Aspen, Colorado boasts some of the world's best skiing, but winter is not the only season or reason to visit. From the stunning natural beauty of the mountain terrain to an equally impressive dining landscape, there is no place like Aspen. A distinctive blend of history, culture, festivals, sports and nightlife makes this Rocky Mountain town a world-class, year-round destination.
Location & Climate
Located in the White River National Forest, the heart of the Rocky Mountains, Aspen is 220 miles southwest of Denver. Most days in Aspen are clear and sunny, the 7,980-foot altitude translating to dry air and low humidity. (Indeed Aspen boasts an average of 300 days of sunshine annually!) Daytime winter temperatures range from 20 to 55 degrees, evening temperatures from 10 to 30 degrees. Daytime summer temperatures range from 65 to 85 degrees; evening from 50 to 65 degrees.
Getting To & Around Aspen
Aspen/Pitkin County Airport is served by United, Delta, Northwest and America West airlines and is located five miles from downtown.. Aspen is also accessible via Eagle Airport, a 75-mile drive from Aspen, as well as Denver International Airport, which is 208 miles away. Colorado Mountain Express offers shuttle service from Denver International Airport and CLS offers a private limousine and Suburban service from all major airports in Colorado.
Sports for All Seasons
In warm weather, recreational opportunities include: golfing on championship courses; outdoor tennis at several nearby courts; hiking along hundreds of scenic trails; guided and unguided horseback riding along mountain trails; and biking through the beautiful Rocky Mountain countryside. In addition visitors can take in fishing at the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan rivers, guided hunting trips, scenic skytours of the Aspen/Snowmass area, sunrise hot-air ballooning above lush green mountain peaks and whitewater rafting on the Colorado, Roaring Fork and Arkansas rivers.
During the winter, Aspen offers skiers and snowboarders the power of four. Four of the world's greatest mountains - Aspen, Buttermilk, Snowmass and Aspen Highlands - form one giant ski resort, which can be accessed with multi-mountain lift passes. Scenic cross-country trails are available for beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers. Private and group ski lessons can be tailored to individual levels of skill.
Other winter activities include exploring the surrounding mountains on snowshoes, gliding across the snow on horse-drawn sleighs and snowmobiling. Ice-skating also is available at Aspen Ice Gardens, an indoor rink open year-round, and at The Silver Circle, an outdoor rink open during the winter months. The Aspen Recreation Center also offers visitors access to a 32-foot climbing tower, aquatic center, NHL-size ice arena with grandstands, team, individual and family locker rooms, a youth center and five outdoor multi-use playing fields.
Dining
A premiere dining destination, Aspen features over 100 restaurants and bars that appeal to every palate. The place in Aspen for breakfast, Poppycock’s or the Weinerstub, and lunch, Boogie’s for burgers or Pacifica for enjoying fresh seafood on the patio. Throughout the summer months, diners take in breathtaking views of Aspen Mountain from Hotel Jerome's Garden Terrace while enjoying the distinctive American cuisine.
For more globally-inspired cuisine, visitors can feast on sushi at Kenichi and Matsuhisa, gorge on Italian dishes at Campo di Fiori and its sister establishment, Gusto, enjoy Mediterranean favorites at D19 or indulge in the true flavors of the French countryside at Rustique and Cache Cache.
Nightlife
When it comes to life after dark, there is plenty in Aspen with a host of trendy bars, live music venues, upscale lounges and spirited sports bars. The Hotel Jerome's saloon-like J-Bar has been Aspen's favorite watering hole for locals, visitors and celebrities since 1889. For a more relaxed atmosphere, the hotel's sophisticated lounge, The Library, serves premium liquors, fine wines and cigars in a warmly lit, comfortable setting. Night crawlers in search of a casual sports bar sample the attractions of Bentley's at the Wheeler or Eric's bar, while those in search of a dance floor can trip the light fantastic at Belly Up or Synergy. The Cigar Bar and the infamously exclusive Caribou Club offer a more cosmopolitan atmosphere.
Cultural Enrichment
Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke discovered Aspen while looking for the ideal setting in which to revitalize the mind, body and spirit. With the nationally acclaimed Aspen Art Museum, exceptional galleries, and spectacular annual festivals, Aspen fulfills Paepcke's dream and serves as the cultural Mecca of the Rockies. Seasonal events include the summer's internationally acclaimed Aspen Music Festival & School; Jazz Aspen/Snowmass, two, three-day festivals of jazz and world music; Aspen Santa Fe Ballet; the Food & Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen with dozens of celebrity chefs and wine experts, cooking demonstrations and tastings; and the winter's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, when the biggest names in the entertainment industry flock to Aspen to perform stand-up routines and sketch comedy. Other offerings include performances at the historic Wheeler Opera House, Aspen's beautiful Victorian theater; exhibitions of fine arts and architecture at the Aspen Art Museum; tours of Hallam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary; guided walking tours of downtown Aspen and the historic West End residential area conducted by Heritage Aspen.
