ASPEN, Colo. (Oct. 4, 2022) – Aspen’s ski season kicks off on Nov. 24, and the ski lifts will run until Apr. 16, 2023.  During the winter season, Aspen is the ultimate destination for connecting with the outdoors in a vibrant town atmosphere that includes skiing, dining, shopping, and a thriving arts and culture calendar. Travelers will benefit from Aspen’s stunning landscapes, endless slopes, and Nordic/walking trails easily accessible from downtown. For information or reservations, visit www.aspenchamber.org or call (970) 925-1940. For media updates, visit https://aspenchamber.org/media. 

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Aspen is the ancestral home of the Ute Nation, to honor their heritage ACRA began the process of creating a Land Acknowledgementstatement specific to the organization. Many of the local arts & cultural organizations have begun implementing these statements as well.

UPDATED ASPEN PLEDGE + DONATION

By taking the Aspen Pledge, Aspen locals and visitors are committing themselves to be responsible citizens and ensuring that Aspen remains protected for generations to come. For every pledge signed, ACRA will make a donation of $18.80 (the year Aspen was founded, 1880) up to $50,000 to either the Independence Pass Foundation or Roaring Fork Valley Outdoor Volunteers, two organizations dedicated to preserving Aspen’s vast outdoors.

BIG NEWS

• The newly constructed Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies located on the Aspen Institute campus, will be open for its first winter season (official opening June 26, 2022) with their inaugural exhibit Herbert Bayer: an Introduction. A Landmark Exhibitioncelebrating Herbert Bayer’s artwork and legacy, on view through May 2023. The Bayer Center, which has complimentary admission and welcomes visitors Tuesdays – Saturdays from 12 – 5 p.m., preserves the art and legacy of Herbert Bayer, an influential modern artist and designer who studied and taught at the Bauhaus before emigrating from Germany to the United States in 1938. After relocating to Colorado in 1946, Bayer helped lead the postwar revitalization of the city of Aspen, shaped the early artistic and programmatic vision of the Aspen Institute, and designed the historic Aspen Meadows campus. More at https://thebayercenter.org/. 
• New for the 2022/23 season at Buttermilk, a $23 million investment will debut a transformed base area complete with a 9,000+ square-foot fully electric skier services building, a renovated and renamed Buttermilk Mountain Lodge restaurant, and The Backyard, a bar and heated outdoor patio. This major renovation will create a sustainable one-stop shop for guests to purchase tickets, dial in gear rentals, shop, and relax in the lounge. https://aspensnowmass.com.
• Colorado Historic Opera Houses Circuit –The first-ever Colorado Historic Opera Houses Circuit, is a joint promotion of five mountain opera houses, including Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House. The circuit seeks to attract visitors interested in history, arts and culture, live entertainment, and private event rentals. Learn more about the circuit here.
• Aspen Film has acquired the Isis Theatre, with an anticipated closing date of October 14. The theater will become a permanent exhibition home for the non-profit organization.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Wintersköl (Jan. 12 – 15, 2023) – Aspen’s annual “toast to winter” returns for the 72nd year. The four-day celebration features on-mountain activities, snow sculptures, a torchlight descent down Aspen Mountain, fireworks and more. 
• Aspen Gay Ski Week (Jan. 15 – 22, 2023) – Returning for the 46th consecutive year, Aspen Gay Ski Week is the premier LGBTQ+ winter event with a full schedule of events on-and-off the Aspen Snowmass mountains.
• X-Games Aspen (Jan. 27 – 29, 2023) Returning for its 22nd consecutive year, Winter X Games will take place on Buttermilk, with the top contenders in extreme snow sports.
• FIS Alpine Ski World Cup (March 3 – 5, 2023) – Aspen Snowmass welcomes the return of international ski racing this season with the Men’s World Cup. The top men in the world will compete on the America’s Downhill course on Aspen Mountain, an iconic World Cup venue with decades of racing history, with two downhills and a Super G.

HOTEL NEWS

• The Aspen Meadows Resort will debut renovated guest rooms just in time for ski season.  The resort, now under the management of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, will have a host of property-wide improvements over the next year.  The resort’s 98 rooms (all suites with living, working, and sleeping areas) will be completely overhauled in a multi-million-dollar refresh beginning this fall in a phased manner, with all the rooms fully completed by early 2023. Imagery will be available in mid-December. Further renovation work will be undertaken in 2023 at the resort’s welcome area and signature restaurant.
• The former Molly Gibson Lodge was razed and a new hotel is under construction – slated to open in fall 2023 in the iconic Main Street location.
• Future Development – Aspen Mountain Chalet, will be renovated by McGuire Moorman Hospitality, a partnership that specializes in boutique hotels and high-end restaurants. “We want to keep the heart and soul of it being a European-inspired chalet,” McGuire said.
• RH Hotel – The second RH Hotel is being constructed on the site of the former Crystal Palace, with some of the exterior of the Crystal Palace being incorporated into the design of this luxury boutique hotel. 

