snobby town full of socialites is off the mark. While there is a contingent of old money there, the lifestyle is also very much young and vibrant. The town is full of cool history, and on a larger scale has been pivotal in the evolution of winter sports as a whole.

Girls:

Like every ski town, the ratio is heavily male. Trying to pull in a ski town is doable, but realistically it would be a bonus to your trip rather than the purpose of it. Also like many ski towns, Aspen has a seasonal population of South Americans and Kiwi’s/Aussies that work the ski resort and restaurants. My personal opinion is that your best bet is to pull girls that are also on vacation in Aspen. Small town locals generally aren’t out to bang tourists, lest they get a reputation as the town slut.

Meeting girls while skiing/boarding is a great move. Ride the singles line, and eventually you’ll share a chairlift ride with a couple cute girls, who you can meet up with later. Nice thing about Aspen is that everything is close together, so if you meet her on the mountain, the logistics around meeting up with her that night are favorable.

Opening girls on the mountain, or inside the various on-mountain restaurants bars is also a good play. It’s smooth and natural: “hey do you know how to get to XYZ trail from here?” and then transitioning into the instadate of “cool well let’s go take a run together.” Of course, it helps if you know what the hell you’re doing on skis or a snowboard.


The Mountains:

Aspen has four mountains for skiing and snowboarding: Aspen Mountain (locally known as Ajax), Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass. Cool thing here is that your lift ticket will work at any of these four mountains. So if you buy lift tickets ahead of time (which will save you money) you can make the call day-of as to what mountain you want to hit up.

Ajax: The lifts run right off the streets of Aspen proper, so you can walk to them from most hotels in town.

Highlands and Buttermilk: both require a short drive or shuttle to get to from town. Buttermilk is known as a beginner mountain, and Highlands a much more advanced mountain.

Snowmass: first timers to Aspen are likely to be fooled by Aspen's marketing that Snowmass is in the town of Aspen itself. It’s not. By car it will take at least 20 minutes to drive to Snowmass from downtown Aspen, or you can take a bus which of course will take longer. Snowmass has its own village, complete with hotels and restaurants, but I am not familiar with this area.


Getting there:

Yes, you can fly into Aspen via commercial flight. However, this is a risky move to make between December-April. The airport sits at 8,000 feet and flights are regularly cancelled or diverted due to severe mountain weather.

Your best bet is to fly into Denver, and then make the 4 hour drive from the airport. There are also shuttle companies that serve the various ski resorts, but unless you want to sit in a van for 4 hours, just rent a car. The drive is extraordinarily scenic and you'll want to pull over to take some photos a few points along the way.

Alternatively you could fly into Grand Junction, but it’s still a 2 hour drive and your options are going to be limited for inbound flights and ground transportation. Worth noting: don’t depart Aspen for Denver Airport on a Sunday. Eastbound traffic out of the mountains on Sundays is notoriously bad, and that 4 hour drive will take you 6-8+ hours, depending on the weather.


Aspen Hotels:

The main play for Aspen is to stay as close to Ajax (the main mountain) as you possibly can. Avoid staying near Highlands, Snowmass or Buttermilk, as Aspen is a 100% walkable town - no alternate transportation is required.

Sky Hotel: hip and trendy, with reasonably priced rooms. The Sky is my top recommendation for players, as the ski lifts are steps away, the outdoor pool/jacuzzi/fireplaces are nicely set up, the guest age skews on the younger side so you’re unlikely to find families staying here, and most importantly it’s home to the swanky 39 Degrees lounge, which attracts a good crowd.

Limelight: One of the more popular hotels in Aspen for the younger crowd as well as families. Rooms are nicely setup but overall this place is a little too average for my taste. Access to town and ski lifts is great, so this is still a fine place to stay.

Hotel Jerome: Off the main strip a bit, and one of the oldest hotels in Aspen. Home to the J-Bar, which is worth a visit. Rooms are old world classic. It’s a beautiful hotel, don’t get me wrong, but I would not recommend it if your goals are either women or skiing.

St. Regis: legendary luxury Aspen hotel, attracts the wealthy and celebrity crowd. Rooms start around $1k/night, so if you have the cash, go for it.

Little Nell: Another top spot in Aspen. Highly regarded, but I do not have much experience with it.



Bars & Restaurants:

39 Degrees: this is a lounge/bar at the Sky Hotel. Nicely setup with swanky decor, dim lighting and leather couches. If you have a girl bring her here. If not, this is a decent place to potentially swoop as it attracts many of the hotel guests and those from surrounding hotels.