Shopping
Aspen shopping is a sport all its own. A myriad of high-end boutiques and specialty stores are all within walking distance. Visitors in search of the finer things in life can stroll through Brioni, Bulgari, Chanel, Christian Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Prada boutiques. Aspen specialty stores Harmony Scott Jewlry, Chepita, Tomorrow’s Laundry, Polar Revolution, Performance Ski carry an eclectic array of designer brands to specialty items. Those who seek active wear look no further than regional favorites like the Ute Mountainer, Aspen Sports or The North Face. Shoppers can find a wide selection of fine art from sculpture, painting, glass, these pieces are hand selected by distinguished art conosouiers and made available in Aspen’s many fine art galleries
Brief Historical Background of Aspen
By Patricia Limerick
Professor of History, Colorado University
Archaeologists recently discovered that ancient people made their homes in the mountains near Aspen, Colorado 8,000 years ago. Ute Indian tradition says that these "Shining Mountains" have always been their homeland. First silver, and later near perfect snow conditions enticed more recent settlers to the Roaring Fork Valley.
Leadville was the second largest city in Colorado in 1879, when prospectors from Gothic and Leadville crossed the Continental Divide into the Ute’s summer hunting territory to discover one of the richest silver lodes the world has ever known. They named their camp Ute City, but by spring the name had been changed to Aspen.
Many mining camps were temporary settlements. Aspen had the winning combination of rich silver ores, two competing railroads, and ample investment from wealthy Victorian capitalists such as Jerome B. Wheeler, President of Macy’s Department Store and Cincinnati lawyer and businessman David Hyman. Aspen quickly became an urban, industrialized community with impressive architecture, leaving Independence, Ashcroft, Ruby and other camps to become ghost towns.
By 1891 the production of Aspen’s silver fields had surpassed even rival Leadville, making it the nation’s largest single silver producing mining district. By 1893 Aspen’s 12,000 residents had six newspapers, four schools, three banks, electric lights, a modern hospital, two theaters, an opera house, and a very small brothel district.
Aspen's fortunes fell with the U.S. government’s repeal of the Sherman Silver Act and the return to the gold standard in 1893. Ironically, one of the largest nuggets of native silver ever found was mined in 1894 in Aspen, weighing in at almost 2,200 pounds. With minimal commercial silver markets, Aspen survived as a rural county seat and ranching center as mining declined.
Just 700 people called Aspen home in 1935, when international outdoorsmen came to the Roaring Fork Valley in search of the ideal location for a ski resort. They hired the famous Swiss avalanche expert André Roch to develop a ski area based in the ghost town of Ashcroft, but had to cancel their plans with the outbreak of World War II. Meanwhile, André Roch and the enthusiastic Aspen Ski Club cut a race course on Aspen Mountain, served by a "Boat Tow"— two massive sleds pulled up the hill by an old mine hoist and a gas motor.
While plans for a ski resort were delayed by the War, later ski development was actually enhanced by the presence of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, training in nearby Camp Hale. Many soldiers skied in Aspen while on leave, and some, including Austrian Friedl Pfeifer, planned to return in peace time.
Pfeifer teamed up with Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke and his art patron wife Elizabeth. The Paepckes were interested in the community's potential as a summertime cultural center; Pfeifer hoped to build a ski resort on a par with Europe’s best.
In 1947 Aspen Mountain opened with the world’s longest ski lift. In 1949, Paepcke, with the University of Chicago, masterminded the Goethe Bicentennial Convocation in Aspen, celebrating the great humanist’s 200th birthday with international leaders, artists, and musicians. Aspen’s role as a cultural center was assured by the music, art, dance, theater, and international studies programs which developed from the Convocation. The very next year, Aspen became the first ski resort in America to host an international competition, precursor of today’s World Cup Races.
Three more mountains—Buttermilk (1958), Aspen Highlands (1958), and Snowmass (1968)—added to Aspen’s reputation as a premiere international resort, and Aspen flourished in summertime with the combination of climate, recreation, history, and culture. The unanticipated growth of an appealing community based on world class skiing and culture spurred a concerned local population to turn to zoning and later to adopt controversial growth control measures.
From hunting territory to mining city, through the “Quiet Years” as an agricultural center to the present, the history of Aspen is the story of a town of changing economies with a distinct mix of locals and visitors, recreation and culture, landscape and sport.
“The lessons of the Western past appear in complex layers in the Roaring Fork Valley. From the impermanence of the traditional extractive economy to the benefits and costs of the contemporary tourist economy, understanding Aspen means understanding crucial regional issues. American society’s makers of decisions and makers of images have a way of hanging out in Aspen, and what they learn about the West in that town could indeed shape the way they behave toward the region.”
To learn more about Aspen’s rich history, please visit the Aspen Historical Society at www.aspenhistory.org
No comments:
Post a Comment