🚀 go-pugleaf

   I just got back from a week-long stay at Aspen Mountain.  I came in
with a storm on Sunday, 1/5 which provided about a half a foot of fresh
powder to Ajax and about a foot or so to Snowmass, with some amount in
between these two levels at Aspen Highlands.  By Saturday, 1/11, Ajax
was pretty skiied off and there were many rocks -- enough to close down
about 10 runs.  (Personally, I destroyed my bases coming down Jackpot).
The lack of snow was not so noticable at the Highlands or at Snowmass,
although both areas did exhibit extensive lift lines (~10-15 minutes)
in some areas.  My impressions of these three areas pretty much match
others' stated over the last couple weeks, although I must admit that
I don't think that Ajax is really "70% advanced, 30% intermediate"; many
of the "advanced" runs at Ajax are less difficult than some of the "inter-
mediate" runs at the Highlands, and the "advanced" runs at Snowmass are
actually slightly steeper versions of the intermediate runs there.  I
didn't get a chance to take the "expert only runs", though, because they were
all closed off due to the paucity of snow.  Anyway, my conclusions for
the higher-level skiiers out in Netland are -- "try the Highlands if you
want ROUGH and TOUGH slopes."  Aspen and Snowmass are both very nice places
which offer GREAT service; staff are very friendly at both places, and all
possible amenities are provided in order to make the skiing experience
more pleasurable (e.g. excellent quality food).  I didn't find the prices
to be unreasonable, given that most ski area prices are rediculously high
in the first place.  Aspen Highlands, however, provided distinctly less
in the way of 'frills'; staff were not as friendly, food was of poorer
quality, lifts were old and probably dangerous (I rode a ten minute PLATTER
lift as part of the transfer to the top area of the hill -- it's been
over TEN YEARS since I've even SEEN a platter lift, much less RIDDEN one!),
and lines were longer.  However, most of Aspen's true "locals" hang out at 
the Highlands (apparently because season passes are much cheaper there than
at Aspen), and I saw more truly good skiiers there than at either Snowmass
or Aspen Mountain per se.  Also, the runs tend to be cut in a more challenging
fashion; this leads to most runs being covered with choppy moguls, which
make skiing a good line through them very difficult, especially if one has
190+ cm skis.  In short:

     SNOWMASS for long, wide, mogul-less slopes (good for cruising at high
						 speed)
              Good for families because it's so big and has so much
	      variety.

     ASPEN MOUNTAIN ("Ajax") for steep, bumpy slopes -- not impossibly
			     hard to get down, though
              Good for better skiiers and celebrity-watchers.

     ASPEN HIGHLANDS for medium-length and width runs that can get pretty
		     steep but will almost certainly be cut with chopped-up
		     hairy moguls.  This is the place to go to if you REALLY
		     want to challenge your skills.
               Good for people with a lot of patience and who can deal with
	       less frills in exchange for less money; also good for people
	       who like to pretend to be locals (|-))

--Rob
-- 
        "first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"

		       --Rob Rosen

		       ...ucbvax!rosen
		       rosen@ucbvax.berkeley.edu