J-Bar: legendary bar at the Hotel Jerome. Hunter S Thompson used the J-Bar as his office back in the day. It’s a few blocks off the main drag, but absolutely worth a visit.

Little Annie’s: Funky place. It’s a blue jeans and flannel shirt kind of joint, but at night the bar is packed with people. Good place for the younger crowd to swing by for drinks and cheap food.

Justice Snow’s: upscale rustic lounge is how I would describe this place. It seems to be highly regarded but I have never experienced it really popping at night.

Belly Up: live music venue that brings in surprisingly good acts; Deadmau5, Tiesto, Nas, Wyclef, Snoop, and so on.

Johnny Mcguire's: Deli, cheap eats. Great place for when you need a quick bite.

Kenichi: Dope sushi spot, but I have heard that Matsuhisa blows these guys out on food quality.

Finbarr’s: Irish Pub. Good beer list but otherwise the food and atmosphere are unremarkable.


Overall - if you spend an hour walking around Aspen, you'll have the place figured out. It's small, charming, and an ideal vacation spot for the skier or snowboarder that has some cash to play around with. The nightlife is subject to change on a nightly basis, based on any number of factors. One night things will be popping, other nights the whole town feels dead.

Go to Aspen for the skiing, the food, the scenery and the luxury; if you swoop you swoop but like I said before, it should not be the main impetus for your visit.

Post: #2

No mention of Jimmy's? That place has a great early bar scene on the weekends in ski season which is where the majority of chicks will start their night. Great place to line them up for later. Go for the filet there, solid.

Caribou club- Private club where you may need to know a member or run game to get in but this is where the crème de la crème will go. Not cheap and expect to party with celebrities, CEOs and stunners.

Sky hotel- OP mentioned it but this needs to be stressed as THE place to be for apres ski. Get there around 3 or so and get a good table in the bar there. By 8 or 9 you very well may have chicks dancing on the tables and getting VERY loose. Prime swooping from here.

Datasheet was a good start, but still missing some details IMO.

Post: #3

Ski data sheets get no love, but I say lets keep them coming anyway.

These places are the hardest nuts to crack. Period. But with the right game plan they are epic beyond belief.

Its a strange phenomenon. On the one hand you have people that will do anything not to be considered a tourist. Yet the catch is that your best chances lay with the other tourists.

So the trick is to be on a knife edge of tourist info with local insights.

And I need to get down to CO and UT.

Post: #4

Pretty good data sheet. I've lived in aspen for a few years and am actually moving back for the next year or so. I would have to say that for the small size of the town women are above average. But yes, way more guys than girls, but most guys there suck at pulling.

As far as the caribou club mention. For sure not creme de la creme unless you're trying to pull 40 year old cougars. The creme de la creme in aspen are going to be the sexy South American girls that come in for the ski season. I can throw down a bunch more info if anyone wants to know anything else. The data sheet is pretty solid, but you've really left out the 3 hottest spots in town, and definitely easiest places to hook up and especially meet the foreign girls. Those three being:

Erics: it's really three different bars and a pool hall but everyone just knows it as erics. They also have a cigar bar which is one of the few bars you can smoke indoors in colorado.

Escobar: as close as it gets to a club in aspen. This and the next will by far be the easiest places in town to score some strange.

The Regal: this place probably gets the most traffic. It seems like everyone there is sick of it, but they still keep coming back. Definitely going to be. The #1 bet if you want to hook up.

Little Annie's was a great spot for a cheap drink, but unfortunately it's closed now. And yes, Jimmy's is great as qwest mentioned. I definitely wouldn't say most chicks start there, but they can be found, but again a lot of times it can be a bit of an older crowd. They have a salsa night and the food is great. The sky is fun, especially Sundays, but stay out of the pool. It's dirty as shit, my friend got a staff infection from it.

Post: #5

As far as riding is concerned, my favorite mountain is snowmass. It has everything. A great park and great back country, but the back country can be tricky to find and navigate through. Ajax gets skied out way too fast. Highlands has the bowl, which is great, but unless your acclimated and pretty hardcore, you probably won't want to do the hike. Most tourists or a few times a year skiers won't want to do the bowl. Buttermilk is only good if you like park. Keep in mind, all 4 mountains have easy bus rides you can catch and all are free. I would still agree though that you should stay in aspen for logistical reasons. I can't tell you how many times I haven't gotten laid simply for the fact that I lived in snowmass. No bitches want to take the bus to snowmass at 2:15 to bang you and then have to do the bus ride of shame in the morning.

