Aspen Buttermilk

As far as just Buttermilk Mountain, it’s probably one of the Best Beginner/​Learning mountains in the country.
Why? Because:
— Ski school instructors are outstanding
— Rental shop uses the best brands — Rossignol, Salomon, Volkl, etc
— Rental shop is right next to the lifts
— Never any lift lines
— Great bunny hill at the base to learn on
— Rest of the mountain is good for learning and others as well who might be in your group who are Intermediate skiers, so you don’t have to split up
— Mountain is always empty!
Just a great place to learn or for beginners to go to or for families as well. Wish I had learned here!
— — — — — — — — — — — –
As far as Aspen as a Whole, everyone knows Aspen is 5-Stars…the town, the restaurants, the nightlife, the people, all 4 mountains. It’s all Top Notch, and the best Ski Resort Town in the Americas (both North and South), in my opinion.
Even skiers in Europe, South America and Japan know Aspen.
Most skiers rate ski resorts on just the mountain (extreme level) and snow.
I’m different. I rate ski resorts as an Overall Package… the mountains, snow, amenities (lifts, rentals, food on mountain), apres ski, crowds and what the people are like, nice restaurants, bars/​clubs/​nightlife, higher-​end lodging with outdoor hot tubs, etc.
I’ll admit, I don’t go skiing just to ski, I go for the food and nightlife too, and well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like to be pampered while I’m at it, lol.
Going up and down the mountain to just ski, packing my own lunch, and just having a few beers back at the room while smoking pot is not my thing, as it is with most skiers, especially ski bums, lol.
So, given that, for me, the Best Ski Resorts in the World are:
1. Verbier, Switzerland
2. Aspen, Colorado
3. Chamonix, France
4. St. Anton/​Lech, Austria
5. Cortina, Italy
6. Zermatt, Switzerland
7. Ischgl, Austria
8. Whistler, Canada
9. Bariloche, Argentina
10. Niseko, Japan
And Yes, I’ve been to almost every major ski resort in the World — 22 West Coast, 17 East Coast, 9 in Europe, 6 in Canada, 4 in South America and 2 in Japan.
So, as you can see, I love Aspen! And if there’s any place you should ski at least once in your lifetime, it should be here! Just my opinion.

The smallest of the 4 mountains in and around Aspen.
Geared for beginners as it contains most of the green runs available in the area. Most of the runs are gentle and wide and perfect for learners and families. Lots of clases at the ski school at the base of the mountain for both kids and adult beginners. Has a small park on the western slope.
The Tiehack lift area has decent intermediate blue and black terrain that can be enjoyed by advanced skiers, though the runs are a bit short. The lift is quite fast though.
There’s plenty of parking around and decent dining options, both at the base and at the top of the mountain. Regular free bus service runs runs towards both Aspen and Snowmass Village. It is rarely crowded, and the Tiehack slope especially can be quite desolate even during the busiest times, great for skiers who like to have the runs to themselves.
The only downside is après scene isn’t really happening (aside from X-​Games) if that’s something that’s important to you. It’s the site of the Winter X-​Games when it becomes overrun with people. Has some spectacular views on the top backside of the mountain towards Aspen Highlands and the valley in-​between.

I am a beginner level, Skied here for four days! I had a absolutely awesome experience! Had two days private lessons and one day beginner magic! All the instructors are nice and patient. The mountain is also great for beginners! There are many different routes and the mountain is huge for me to practice my turns!

It’s Aspen — it can’t be all that bad!

Buttermilk is a great starter mountain. I took my first ski lesson here a year ago and within two days I could ski down the entire mountain alone. They have several green and easy blue runs for beginners. Its a great mountain for an intermediate level and beginner level to ski together because several of the harder runs have intersecting points with the easier blues.
Watch out on the weekends because Buttermilk hosts ski camp for kids. The children will be headed down the mountain in chains of 3 to 6. There is nothing more terrifying than turning a corner and realizing you are three feet away from smashing in two 6 three year old kids in their adorable ski suits.
Be sure to bring extra money for lunch if you plan to eat at the restaurants at the top or bottom, and I’m not kidding when I say extra. In true Aspen style, two orange sodas cost over $ 9 and a meal is easily over $ 20.

