A ranking of the best places to ski in North America released in the November edition of Outside magazine ranks Aspen Highlands and Snowmass mountains together in its eighth slot, behind Vail (third) and Silverton (seventh) but ahead of Steamboat (10) and Telluride (12).
The five Colorado ski areas on the list represent more than any other state, although Alta/Snowbird in Utah tops the list and Whistler Blackcomb in Canada takes runner-up.
A photograph from last year’s Aspen Highlands closing party features prominently on page 58 of the magazine, and Aspen gets ridiculed for its off-mountain reputation (“Aspen takes a lot of hits for its garish displays of wealth. Most are well deserved.”)
Written by former Skiing magazine editor Marc Peruzzi, the stated criteria for the ranking is simply “snow quality and terrain.”
And Peruzzi specifically praises Highland Bowl in his brief write-up of the two local mountains: “The snow stays dry all season, and the lack of a lift, in conjunction with the 40- to-45-degree pitch, makes for fast, big-turn powder skiing with no bumps.”
Aspen’s write-up notes the “Utah-worthy” snowfall of recent winters here, and credits it cheekily as a karma return for the greening efforts of the Aspen Skiing Co. and its environmental guru Auden Schendler, who is featured in a four-page profile in the magazine’s “Code Green” column.
Outside praises Schendler for “setting the environmental agenda for the entire industry.”
Ski Magazine’s reader survey of the top 30 ski mountains, released last month, ranked Snowmass fourth, Aspen Mountain seventh and Aspen Highlands 18th.
