Aspen Highlands

The praise is for Highland Bowl: a vast open bowl with pitches up to forty-eight degrees, reached on foot along the ridge from the top station. The hike takes anywhere from twenty-five minutes to an hour, and it is what keeps most people away, so the powder lasts and the views of the Maroon Bells are called the best in Colorado. Queues on the five lifts are essentially unknown.

The criticism is the narrowness of the offering: beginners have little to do here, the nursery terrain is thin, and they are sent to neighbouring Buttermilk and Snowmass. The hike at this altitude punishes the unacclimatised, and the ridge is icy in places with drops on both sides. The prices are Aspen's.