172 miles W of Denver, 130 miles E of Grand Junction
Like Vail, Aspen's reputation precedes it. Anyone with a pulse knows that it's more than likely to wind up in the tabloids when two celebrities -- who are married to other people -- are captured on film sharing a chairlift together; and, yes, plenty of Hollywood stars and wannabe stars hang out here.
However, if you take the time to dig beneath the media hype, you may be surprised by what you find. Aspen, at an elevation of 7,908 feet, is a real town with a fascinating history, some great old buildings, and spectacular mountain scenery. If you're a serious skier, you owe yourself at least a few days' worth of hitting the slopes (as if you need us to tell you that); but if you've never strapped on boards and you're thinking of visiting in summer, you'll be doubly pleased: Prices are significantly lower, and the crowds thin out. Many of the fabulous restaurants are still open, the surrounding forests are teeming with great trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, and it becomes one of the best destinations in the country for summer music and dance festivals.
Aspen was "discovered" when silver miners from nearby Leadville wandered a bit further afield. When the Smuggler Mine produced the world's largest silver nugget (1,840 lb.), prospectors started heading to Aspen in droves. The city soon had 12,000 citizens -- but just as quickly the population dwindled to one-tenth that number after the 1893 silver crash.
It took almost 50 years for Aspen to begin its comeback, which came as a result of another natural resource -- snow. Shortly before World War II, a small ski area was established on the mountain now known as Ajax. During the war, 10th Mountain Division ski-soldiers training near Leadville spent weekends in Aspen and were enthralled with its possibilities. An infusion of money in 1945 by Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke, who moved to Aspen with his wife, Elizabeth, resulted in the construction of what was then the world's longest chairlift. The Aspen Skiing Corporation (now Company) was founded the following year, and in 1950 Aspen hosted the alpine world skiing championships. Then came the opening in 1958 of Buttermilk Mountain and Highlands, and in 1967, the birth of Snowmass.
The Paepckes' vision of the resort was not exclusively commercial, however. They saw Aspen as a year-round intellectual and artistic community that would nourish the minds and spirits as well as the bodies of those who visited. Chief among their accomplishments was the establishment of the Aspen Music Festival. A love of ideas and high-minded discourse attracted the likes of Thornton Wilder and Albert Schweitzer to the community, and today a wide variety of intellectual types, artists, and writers (and yes, even those annoying Hollywood people) make this town of almost 6,000 their full- or part-time home.