DINING NEWS

Aspen is known for its’ remarkable dining scene with more than 60  fine dining restaurants, brewpubs, and cafes. Following are notable new openings for the upcoming season:

• New! Rooftop Cafe at the Aspen Art Museum is now operated by The Farmer & Chef, a husband-and-wife team dedicated to localizing food systems one delicious plate at a time, with a new focus on genuinely local, organic food.
• Las Montañas, a Tex-Mex concept with Austin roots, opened late summer 2022 in the former Jimmy’s space serving fajitas, ceviche, margaritas, and other classics. (205 S. Mill St.)
• Parc Aspen will open Winter 2022 in the former L’Hostaria space, bringing a locally sourced, modern farm-to-table concept to the Aspen dining scene, with a bar menu. Owners Maryanne and Harley Sefton along with Executive Chef Mark Connell will offer three levels of dining: an affordably priced local’s bar, a contemporary fine dining room, and an experiential 12-person private dining space. (620 E. Hyman Ave)
• Sant Ambreous, an Italian Café and restaurant with New York locations, will open this winter offering refined Italian classics. (520 E. Hyman Ave)
• Madame Ushi, a Japanese steakhouse, bar, and nightclub operated by DJ Cedric Gervais and Wei Chen, former chef de cuisine at Nakazawa Aspen, will open in the former 7908 space. (415 E. Hyman Ave.)
• Unravel Coffee, a coffee shop by Gravity Haus will open Nov. 1. (315 E. Hyman Ave.)

RETAIL NEWS 

Aspen has more than 100 engaging boutiques and galleries for browsing or serious retail therapy. Here are some new shops – and pop-ups – that have opened since Summer 2022.

• ALO Yoga opened late summer offering athleisure and yoga apparel and goods. (601 E. Hyman Ave.)
• Hermès will open in the Benton building, next to Clark’s Oyster Bar. (​​521 E. Hyman Ave.)
• Fusalp, a luxury French ski wear brand, will be opening an Aspen location in November.
• Rue Stiic, a boutique with locations in Byron Bay, Bali, and Los Angeles has opened an Aspen outpost with a select collection of women’s apparel and accessories. (630 E. Hyman Ave.)
• Coming soon Canada Goose will open a location selling luxury outerwear, footwear and accessories. (516 E. Hyman Ave.)
• Coming soon Banana Republic will be moving into the Hyman Avenue Mall.

MOUNTAIN NEWS

Aspen Mountain

Construction began during summer 2022 on Aspen Mountain’s upcoming terrain expansion called Pandora’s, which will add more than 20% of new skiable terrain to the upper part of Aspen Mountain. Launching for the 2023-24 winter season, Pandora’s will be Aspen Mountain’s first significant addition since the opening of the Silver Queen Gondola in December of 1985. Pandora’s will be accessed via a high-speed quad and will include 1,220 vertical feet of groomed trails and glades ranging from intermediate to advanced terrain. 

FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION NEWS

• Austin nonstop: American Airlines will expand non-stop flights from Austin, Texas to a daily frequency from Dec. 15 – Jan. 9, weekly between Jan.10 – Feb.15, then back to daily Feb.16 – April 3.
• Atlanta Nonstop – Delta has added a second daily nonstop between Atlanta (ATL) and Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) to this winter’s schedule, beginning December 17, 2022.
• Aspen Airport (ASE), located only three miles from downtown Aspen, also has ongoing nonstop flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Houston, and Dallas.www.aspenairport.com

Sustainability Initiatives at Aspen Airport

In December 2021, Atlantic Aviation – which operates the Aspen Airport FBO and provides all the fuel for the Aspen Airport – started offsetting 100% of the fuel used by Aspen Airport, with verifiable carbon offsets. In addition, in April 2021, Atlantic Aviation started utilizing SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) for a portion of all flights out of Aspen.  

Roaring Fork Express Debuts in the Roaring Fork Valley

The Roaring Fork Express, the Roaring Fork Valley’s newest transportation option, offers daily ground transportation shuttles to and from Denver International Airport (DEN) and Eagle County Airport (EGE), along with wedding and event transportation. Roaring Fork Express supplements the wide variety of public transportation options in the Valley, making it easier and more accessible than ever to visit without a car; letsride.co.

Aspen, Colorado is an authentic, historic mountain town that is renowned for its year-round outdoor lifestyle, robust cultural calendar, and bustling downtown ambiance. With an endless array of arts, culture, dining, and nightlife, Aspen is defined by an urban feel that belies its small-town charm. An Aspen vacation is an experience that energizes the mind, body, spirit, whether soaking in mountain beauty and over 200 days of annual sunshine, learning a new skill, feeding a fascination, or simply absorbing the mountain spirit. Located 18 miles east of Independence Pass, Aspen is nestled in the heart of the White River National Forest at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River, Hunter Creek, Maroon Creek, and Castle Creek, and encircled by the peaks of the Elk Mountain Range in the central Rocky Mountains. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is conveniently located only three miles from downtown Aspen. For visitor information, a complete calendar of events, or to book an Aspen vacation, visit www.aspenchamber.org, or call 1.888.290.1324 or 970.925.1940.