Luckily this time around I have a place right in town, which I've never really lived downtown before. I feel this season being a good one with lots of South American pussy coming my way. Last time I was in town I had this salvadorian girl all over my shit, when a guy I was with was the one who brought her out. I told her I couldn't fuck with her that night because the guy I was with had brought her out, and me and him have had incidents before with girls (the first time I met him I was all over his girls shit and we were flirting hard because I was drunk and didn't give a shit. We have lots of mutual friends and I later apologized). I told her I'd be back in a couple months. There are so many easy, fine South American girls there. I can't wait for this season.

Post: #6

Snowmass for the win. It's the only one I've been to, but for beginners it is a blast. Long, easy trails that you can actually enjoy instead of spending all your time on the lift. Also, some hotels have an outdoor hot tub that is pure bliss after a day of bruising on the mountain.

I think some pricing information would be appropriate. Between lodging, rentals, and lift tickets you are liable to spend $500 for a couple of days. Has anyone stayed at that hostel near Snowmass village?

Post: #7

Snowmass is my favorite mountain for sure and it does have everything, but it wouldn't be wise to stay in snowmass. There are only a few bars. And being realistic, plan on spending $500 a day, not in a couple days. Lift tickets alone are $120, and you'd be hard pressed to find a room under $500. Then you have expensive food and drinks. The least I could see someone spending if sharing a hotel with two others would be $3-400. For lodging though, stay in aspen and take that 30 minute free bus ride to snowmass to ride. Like I said, unless the girl you want to bang happens a to live in snowmass, you're cock blocking yourself staying there.

I've never heard of a hostel near snowmass village. I've heard of one in aspen, but still have no idea where it actually is. That may be your only bet at a somewhat cheap trip to aspen, but realistically, unless you have somewhere to stay, there's no way around dropping a grand for a 3-4 day ski trip.

Post: #8

(11-12-2013 12:22 AM)Laner Wrote:  Ski data sheets get no love, but I say lets keep them coming anyway.

These places are the hardest nuts to crack. Period. But with the right game plan they are epic beyond belief.

(11-12-2013 02:45 AM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  Pretty good data sheet. I've lived in aspen for a few years and am actually moving back for the next year or so. I would have to say that for the small size of the town women are above average. But yes, way more guys than girls, but most guys there suck at pulling.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I knew I would be leaving out some spots in my data sheet, but there is so little info on ski towns on RVF that I thought my take would still be valuable.

In fact I think InternationPlayboy is the only one on here to have written about Aspen, and that was a couple years ago. Which is a shame since Aspen really is unlike any other place in the states.

Regarding the cost...I agree that you're going to be spending $500/day, easily. That would actually be a tight budget for an Aspen trip. Aspen is definitely not the place to visit unless you have the cash to play around with - it would be a waste to get all the way there and then not take advantage of the options at hand. Especially in CO/UT, which host plenty of affordable ski towns with great riding and a good party atmosphere.

I've never hit up Snowmass but I hear only good things, it's on the short list for this year. Ajax never really did much for me, the novelty of the mountain being in town wears off pretty quick. Highlands bowl is a lot of fun if you're down to hike, but these days that's the move for most Colorado places that are popular, you've got to hike your ass off to get the goods but it's always worth it.

I've spent a lot of time in Vail, Beaver Creek, Telluride, etc. and could draft up some datasheets for those places if guys are interested, even though I hate Vail with a passion.

Post: #9

Yeah, good look on the mountain town data sheet. I tried throwing up a big list of spots all over colorado a few years back but not many people were interested. Aspen is truly unique. There's nowhere like it. It almost feels more European to me than American, but then again I've never been to Europe, but that's just the vibe I get from it. If you head up this winter shoot me over a message, I'll show you a good time.

I also want to know, what's your take on it being snobby? In other parts of co everyone assumes people from aspen are snobby dicks because there's a lot of money there, but I actually find people to be super nice, even most of the rich ones. Not to mention a lot of the snobby rich types have houses there but only end up spending a month or two a year there. I personally have a handful of trust finder friends and they're all great people.

Post: #10

Post away fellas! There are a few of us on here that would appreciate the data.

