March 12, 2016 Aspen Mountain

We parked at the large Snowmass Town parking lot. This lot is used by the employees and locals who were skiing. The lot has all the buses that serve all the Aspen ski resorts, Aspen city, and the airport. The system works great and is free. From Snowmass to Aspen is 20 minutes. The 2 block walk to the lifts gives you a brief view of the fur-covered ski apparel and the high-end stores available before you get on the lift. The Silver Queen gondola takes you from the base to the summit, a 3260 vertical foot gain. We were alone riding the gondola. This was a slightly cloudy morning with a forecast for afternoon moisture. We enjoyed the first run top to bottom on groomed trails. The Ajax Express lift and Gent's Ridge lift cover all the upper groomed trails. The lift trail map says there are no beginner trails. It seemed to work because there were few folks who seemed uncomfortable on the terrain. After skiing all the other groomers we went over to the Ruthie's lift area. This was the weekend for the NorAm competition at the Ruthie's lift area. We could ski along the outside race fence and it gives you a look at SPEED under control. Around noon the clouds came in and took over the sky; the light was flat and it was time to go.