Great mountain for skiiers and snowboarders of all skill levels. I took a 2-​day small group less for intermediate snowboarding. I loved it. Only in Aspen can you see super professional instructors. I had a South American instructor and he helped lose the fear of getting off the lift! Yes, that was the only part I feared :) not falling…
The blue slopes are long enough and have a lot of variety…
Oh I miss you Aspen!
Just so you know, Buttermilk is a fair bit away from Aspen village. I’d recommend you to stay near the mountain, even though they have free shuttles, it makes a lot of stops in the village.

My sister looooooved herself some Buttermilk.
Though we are already able skiers, this looks like a great place to learn.
We loved flying down the blacks – they were completely empty! Everyone else must have been crowding Snowmass :) Don’t overlook Buttermilk!

I learned to ski here (on snow) when I was 4 (1976). In 2005 my wife and daughter (age 5) learned here as well. Next February I hope to see my now 5 year old learn as well at Buttermilk.
There simply is no better place for any person — regardless of age to learn to ski. The staff is very experienced and incredibly patient and polite. They make it very fun for the kids and generally after the first lesson they are ready to trek up the main lift.
The food at the facilities is always good — especially the pastas which I recomend (greasy food for hang-​overs don’t work at this altitude).
We recommend Buttermilk to all first time skiers but with regret that that Aspen itself (short of the orignal Bakery) is nothing like it once was.
EDIT
We did make it out this February and my youngest can now say she learned where the rest of the family did!
My now 12 year old had a blast — she was only 5 when she first came out to Aspen and this was her first trip back.
Buttermilk remains a great family beginner based ski hill in Colorado!
Do yourself a favor though if you head out that way. Rent an entire home in nearby Basalt — buy your food and booze there and stay in to eat!

Hello Employees of Buttermilk (and a shout out to those of you at Snowmass),
I would like to thank each and every one of you individually by name for being so hospitable and gracious during my visit to your ski slopes, but I think I’ve lost my short term memory. You see, this was the trip where I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to snowboard – ollies, soups, poptarts, Haakon flips, cabs, indys, tail grabs – you know, what I saw all the kids doing during the X Games.
Unfortunately, it was harder than it looked. A lot harder.
I enjoyed learning to snowboard on the trails criss-​crossing the massive 3,000 acres, combined, your mountains offered, all of which being generously covered with powder – about 10% of which I probably «ate» having boarded for all of, oh, ZERO hours before I came here.
Armed with my wrist guards, helmet and, most importantly, padded shorts, I thought I was nigh invincible. My ass, unfortunately, told me differently when I fell the first, second, then multiple times. Not wanting leave any part of my body uninvolved in this «learning experience», I managed to land on my chest a couple of times, once feeling like someone took a baseball bat to my lower ribs. HOMERUN!!! My personal favorite was the 360 I pulled off. Okay, it was on my head, but from what other people told me, it was amazing… that I was still alive. And even more amazing that I was conscious.
My apologies to Steve, my snowboarding instructor, as you were an excellent teacher, but you had to work with me. I would write you a letter personally but, again, I can’t seem to recall your last name. In fact, I not even sure if you were named Steve, but let’s leave it at that.
When I was standing and not face down/​up on some part of the mountain, I was able to enjoy some of the spectacular views and scenery offered by Buttermilk and Snowmass, two of the four mountains for which my lift pass provided me access. Lined by many ski-​in/​out facilities, both of these mountains offered incredible skiing/​snowboarding and were extremely well maintained, even at the end of the season. Thus, I guess I won’t bother looking for the impressions left from my many face plants when I return as your grooming team will have already regroomed the runs countless of times.
Looking forward to returning when my body heals.
–EJ
Oh yes, I’ll have to remember that if I am going to stick with the very beginner lifts (e.g., Panda at Buttermilk), you won’t check my lift pass (probably because it’s embarrassing enough to have 5 and 6-​year olds ski/​snowboard circles around me while I contemplate why I didn’t rent a ski pole with which to beat them without the lift operator having to try and scan my pass while I attempted to keep a vertical orientation). I could have saved at least the cost of at least one day’s lift pass had I known this.