I can do (besides Whistler):

- Baker
- Revelstoke
- Fernie
- Jasper
- Banff

I also did:

- Trysil, Norway
- Cortina, Italy

Can do (international):

- Yuzawa, Japan (2008)
- Hakuba, Japan (2008)
- Kaprun, Austria

There are others but my data would be strictly mountain info, as the village guides are all forgotten.

Post: #11

Nice laner, I want to check out that whistler one later on. I'm jammed up at the moment.

Post: #12

(11-13-2013 03:14 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  Yeah, good look on the mountain town data sheet. I tried throwing up a big list of spots all over colorado a few years back but not many people were interested. Aspen is truly unique. There's nowhere like it. It almost feels more European to me than American, but then again I've never been to Europe, but that's just the vibe I get from it. If you head up this winter shoot me over a message, I'll show you a good time.

I also want to know, what's your take on it being snobby?

Yeah your CO datasheet pretty much nailed all the spots. Maybe I will just add into that thread some additional places people might be interested in checking out.

I'll definitely hit you up if/when I make it out there this season, too fun of a place to pass up.

I agree that Aspen has a bad reputation as being a "snobby" town. I think Boulder and Vail are 100x snobbier than Aspen as far as Colorado towns go. To me Aspen has a vibe similar to Sun Valley, Idaho - there are super wealthy people there, but they tend to be down to earth, good people. So yeah I've never had an experience in Aspen that left me with a sour taste in my mouth or anything like that.

It's the same feeling I got on my first trip NYC - popular culture had me believe that everyone in NYC was rude and an asshole, but the opposite turned out to be true.

(11-13-2013 03:24 PM)Laner Wrote:  Post away fellas! There are a few of us on here that would appreciate the data.

I can do :


- Revelstoke

- Hakuba, Japan (2008)

Revy is an unbelievable mountain, but as far as a datasheet goes would there be all that much to write?

Would love to hear your thoughts on Hakuba...that place has legendary snow. What's the town like? Any nightlife? Worth the trip from North America?

Post: #13

I can do Chamonix, Zermatt (especially Zermatt), les Deux-Alpes, Grenoble and Tremblant

Post: #14

I'm a pure pot head and love to snowboard, so now that weeds legal where is the best place in Your opinion to since you been to a few ski towns for chicks, snow boarding decent hip hop spots, and weed shops. Tryn to setup something for me and my buds this winter and cannot decide as I've never been near Colorado. Thanks!!!

Post: #15

Dude, you can't go wrong with aspen for nightlife, girls, skiing, and weed. It had it all. Should be able to buy in the pot shops January 1st. I've never been to a mountain town with the vibe aspen has. The girls are top notch for a ski resort town, which isn't saying a ton, but I honestly felt the girls in aspen were better than girls in Denver because aspen you can find girls from all over.

Post: #16

Quote:Has anyone stayed at that hostel near Snowmass village?

The hostel I was referring to is St Moritz Lodge. It is not in snowmass, but in aspen mountain. The price is $48/night for a total of 160.27 for three nights. I am going to be there Thursday and Friday, if anyone wants to meet up for a drink.

Post: #17

Quote:Revy is an unbelievable mountain, but as far as a datasheet goes would there be all that much to write?

Would love to hear your thoughts on Hakuba...that place has legendary snow. What's the town like? Any nightlife? Worth the trip from North America?

Yeah Revelstoke is small, but all the same there are certain nights that will have the talent. The night will always end in the same places, but earlier on in the evening it is tougher to know where to go.

I will be there in a couple weeks for some skiing. I can do a refresher then.

Hakuba can get some of the biggest dumps of snow in the world. The ski culture in Japan is weird though. There is no real apres culture, most of the fun happens at the little inns. Its a group sport, where they travel in a group, ski together, and sit around short tables and pound sake.

There was a bit more of a Western ski culture in Yuzawa, and I hear Niseko in Hokkaido is even more dominated by Australia and Canada.

Traveling across the world for skiing has its risks if you only have a week or two. I have snowluck on my side for some reason, but others seem to have the opposite. Some friends visited me here from Austria and we were meant to ski Whistler. They ended up with the only bluebird two weeks in almost the whole winter. Ended up skiing Baker (my favorite) instead.

I would say Japan is a safe bet for travel in the December January season. Was there in April once and a storm dropped 2m of pow. I have some pics of us digging out our truck. Insane.

Post: #18

Just got back from my Thanksgiving trip to Aspen. Below are some notes. Thanks OP, your list was really helpful.

