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Atomic's Aspen Adventure


AtomicSkier

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Final day on my aspen adventure today, and the venue would be Snowmass. I woke up to it snowing at Jstyle's house and when I looked at the window, Snowmass was in a cloud, so I had a feeling it would be good. Well, it was better then good, it was fucking awesome. We skied Powderhorn to start off the day, a 3000+ vert bump/pow run down to the base of Campground, and then worked our way to the poma, where we hopped off early in order to hit AMF (adios mo fucka). We traversed over a bit and scored countless turns of knee deep pow, traversed some more, and scored more deep where I snagged an epic action shot of Jstyle. We worked our way through untracked pow back to the lift where we hit hanging valley glades again for more boot to knee deep freshness. It was already 12:30 by that time so we met Jstyle's wife who was also out skiing at Gwyn's High Alpine. A turkey wrap and soft chocolate chip cookie later we were back on the snow, and headed immediately up the high alpine lift for more turns. Two runs down Baby Ruth to hanging valley glades below where more freshness was found. Some hootin and hollarin was definitely heard from our mouths as well as other people in the trees around us who we couldn't see. Between the two runs we rode the lift with a guy who's daughter is a senior material science engineer at Lehigh. Small world. I dropped into the left chute of baby ruth, but johnny didn't follow. I popped out and traversed left and I heard someone yell. It was Johnny who had found the elusive second chute (one that requires some air) and wanted me to take his picture. I had no idea where the yelling was coming from, so I just waited, and a few minutes later Jstyle emerged from the woods with a smile on his face. When asked how it was, he replied "scary". We then proceeded to track the fuck out of the woods on our way down to the base.

 

What an awesome freaking day and what an awesome freakin trip. I hiked the Highlands bowl. Skied fresh on Monday at Snowmass, fresh on Tuesday at Ajax, and knee deep fresh today at Snowmass. Aspen just doesn't have the clientele that Jackson Hole has. Most people come here to ski the groomers, allowing awesome terrain to remain untracked days after a storm. People just don't ski powder here. It's awesome and I love it. It has been awesome skiing with Johnny Style, and he's been a great host. I will be back, for sure.

 

Enjoy.

 

Oh, hello Gowdy's and our knee deep tracks :)

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Some people have freakin balls.

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Me straight lining between some trees for some freshness.

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i made it.

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johnny's chute...ya, it looks flat. it's not.

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both of the chutes we skied were somewhere up in there.

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endless powder at Snowmass.

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me getting after some untracked knee deep

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and the shot of the trip....johnny style getting after it!

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Really nice shot of Johnny. Looks like a great trip.

 

So, after this, where you got lots of fresh powder because the clientele doesn't attempt what's available, and leaving aside the actual snow experience (which is always a matter of timing anywhere you go), would you pick Aspen or Jackson in the future? I'm thinking Aspen MIGHT be pricier which might be a consideration. And it might be smaller in terms of terrain, but it was all new this time which was nice. But, if you had to go to the same place 5 years in a row, which would it be? Assuming it was your money paying for it. Just curious.

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What an awesome freaking day and what an awesome freakin trip. I hiked the Highlands bowl. Skied fresh on Monday at Snowmass, fresh on Tuesday at Ajax, and knee deep fresh today at Snowmass. Aspen just doesn't have the clientele that Jackson Hole has. Most people come here to ski the groomers, allowing awesome terrain to remain untracked days after a storm. People just don't ski powder here. It's awesome and I love it. It has been awesome skiing with Johnny Style, and he's been a great host. I will be back, for sure.

 

 

They need to rename it Awespen.

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Aspen is pricier, for sure. For instance...at the ticket window (no advance purchase)....$400 buys you 6 days at JH, $365 buys you 4 days at Aspen. My average lunch was like $20 in Aspen, where my average lunch at JH is around $15. I'm sure lodging is much more expensive in Aspen. Jackson Hole really isn't that expensive.

 

That being said, it's a totally different place then Jackson Hole. There are no Hobacks at any Aspen mountain, but there is no hanging valley at JH. Jackson Hole locals are hardcore skiers that will track the fuck out of the mountain before 10am, whereas Aspen locals are movie stars who stick to Blue cruisers and hate powder. At Aspen I feel like an expert, compared to Jackson where I feel like a newbie compared to Doobie Don. There are less people at Aspen because they are spread out amongst 4 mountains, and again, they don't ski the terrain that I like to ski.

 

I couldn't chose between the two because they are both so different. Jackson technically has less vert and less acreage then Snowmass, but Jackson just humbles you in terms of it size. I'll be back to both places.

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The whole trip looked awesome, glad you enjoyed CO. JH is not the only place out west with snow and good terrain. Aspen just moved on to my "must go to" list.

 

JH is not the place to goto for constant snowfall. I like Jackson because of the awesome terrain. Aspen, in my mind, was always for rich gapers. My opinion has changed. I've skied more legit stuff at Aspen with JStyle then I have at Jackson, for sure.

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But after seeing this TR I am definitely gonna have to head out to Aspen...

 

You definitely need to. And I know you like first chair, but there is really no need here. In fact, if we would've gotten first chair this morning, we wouldn't have been able to see 20 feet in front of us. By 9:45, it was sunny :wiggle

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sounds like an awesome trip. i also wouldnt have put aspen too high on the list for out west, but it looks as though it shouldnt be overlooked. i would think having a guide like johnnystyle makes the experience that much better. great pics too.

 

that view from johnnystyles place.....it must suck waking up to see that.... :rofl

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