I stayed at St Moritz Lodge, which was fantastic. I had the whole room to myself. Not a lot of people here on Thanksgiving, mostly European dudes and couples. The place is ridiculously quiet, probably because of the beginning of the season. Breakfast is good, cereal and fruit. After breakfast there is coffee and cookies and at night they have free wine. Also there is a jacuzzi outside, must be a standard feature of Aspen lodging.

My major expenses for two days (three nights)
Lodging: $160
Lift tickets: $163
Rentals: $86
+ food, alcohol, and gas

There is a ski/board rental place downtown (with a 20% discount if you are staying at St Moritz) and a free shuttle to Snowmass across the street from there. McDonalds and a grocery store are also walking distance from the hostel. The restaurants are fine, but super expensive (three shrimp on a skewer cost me $7).

Jimmy's is cool, really expensive, but their steak is huge. There is a $28 drink that includes a giant ice sphere in your glass. They mold it right at the bar with this giant copper press.

Red onion is a locals hangout, mostly dudes, but the drinks are cheap(er). On a Friday night I saw a lot of people go there after the other bars.

Little Annie's is another local favorite, with an even smaller bar, but they sell beer by the pitcher. Oh and the best part, a giant barrel of popcorn.

Sky hotel is fancy. That bar downstairs had a $20 cover and $7 rum drinks on special. Pretty dead at 8pm. I think I saw a family with a baby there. It was a waste of money for me that night. I left, came back later, and it was still dead.

Finnbar - the Irish place, surprisingly popular. Probably the best place as far as the amount of talent.

J bar is not bad logistically, but there were literally 6 people there. Specials include, free pitcher of beer with a purchase of wings. I made out with a Lithuanian divorce there, but it has probably more to do with luck than venue selection.

Honorable mention: Belly Up - I've met a freaky cougar there a few years ago.


OP is absolutely right, do not come here for the girls, come for the slopes.

Post: #19

Hey one-two, sorry I never got back to you. Right now was a bad time, I'm real busy because I just got to town, have a lot going on.

As far as not being a ton of people, it's really early in the season, town is dead. As far as girls, same reason. I wouldn't necissarily say don't go for the girls. There are a ton of hot South American girls here once the season picks up. It's no Miami beach but I'd say it's probably better than Denver per capita, just a little worse ratios. If any ski town is a town for girls, aspen would be the one. You should try and come back in January if you live close. Do you live in CO?

Post: #20

@BlurreSevens - nice data sheet. Never skied Aspen but always wanted to.

Q. why do you hate Vail so much? I was there years ago as a kid and loved the back bowls, and thought given the massive amount of skiing acerage and the international crowd that goes there that it would be an ok place, but I guess I'm wrong. Just wondering thanks.

Post: #21

Vail gets too crowded from what I hear. I highly doubt it goes off like aspen at night either. I haven't been to vail, but been to copper, and when I was there I waited in 30 minute lift lines. I'd have to assume vail probably has this problem too. The nice thing about aspen is it's close to an hour off I-70 and has 4 mountains. Plus it's mad expensive. For these 3 reasons, you almost never wait in line more than ten minutes, and that may happen 3 or 4 days out of the whole year. Usually you're getting right on the lift in under a minute depending where you're riding. I have heard Vail is a nice mountain to ride though. I'll have to check it out one day.

Post: #22

InternationPlayboy, no problem. I live in Detroit, so this was a hell of a drive for me. I'd love to come back in January, but this time I'll fly into Denver and drive from there.

Post: #23

I used to go skiing in aspen every year as a grom and teenager. The snow was always insane and the atmosphere in general was very "Swiss alps". As I got closer to 18 I would occasionally use a fake to get into venues, and I remember one in particular, on main st, that had a sweet dance floors downstairs and preppy daughters on vacation with their families. I wonder if it's still around...

Post: #24

^ pretty sure you're talking about what is now the regal. Depending on how long ago it was it may have been lava, a buddy of mine used to own it.

Post: #25

Skiing/boarding pickup works best with a good skier/friend who's a wingman. You enjoy the slopes during the day, chatting up pairs/groups of chicks on the freestyle terrain and on lift lines, in lodges and on the lift. Hang out on the slopes with them, have fun, tease the way they ski in most scenarios. Then make plans to meet later that night at a bar.

Having a buddy who's a good skier/boarder makes it fun on the slopes and you never find solo girls on the slopes so a pair + pair works well!

I've noticed ski towns often have one "hot spot" that rotates every night, so it will seem like all the bars are dead, but everyone goes to one place, which rotates every night.

Love it!!!!